Little Owl with long thing

[John Robinson]

Little Owl (Male)I tnink !
Pity the worms end is a bit soft but it just went back and forth like a pendulum when he landed. I waited and waited for it to steady but he was off to the chicks before it stopped swaying.

Surprised I got anything at those shooting conditions. Actually inside the open fronted barn Pity about the background but it’s a sheet over a tractor which the farmer had putthere to keep off owl poo !!!- but at least its better than the brick wall with the ventilation holes in.
Nikon D200
Sigma 100-300
800ISO
50th sec @f5
About 70% of frame.
Levels etc
I assure you no introduced worms ,Owls, Perches, Walls, etc.etc.
Cheers
JR

[Henry Domke]

JR, I love the description of how you took this. Despite the challenging circumstances this is a very strong image in all respects.

[Richard Unsworth]

Hi John

Well this is a fine composition, well executed, nice BG and lovely story :-)

Its an earthworm!

[John Robinson]

Thanks both. Heres a similar one I took 45 years earlier !
Pentax S1a FP4 mecablitz 402
Cheers
JR

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Johnny, the owl seems to be showing off his catch to you, and you have done well with the IQ for such a slow ss - any movement such as the wriggling end of the worm will be motion blurred at that slow ss. Thanks for explaining the BG.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely pose/eye contact and I like the worm in the bill, you did well to get a sharp image at 1/50 sec.

[Shawn Zierman]

The direct eye contact and prey item are very compelling! I dig that black and white image too. Makes an interesting study in how shooting eye level and attaining direct eye contact can have a powerful impact on the viewer, when one considers both images...

[Holger Leyrer]

The pose, eye, contact , sharp, BG,... all is super. And the worm is a wonderful eyecatcher.
Great Image.

[Arthur Morris]

The worm still looks pretty good after 45 years. Lovely image but the bird looks a bit over-done from here. Please post a 1200 wide JPEG that represents the the full frame original capture after being converted.

[David Salem]

Nice capture! I like it. What a great BG and a nice stare with the worm. Nice. Thanks for the old shot. Very cool that you shot it again after that long.