Tawny owls

[John Robinson]

Tawny Owls taken in 1972 I was inspired by Troy on seeing his recent owl work to look deep into the darkest realms of the old slide cabinets.
( Roughly 20 thousand- think of the cost !!)
I found these done on a nest in the orchard near the house and had rigged a dim light up just enough to see what was happening.
This pic and many others were taken in 1972. I used two small sunpack flashes from the localchemist which cost £3 each !
I can remember the exposure was F5.6 but thats about it.
Pentax Spotmatic. I had to wait a week to get the test shots on the nest back as a test !! How things have changed, and as I mentioned this sort of owl photography is frowned upon now in this Country.
I never had the skightest problem with this bird but have to be honest and say I have with others. Remember in those days we did not have the choices we have now.
Cheers
JohnR
PS Copied of a 100 ASA Ecktachrome transparency

[David Salem]

I mentioned it before but I really like the fact that you have stuff that's over 40 years old. Great to see and I appreciate what it took to get these shots. No preview, Not knowing what the exposure looked like and you had to spend money and wait for a days to see the results. I was shooting falconry in the late 70s with a Canon AE1 and it was really frustrating getting your 27 frames back from the lab only to find out they all looked like heck.
The shot looks great considering. The parents face is a little soft but what can you do. The chicks look good and I like the setting sun in the natural BG. Well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

this is very cool, it may looks soft and lacking in IQ department by today's standards but it shows how far we have come since the ASA100 film days. the wide angle perspective of the nest is really nice

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

You're right John, we're spoilt rotten today with everything to our disposal. It's true that equipment does not make you a better photographer, but it surely helps!

Great shot for its time and considering your tools - love the sunset in the BG!

[William Dickson]

Amazing John Those were the days

[dennis greenwood]

Thats good to see John...there is a lot more substance in that one shot than the thousands i see on a certain well known photo web site...Me i would love to see more

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

This is an amazing image, so much going on in the frame. The nest, the prey item, the anticipation of food by the 2nd owl all add to this.
Just that it is an old image makes it that much more special.
TFS.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all. I must say the one thing about the old stuff is - the memories !!
I haven't dared to start on the black and white stuff yet !!!
Thanks again.
JohnR

[christopher galeski]

nice action image John,thanks for showing,interesting story.

[Satish Ranadive]

The moment I saw the thumbnail,I knew it is from archive.Spectacular image. Appreciate great efforts behind it. I like parent owl with full wings up. Nice nest with chicks.
Sunset BG looks beautiful.

Regards,
Satish.

[Jack Breakfast]

Terrific!