I'm A Flyer!

[Loi Nguyen]

The Burrowing Owl chicks have fledged for about a month and now spend most of their time hunting or learning how to hunt away from the nest. But they still hang around and come back to the nest from time to time.

Started out with 8 checks, they were down to 7 after the first week I was there, and now after 4 weeks there were 5 chicks left. I don't know what happened to the other chicks unfortunately.

1DX2
400f4 DO II + 1.4X III
1/3200
f7.1
ISO-1600
HH
I left the band in. It seems too hard to remove it :(

I had such a great time this season, looking for a new one next year.

Thank you for commenting on my owl images. You have been a great help.

Thank you

Loi

[Mike Poole]

You should be rightly proud of their one Loi, theres a heck of a lot to like about it.

The light is fantastic, and the full downstroke on the wings is perfect. The wide eyes are beautiful, and the BG fits in with the colour palette. Maybe it needs just a sliver extra on the bottom, but I bet this looks fantastic in print. The PP looks top notch to me as well.

I'm in the States next year and will probably get a solitary session with these birds - no chance of getting what you've got in that short space of time, you've used your opportunities well. I might need to look for different target species now!

Mike

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent Loi, you are getting better and better at these shots and this one is your best to date. love the full down stroke, excellent BG and the sharp details. It's a shame he was banded, this one is tough to remove because there is no reference to clone from. unless you have other frames with the unbanded foot visible

TFS

[Lorant Voros]

What an awesome shot, band or no band! Great light and full downstroke wing beat. I feel it is a little tight in the frame. Do you have more canvas? Well done, Loi and yes, I love the series:).

[Loi Nguyen]

I'm glad you like this one, Arash. You are a good judge and I respect you for giving honest and critical critique. Practice does make things better :), but still I have a lot more to improve. I may get 1 or 2 and in rare cases 3 or more frames in a sequence. The lighter 400 DO II helps, but I also find that the 3-8m close focus range is a pain. My owls are often right at the 8m. So this time I added the 1.4X and stayed back a little further. The AF is a little slower, but I don't have to constantly worry about which range I need to be in. Full range is just too slow.

Yes, Mike & Lorant, agreed that a little more canvas at the bottom is needed, but I don't have it. I did print a test 12X18 inch for myself and added a sliver of canvas at the bottom and it looks good.

Thank you

Loi

[arash_hazeghi]

If the owl is always at close range you can switch to close focus range. For a shot like this where the distance of the owl is known full range also works as long as you don't lose the owl during tracking. You have to pre-focus on the perch where the owl is jumping from

these are tough shots, so you should be happy even with few keepers

best

[David Salem]

This is Awesome Loi!! You are the perfect example of how much practice pays off!! You have been hitting it hard and your skills are really starting to get honed.
Besides the band and some more room all the way around, which is what I did, and a little more sharpening, this is a dream shot for most of us. Excellent capture!! Keep it up!!

[arash_hazeghi]

That's some skilled cloning Dave!

[Loi Nguyen]

Dave, you are a master! Amazing. Yes, will call you this coming winter for some raptor session and PP skills. Loi

[Arthur Morris]

Excellent Loi, you are getting better and better at these shots and this one is your best to date. love the full down stroke, excellent BG and the sharp details. It's a shame he was banded, this one is tough to remove because there is no reference to clone from. unless you have other frames with the unbanded foot visible. TFS

Actually the band was easy to eliminate by using texture from the top of the foot to build the leg... This repost without many pixels to work with. The SH and image detail on the face is superb while in comparison, the near-wing suffers a bit. Not sure if from motion blur or d-o-f.

Are you using a tape to get these birds to fly?

a

[Loi Nguyen]

Actually the band was easy to eliminate by using texture from the top of the foot to build the leg... This repost without many pixels to work with. The SH and image detail on the face is superb while in comparison, the near-wing suffers a bit. Not sure if from motion blur or d-o-f.

Are you using a tape to get these birds to fly?

a

Hi Artie, your repost looks great as well as David's on the removal of the band.

As for the question if I used a tape, answer is no. I have been photographing this owl family for a couple of years, so the parents know me well. I first approached them in the pre-dawn darkness, kept a low profile by laying flat on the ground and eventually sat in a ditch with my head just barely above ground. Overtime they accept me quite well and I can sit up without disturbing them. Just be patient and wait for them to do something naturally, more interesting behavior that way than using tape or call.

Thank you for your comments.

Loi

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Artie, your repost looks great as well as David's on the removal of the band.

As for the question if I used a tape, answer is no. I have been photographing this owl family for a couple of years, so the parents know me well. I first approached them in the pre-dawn darkness, kept a low profile by laying flat on the ground and eventually sat in a ditch with my head just barely above ground. Overtime they accept me quite well and I can sit up without disturbing them. Just be patient and wait for them to do something naturally, more interesting behavior that way than using tape or call.

Thank you for your comments.

Loi

Thanks for the info. We get close to these owls in FL and I have never once seen one fly so I always have to ask. Great job by David too and I love the extra room he added and everything else about the repost. Our posts must have crossed in cyberspace :)

artie

[Doug Brown]

A really stunning frame Loi, and not an easy one to get! Dave's processed version takes it up a notch, but I don't mind the band all that much.

[David Salem]

Thanks Arash, Loi, Doug and Artie. I'm glad you guys like the repost. As Artie mentioned, this isn't hard at all. I used the top of the foot and toe to create more leg and then used the BG to clean up the edges. I only use the clone stamp tool and change sizes and opacities depending on what I am doing.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Just like anything it takes practice, lots of it. I am totally self taught and after a few years I am getting pretty confident now and I am able to do some pretty sophisticated cloning. I also know my limits so I am able to look at an image and quickly determine if I can fix or change it to suit my wants, or not.
Nice work too Arie.

[Eric Dienesch]

WOW WOW WOW :

A great flight picture from a lovely owl with a superb background an light.

for me the picture of the week or month !!!

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent light, details and bg.