THis is my neighbor down the street that I found after Christmas. I've photographed him a few times from the car window but I wanted to try a new angle and also put my TC on which is what Arash suggested. This time finally the sun was setting which is right around when I get picked up from school so its perfect.
Here's what I used and my settings:
Canon 5D MIII
Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4x TC
Manual Exposure
ISO 1000
f/8 for dof
1/640s
I had my lens mounted on a beanbag from the car windows frame and I held my breath and tried bursts of 3. I still wish I could get this to come out sharper. This weekend if he's still there I might try a higher ISO.
I used the magnetic lasso tool to brighten the owl and did one round of USM on him. I guess I could try to fix the shadow on the right eye and maybe darken the back of the cavity but I kind of like it as is. I cropped 5% off and moved it to the left so the owl is looking into more space on the right.
Pls let me know what you think and thanks so much, Ashleigh
I could not save this image any bigger than this file or the quality would have been under 70.
Ashleigh, really fine image of this owl. The sun really sets him off the background, so great timing on your part. My first reaction was that you nailed this one, so if you say you want it sharper your eyes are better than mine. If anything, maybe the focus wasn't exactly where you wanted it to be but I'd be more than happy to have this in my collection. Keep these owl shots coming, well done.
Well done and good idea to hold yr breath. My only nit pick is the light wood background inside the tree cavity. A slight blur would help my focus on the owl itself.
HI thank you for the feedback. Here is a repost with the tree cavity exposure lowered a little. I needed some help doing this the magnetic lasso kept leaving bright sections I couldn't get the edges close enough.
Hey Ashleigh, making progress! big difference in detail right ;) you did well! What a handsome owl and a nice view of his hole! I also like the repost with reduced exposure in the cavity. If the cavity was dark and owl was under spot light it would be super.
I would trade DOF for shutter speed here, at this distance DOF won't be any issue. If I were there this would be my settings : ISO 1600 f/5.6 1/2000sec.
Hi Ashleigh, being really picky I would just darken behind the Owl ,but that apart it think you have got yourself a super image which you should be very pleased with, I know I would be if it was mine.
Hi Ashleigh,
You are doing very well at finding owls! The image is nice and sharp.
I like this picture but find myself wishing that the light had been on the owl and not on the back of the cavity. Can you go back on the weekend and wait till the sun hits the owl directly? I am assuming he hangs around this cavity when resting.
I think the repost looks better for sure and I would be pleased to have this in my files,
Gail
Hello Ashleigh,
Very nicely camouflaged with tree texture and beautifully framed almost symmetrical all around. Love the expression of beauty.
Re post looks superb.
You've done really well here and good job taking Arash's advice and slapping on that TC. I do think your owl needs a little more sharpening, and I would personally like to see this owl as centered as possible for this particular image.
What I think could improve your future images from this spot are shooting a tad more from the right and making sure you are square to the nest. That way you can put the owl directly in the center of the frame...if that's possible. Another option would be shooting from the top of the car. You could try riding over there behind your dad. Open the door, and stand up and shoot from the top with your bean bag. I am not there, though, so maybe this might put you too high. Make sure the engine is turned off when shooting. I find that for the most part screech owls are not too skittish and if they get used to you, you could get pretty close.
You may also consider some options for shooting this nest from an environmental standpoint...putting the owl small in the frame. Looking forward to seeing what's to come.
Hi Ashleigh. You're doing great on this guy. Wish I had one down the street from me (or maybe I do and don't realize it; I heard one out my window early the other morning.) Repost is an improvement, and you might have gone even a bit darker on the cavity. Some great critique on this one. Keep 'em coming.
Sunset Screech
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