Barn Owl

[John Robinson]

Barn owls are a rarity around here so it was nice when one turned up in a rough patch of old grassland not far away.. I’ve got loads of stuff on barn owls from the old days with flash etc but had never had a daylight percher.
I hauled a gate post to the site after getting permission off the farmer who was really helpful (and chuffed to bits about the owl !) and put it where I thought would be a good spot, and erected my pop up hide about 20 feet from the perch , and got in to set the gear up- focussing the camera on the stump etc. I got back out and nailed a day old chick ( not alive of course !!)on the backof the post and got back in the hide. Looked out and the owl was sat there.! Didn’t even have time to zip up the back of the hide or check the camera settings. Got several shots . Light fading hence the bright section at the top which is the last of the daylight in the Northern sky. Not to every ones taste I know, but nice with a bit of detail in the background which I always like if I can get it.
The bird flew off after about 7 shots.
Took the hide down picked up my post and went home. Most interesting- never saw the owl again, and the day old chick was still on the post two weeks later ! Not even a crow or magpie had taken it which is odd around these parts.
Image IQ not the best in the world but with a lower range camera as some would call it you take what you can get, especially when it’s a first. .It makes a nice pic for projecting at lectures anyway.

Wasn’t sure about leaving the brighter bit in at the top. See what folks think.-( about the background too)

D200
Sigma 50-500mm
800 ISO
50^th second at f7
Spot meter/EV Down 1 stop.
Neat image
Ex army theodolite tripod with ball head.
Crop from horizontal.
Thanks for comments on last pic.
Cheers
John

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Lovely pose and exposure and I like the stump he's perched on. Thanks for the details on this setup, was a fun read.
I tend to prefer clean backgrounds, but this one is growing on me.
The bright area at the top does pull the eye away though. Nicely done John.

[John Robinson]

Thanks Sidharth- as I say- will be interesting to see different opinions on it. Its easily toned down anyway I suppose.
Cheers
John

[Joseph Przybyla]

Beautiful bird nicely done. I have never seen on before, what lovely colors and markings. Thank you for sharing.

[Marina Scarr]

You've done a great job making this bird stand out on a very distracting BG. Lucky you to have the opportunity to witness and photograph this amazing owl!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Johnny you have managed to capture a very English scene reflecting the cold miserable weather conditions. You have caught the owl with a pleasing pose and I like the perch, it could be argued there is perhaps a little to much perch but I suspect you wanted to include the round element (a peg of some kind?)
I don't mind the background twigs, ideally they would be a tad more OOF and I would suggest a little patching/cloning of the white area top left. Although you indicate the image is set up it looks perfectly credible, - good job I'd say!

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, exposure, details and the beautiful owl. I tried a horizontal composition that eliminated the top and bolt on the perch and liked it. I would love to see one of these owls. Thanks for posting this image John.

[John Robinson]

Thanks
Yes ! Well spotted Jon- I did like the peg !
Yes I nearly posted a horizontal with the pale bit cut out, but wanted to see what people thought.
Cheers
John

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the vertical presentation and actually think you could have pointed your lens down a bit more to move the subject a bit higher in the frame and give some space for that peg at bottom. Superb pose, love the perch. I also love the way you took the opportunity and made it work for you...thanks for those details. I would have opened up the aperture to get those twigs a bit more oof, but it certainly sets the scene as is. Way to go!

[gail bisson]

I don't know what I like most- the story or the picture!
I really like the perch and the IQ of the owl. BG is a bit busy but not a deal breaker.
I would tone down the bright sky a bit. I would like to see this as a horizontal with room on the right.
Great shot,
gail

[John Robinson]

Repost with variius suggestions taken on board.
Thanks
John

[Ashleigh Scully]

Hi you are so lucky to be able to photograph Barn Owls. I wish they were around here.

Can you crop this maybe without the round bump on the perch? I am also not sure about putting the owl in the exact center so maybe crop off on one side. I don't know which wide is best with the position he's in.

If this was another kind of owl it would be distracting with this background but because its a Barn Owl and he's so white I think it works great!

[John Rowell]

Nice image, John. Of the two, I think I'd prefer the first one with the light area toned down. Thanks very much for including the story, it's as much a part of the image as the picture itself.

[John Robinson]

Hi Asleigh
Sorry - I got the impression folks wanted the "peg" left in !!
No problem cropping it out, but I wont take up space on here doing it.
Cheers
John

[Sidharth Kodikal]

John,
Another vote (for what it's worth) for the OP with the bright area toned down.
The RP has too much bg and the bird is too central from my taste.

[Marina Scarr]

I find the RP more appealing but with a little tweaking of the crop. I like the peg also but in order to move the owl out of center, you really need some off of the bottom and right.

[Diane Miller]

I love both, but the RP does get rid of the bright BG spot. Love the tonalities. I'd rotate it to make the post more vertical, even though it may not have been.

[Don Railton]

Hi John... Love the image and the story. Its good when a plan works huh... I like both posts but with a slight bias to the OP, my vote is to leave the bolt/peg in the log, but ditch the bright spot, maybe add a bit of blur to the BG and darken slightly...

DON

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent image of beautiful owl. Every thing has been said about this.
Love the pose, perch and lights.

Regards,
Satish.

[Troy Lim]

I love to landscape crop and move the bird off center a bit. Either crop, you would have the BG anyway, I believe the landscape works better in this case.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all
Troy I agree but can't decide which way !! - because the bird is looking slightly right I would assume right ?? - or maybe not
Cheers
JohnR