Elf Owl from SE Arizona

[Doug Brown]

Hi folks. I've been busy photographing for 2 of the last 3 weeks, so I haven't been much of a presence on BPN. A friend and I tried our hands at nighttime owl photography during our trip to SE Arizona; it was a lot of fun! But locating and photographing owls can be a real challenge at night. Elf owls are small: something like 5 inches tall with a 10 inch wingspan. They are also the lightest owls in the world, weighing in at 1.4 ounces. Not easy to spot in a tree under cover of night. The 5D Mark III performed as advertised in the low light AF department; that is to say very well. Locking focus on a 5 inch subject at a distance of 30-40 feet illuminated only by flashlight is a real test of AF. The 5D3 pulled this off with a TC on my 600. As far as processing goes, I blurred a leaf in the RLC, but did no cloning.



Canon 5D Mark III, 600mm + 1.4x, f/10, 1/200, ISO 640, manual exposure, flash as main light, hand held

[Andrew Merwin]

Wow, what fun & a great pic too boot. I am pleased to know that you like the 5D3 & that it is living up to your expectations.

[christopher galeski]

very nice image,and taken at night is magic,good detail,like how you have placed the owl in the frame.thanks.

[Jim Crosswell]

Great image Doug! I like the pose, detail, sharpness, setting and flash work.

[Joe Senzatimore]

I Tried this last year and it ain't easy. You did well on this one. Very difficult to get a good BG in these shots. This turned out very nice.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice little owl.
I like the way is looking at the camera and the habitat feel.
Hoping to see this one on my next visit to Mexico.

[arash_hazeghi]

wow this is super!!!

[Robert Holguin]

Excellent shot. Love the pose and stare, excellent detail, and great flash work.Very well done.

[dankearl]

Really nice and it does seem like a fun adventure to go find them at night.
I assumed you found them by their call? Or did you know the location before hand?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Got to hand it to you Doug this is an excellent shot, the detail and exposure are excellent.

[Doug Brown]

Really nice and it does seem like a fun adventure to go find them at night.
I assumed you found them by their call? Or did you know the location before hand?

We had a rough idea of where to find them beforehand, but we found them by their call.

[Troy Lim]

For me it is rewarding to just find them, able to see them.
Photographing them is a big plus.
I like the inclusion of the surrounding. Nice shot.

[gail bisson]

well done Doug. Great flash work and great BG. I really like the placement of your owl and the composition,
Gail

[Karl Egressy]

It's a real beauty shot, Doug.
It would be nice to know the setting og the flash just in case if I ever encouter an owl at night.
Full power?

[Robert vanMierop]

Beautiful subject for starters and a nice use of flash. Looks like you met a challenge with great results.

[Doug Brown]

It's a real beauty shot, Doug.
It would be nice to know the setting og the flash just in case if I ever encouter an owl at night.
Full power?

Manual flash at full power Karl. No Beamer.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Doug, incredible shot. what a beautiful bird. Owls are just so cool. interesting composition that I like a lot. Well done.

[Doug Brown]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!