Well, I had arrived at the nest early enough to spend about 15 minutes changing the settings on the camera and flash to have the camera control the flash output automatically. I found this approach intriguing as there is such little room for error in the dark and quick changing conditions of the owl mating event. Tim Rucci graciously took my call on the way to the Cape Coral Library and corroborated my thought that to avoid the very harsh shadows created by the flash, it would be best to be as low to the ground as possible. He also made a point in advising me to be sure that the zoom on the flash was set at 50mm instead of the 105mm I had used on my previous observation while using the Better Beamer. Prior to the few mating shots taken of this mating event, I had successfully taken test shots with the flash. At the moment of truth, however, the flash didn't fire. In the near darkness, I was grappling to understand what went wrong. I thought the batteries were shot although relatively fresh or that I had made one improper setting before the event. I learned that I had simply not locked the flash securely to the camera's hot shoe and the contacts came loose! I have learned that a greater distance from the birds is appropriate to ensure that the wings of the male aren't clipped from the frame. I'm very grateful for all preceding comments to improve the shots.
Sharpened, contrast, tripod.
Mating Burrowing Owl at Cape Coral Library
Cape Coral, Florida USA
The issue I see here is that wing flapping bird is too abstract as compared to the other entities in the image which are not...the body of the other owl and the grasses. Typically, on a blur such as this which shows motion, to me anyway, everything in the image should be in movement.
This is why I always have my gear ready for what I anticipate shooting before I get to a site or before I switch subjects.
Mating Burrowing Owl V
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