Snowy Owl in flight

[Peter Tamas]

Second time in Ottawa for more Snowy Owl pictures with hope of better light. Yes, this time in Ottawa was a lot of light but the wind was incredible strong and it was extreme cold -28 Celsius. I found again" Clementine" the owl which Gail named but it was very inactive, seating all the time faraway on the ground. From a local I got some tips and I found 4 more owls very active. Because of the wind the Owl was gliding probably saving energy. It was cold but it was fun except the driving back to Toronto. This is full frame. The Owl was attract by feeding, I like the word more than baiting.
Peter Tamas


Canon 1 DX
Lens 600mm f/4 II
F-stop f/9
Exposure time 1/2500 sec.
ISO speed ISO-640

[Karl Egressy]

Nice incoming flight image, Peter. I agree, feeding is a better word for this activity. I checked it in the dictionary long time ago.

[Ashleigh Scully]

Great in-flight shot! Really sharp

[adrian dancy]

Definitions must rely on context.
Feeding is, amongst other things, what you do to livestock, cats/dogs or your kids etc.
Baiting amongst other things is what you do attract or entice an animal, which is what has been done here.
Live baiting is bating with the use of live bait which may be the most accurate description if live animals were used.
I do not like the use of live bait to attract predators. I know others could not care less what I think and that's fine. I also believe that it is wrong to provide bait to a predatory animal where it is possible for the animal to associate humans with a food source.
Baiting near roads is reckless though I do not know if that was done in the instant case.
I would agree that there are blurred lines depending on species and bait. Some with my view may be accused of being hypocritical.
I do not as a rule comment on images where I am aware that bait has been used to attract a predatory animal. Since you raised the issue of baiting I decided to comment.
I can only assume that your desire to change the ordinary accepted use of language is done to make the practice of baiting seem less controversial or less repugnant.

[Doug Brown]

Definitions must rely on context.
Feeding is, amongst other things, what you do to livestock, cats/dogs or your kids etc.
Baiting amongst other things is what you do attract or entice an animal, which is what has been done here.
Live baiting is bating with the use of live bait which may be the most accurate description if live animals were used.
I do not like the use of live bait to attract predators. I know others could not care less what I think and that's fine. I also believe that it is wrong to provide bait to a predatory animal where it is possible for the animal to associate humans with a food source.
Baiting near roads is reckless though I do not know if that was done in the instant case.
I would agree that there are blurred lines depending on species and bait. Some with my view may be accused of being hypocritical.
I do not as a rule comment on images where I am aware that bait has been used to attract a predatory animal. Since you raised the issue of baiting I decided to comment.
I can only assume that your desire to change the ordinary accepted use of language is done to make the practice of baiting seem less controversial or less repugnant.

Thank you for stating your position on baiting in a civilized and thoughtful manner Adrian! While I don't necessarily agree with it, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to explain your position in a level-headed way.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Peter. That's pretty cold!!! My coldest day when I visited Ottawa last winter was -30 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -41 degrees. Your sharpness is good, as are your whites. I would have preferred better eye contact and slightly less canvas up top.

[Shawn Zierman]

Great image. The head on coming at you pose has a lot of impact for me. I could see 10 million such images and not tire of it when they are done this well. Exposure work looks solid. I agree about considering slicing a bit off the top for visual balance. I do not understand the comment by Doug about better eye contact, unless he means more even light falling across the face and eyes....better eye contact? It's staring right at us! Also, I don't agree with many of the comments in pane#4, but to each his own. I prefer the term feeding also, and it has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to represent the approach as less "repugnant". To me, when I feed owls, that's what I consider myself to be doing, and so that's how I describe it...simple as that. Also, song birds, including ones that visit feeders, are every bit as predatory as owls and hawks. The viewpoint that raptors are predatory hunters and songbirds visiting feeders are not predatory flies in the face of reality. So, when someone gives such a passionate point of view, as in pane #4, but then you go check out their flickr gallery and see baited images of songbirds....their passionate points of view hollow quickly imo...

[Melissa Groo]

Doug, with all due respect--what is it you disagree with in Adrian's comment? That baiting owls habituates them to people? I can't imagine that that is in question. Or that baiting is more accurate a description than feeding in this case? I think it would be helpful for all to hear a more specific response from you, particularly as you're a moderator and thus arguably more influential than a member. Thanks in advance.

[Marina Scarr]

Nice low, straight on pose. Your exposure looks good. I think I would consider a pano for this particular image.

[Jory Griesman]

I believe this is a bird forum, not a morals or philosophical section. If Adrian won`t comment on ``baited`` images, his comment doesn`t belong in this section. I also believe the term feeding is more appropriate, as baiting carries the connotation of subsequent entrapment, rather than merely attracting a subject. I don`t think Peter`s choice of words was meant to mitigate the circumstances of his image capture.

[Jory Griesman]

Almost forgot, Peter... nice sharp, well exposed image without clipping the wings - not always easy to do.

[Doug Brown]

Hi Shawn. I was talking about getting a more symmetric look at the face. This bird is looking to the left of the frame.

[Jory Griesman]

Doug, is the bird actually looking left, or is it an illusion, due to the owl`s strabismus? Many of the snowies I`ve seen are cross-eyed, or have eyes that seem to move independently.

[Doug Brown]

Doug, is the bird actually looking left, or is it an illusion, due to the owl`s strabismus? Many of the snowies I`ve seen are cross-eyed, or have eyes that seem to move independently.

IMO the bird is looking to its right. The right eye appears to be closer to vertical line created by the beak than the left eye does.

[Bret Goddard]

Wow, great shot. really brought out all the white in all that whit without being too hot, the look in the eyes is pretty cool, Grand job indeed.

[arash_hazeghi]

Definitions must rely on context.
Feeding is, amongst other things, what you do to livestock, cats/dogs or your kids etc.
Baiting amongst other things is what you do attract or entice an animal, which is what has been done here.
Live baiting is bating with the use of live bait which may be the most accurate description if live animals were used.
I do not like the use of live bait to attract predators. I know others could not care less what I think and that's fine. I also believe that it is wrong to provide bait to a predatory animal where it is possible for the animal to associate humans with a food source.
Baiting near roads is reckless though I do not know if that was done in the instant case.
I would agree that there are blurred lines depending on species and bait. Some with my view may be accused of being hypocritical.
I do not as a rule comment on images where I am aware that bait has been used to attract a predatory animal. Since you raised the issue of baiting I decided to comment.
I can only assume that your desire to change the ordinary accepted use of language is done to make the practice of baiting seem less controversial or less repugnant.

Adrian if you wish to comment in this forum please limit your comments to image critique only. If you want to discuss bating do so in the general photography forum.


This forum is only for image critique, off topic posts will be deleted.