Marsh owl surprise (2)

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

A follow up on my previous 'Marsh owl surprise' thread. I guess one either likes this wing position or you don't. I just love it. I'm almost hearing "Control tower, this is flight xyz coming in for landing..."!

I was a little surprised about getting a little blur on the wing tips with these settings. I guess it's caused by some feathers ruffling in the wind as it hits its wings. Some blobs (blurred treetops) removed from the bottom, one round of USM, clarity enhanced a little.

Nikon D600
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR + TC14E II @ 280mm
f/4 | 1/2000s | ISO 400 | Handheld

All C & C's welcome

[arash_hazeghi]

It is a handsome owl but I prefer the last one over this, the IQ has suffered quite a bit here and with the side light not much of his beautiful plumage can be seen...

you have some good opportunities, this looks like an AM shoot, try to put the sun behind you and get as close as you can since you are using a very short lens. good luck!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

It is a handsome owl but I prefer the last one over this, the IQ has suffered quite a bit here and with the side light not much of his beautiful plumage can be seen...

you have some good opportunities, this looks like an AM shoot, try to put the sun behind you and get as close as you can since you are using a very short lens. good luck!

Thanks for commenting Arash! You're right - it was at 07.59am. I think the problem is also that only the top front feathers of the wings are mostly visible (other than the tail), which won't offer much feather detail for viewing. The problem obviously is that you can put the sun where you like - you have no idea where the next bird is going to come from!

[Richard Flack]

Awesome owl Tobie but must agree with Arash in that the IQ seems to have suffered quite a bit making the owls head a little soft. (Still a good effort though, as I know how difficult the owls can be to shoot.... I have tried a few times in the Devon area with not a ton of luck)