Yet another great gray owl flight !

Posted by Scott Fairbairn on Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:34 pm

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This owl was flying from perch to perch in an open field in light snow. The background is forest edge that is slightly shadowed by the heavy overcast sky. The bird is flying about 10 feet above the snow and it's reflecting so much light that his wing looks like it is lit by a flashlight. Ever since I saw Jim Zipp's owl in the snow, I keep hoping for nice big snowflakes, but I had to settle for little ones here. Taken in Orillia , Ontario. We counted about 20-25 owls over the day, a little bit shy of the confirmed 143 in that area!

(hopefully I haven't posted this within the 48 hour time as I just changed my profile time settings to the correct time...I hope!)

Canon 1D MII, 600IS, 1.4x, 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 640 , manual exposure

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by NDCheryl on Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:37 pm

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WOW. I love it. The light kicked up from the snow really adds nice illumination here. great detail. Thanks for sharing.

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by whf4 on Wed Jan 19, 2005 9:56 pm

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I love it. the sharness and detail are great especially considering the light.

4 down, 2 to go.

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by KK Hui on Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:00 pm

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A wonderful shot that desires a closer look ...
Would suggest a tighter crop if the image is full frame as is, Scott! :roll:

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by Ofer Levy on Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:15 pm

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Awesome shot!!

I would suggest to crop it so the bird will be more to the right and higher in the frame.

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by Mike Wilson on Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:39 pm

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Beautiful image. Tighter would be cool to see also for some more detail if possible. Very nice as is.

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by Christopher Dodds on Wed Jan 19, 2005 10:45 pm

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So sweet, Scott. Great sharpness on the face and great wing position too.
Love the soft feel to this image (with a sharp bird).
Congrats.

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by Scott Fairbairn on Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:55 pm

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I forgot to mention in my post that I cropped 10-20% off(and PS levels, curves and such, but no cloning) , I thought about cropping it tighter, but I liked the memory of watching this bird fly across the field with the forest wall behind it. It flew from a tree on the forest edge and crossed in front of me. I started shooting, and as I was shooting I was mumbling to myself, "c'mon look this way!", and I got this one frame with decent wing position and a look. The rest of the shots, the bird is turned so that you only see one eye.

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by Heather Forcier on Thu Jan 20, 2005 1:12 am

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Great! Love the subtle lines in the background and the falling snow. Of course the gorgeous owl with the fantastic eyes is pretty great too! Nice catch!

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by Kim Steininger on Thu Jan 20, 2005 5:18 am

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Excellent catch Scott! Would also like a tighter crop but like as is too!

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by Jim Zipp on Thu Jan 20, 2005 6:56 am

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I'll disagree with most in liking it like this with no further crop. I like the fact that is shows where the bird is and the habitat around him. Nice shot.

Jim Zipp
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by Jim Roetzel on Thu Jan 20, 2005 8:36 am

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Nice Shot

what Jim Zipp said

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by Alan Murphy on Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:17 am

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I wouldn't change a thing. This is awesome.

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by Mike Danzenbaker on Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:26 am

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I also prefer this as is; looks great!

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by fredcor on Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:47 am

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Marvelous Scott, with a fantastic look to the camera. Just a bit more of a crop as KK suggested.

I remember you from Cranberry Marsh the day we were shooting the Golden-crowned. It is the same Scott I presume? About time you posted some images. The Birders at Cranberry are really giving the photogs are hard time, even the carefull ones.

Frederick Lat Correa

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by Dan Wolin on Thu Jan 20, 2005 11:56 am

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I like this how it is presented. A close crop would be nice as well but I like it as is

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by Scott Fairbairn on Thu Jan 20, 2005 12:17 pm

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Yes, Lat, it is the same Scott. Yes, the change in manner that happens when they see your camera instead of binoculars is quite disturbing. I have been standing photographing the owls when they have been in the middle of a field, the bird moves and lands 15 feet away and the birders start telling me I am disturbing the owl! All you can do is just try not to offend them too much as the birds for the most part don't seem to care(within reason of course).