Great Horned Owl
Taken at a local wildlife center. The tree that the Owl was in is on the other side of a pond so getting closer is not an option. I used a Tamron 150-600 with a 1.4 teleconverter so this images is @840mm.
Canon 60D, Tamron 150-600 with 1.4 @840mm f/9.0, 1/250, ISO 640
Hi, congratulations on finding a Great Horned Owl! I live in New Jersey too and they are hard to find. I photographed a Screech Owl and posted it here and got good advice. When a subject isn't going to move very much sometimes you should try taking the teleconvertr off and maybe you can get a better composition. If you could get more of the tree and do a vertical and get the Owl to look at you I think it would be better.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/awscully/
Thanks Ashleigh. I have a few without the TC and the Owl just gets lost in the tree. It was quite far with really no way to get closer, unless I brought a canoe. :) Here is another with a vertical crop with the Owl looking at me (sort of).
Very impressive to see what that lens can do with a TC!!! Very nice work!
Sometimes an image like this, where you can't get close, just has to be about how the animal is naturally camouflaged, or its environment, rather than a studio portrait. You did very well on that. I prefer the second version, as I find the blue sky competing with the bird in the first.
I agree 150% Diane. Closer doesn't always mean better. With the second one you're forcing
the person to really look at your image. Another plus is the head angle is better.
If you look at some owl images in the Avian forum, there have been a few owls that have
been posted during the last two weeks or so where its not just about the owl, but how
well it can blend into its environment, which is achieved by going more wide than up close.
Doug
i agree too !! Amazing !
i have the tamron lens too, it is a really nice lens;
but with my 5D3 the autofocus did not work at all,
only in liveview modus (tested with original Canon Extender 1.4 III and with the Kenko 1.4 DG).
The 2nd version is much nicer, and I totally agree with shooting for composition at times like this. When doing so, try not to center spot the subject, as it often makes composing the image via cropping a bit of a challenge. Focus and recompose in camera or use a different focus point. This way you don't have to compromise as much in PP, even if it means grabbing multiple variations at the time.
The second photo is awesome, I love how you can't tell where the breast of the owl starts and the tree begins. Amazing how animals can blend in to there surroundings.
Thanks everyone for your comments and taking the time. Very much appreciated. :)
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