Burrowing Owl in Flight

[Sridatta Chegu]

Canon 1DX + 400mm f/5.6L + 1.4x
560mm, f/8, 1/1600, ISO 800

For a poor man's telephoto (400mm + 1.4x), light was just good enough to give decent shutter speed at low ISO.

[arash_hazeghi]

My fav. owl! love the BG and light, I like the view of the eye too. The details are a bit lacking, the 400 f/5.6 will struggle with a TC. I would try to get closer to the owls if possible and use the bare lens to get a sharper frame if you don't have access to a longer lens. you may need to use a blind.

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Stunning pic, Sridatta! Love the detail on the wings, clear eye and soft BG!

[Sridatta Chegu]

Thanks Arash! The place where I shoot (vista), this is the closest I could get. The area is fenced and the access is restricted with a gate now. Hopefully, I will either get a better lens or better access to these guys in coming years :)

[Barry Ekstrand]

Great shot, especially with the 400mm/f5.6 and 1.4x TC. Tough to get a really good shot at f8 and no IS (at least for me), you should be proud of this one.

Barry

[Doug Brown]

Ditto what Barry said. A tough BIF subject with any combination of gear, and you pulled it off with f/8 and no IS.

[Marina Scarr]

Killer flight pose and light on this image. I would sharpen the head a tad more. I use this combination of 400 & 1.4 often and as long as you stop down about a stop you can make some nice sharp images if you have the speed you need for flight shots.

[WillieHall]

nice BG, focus and composition. I have been looking for these guys for awhile, did you find them in the bay area? I visit my daughters there often.

[Richard Flack]

Hi Sridatta. Lovely flight pose and beautiful light on this one. Eye is really striking. Even more brilliant given the lens you were using. Well done!

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice light, BG, and wings-down pose. You can crank up the ISO on the 1dX to give yourself some more shutter speed to work with.

Looking forward to more!

[Sridatta Chegu]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions!

[David Salem]

Great flight shot!!