Front yard Barred, Elvis has left the building


Posted by ajhand on Tue Nov 25, 2003 4:28 pm

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Well, as my birding expert friends predicted, the barred owl that had been roosting in my yard has moved on after a week's visit. I took a couple quick pictures of him the day he arrived, then left him alone, hoping to make him so comfortable he would stay. The local crows and jays were not quite so hospitable, however, and started mobbing him on a regular basis.
Four days ago, a "murder" of crows chased him out of his roost, and he ended up on top of this broken-off red maple. I figured I had better take advantage of the photo op while I still had a chance. I saw him once more the next day, but as the raven quoth, "nevermore".

Canon 1D 500 f/4 w/2x, ISO 250, 1/125 @ f/8, 550 BB +1/3

aj

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by RichardMittleman/Gon2Foto on Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:33 pm
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Very nice composition exposure and dof
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by AlexC on Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:40 pm
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Excellent exposure and lovely soft colored BG, Excellent compromise all around, Very nice indeed!!! Congrats!!! 8)
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by Doug Rodda on Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:56 pm
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Real nice shot AJ.
 

by Laura Stiefel on Tue Nov 25, 2003 5:59 pm
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The bird is rendered so nicely and I like the perch here. I would love to see this with a more uniformly colored background but I think this is really nice as is!
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by Sandy Mossberg on Tue Nov 25, 2003 6:10 pm
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An excellent shot, AJ. The BG is slightly distracting, but not enough to diminish the image.
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by George DeCamp on Tue Nov 25, 2003 6:13 pm
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I like this a bunch! The bird is sharp as a tack and well positioned in the frame. Nice spot he is sitting in, old tree, the weakest spot is the BG but that's not too shabby either...excellent image! :shock:


Last edited by George DeCamp on Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 

by Jim Urbach on Tue Nov 25, 2003 6:42 pm
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AJ,

Good looking owl. I probably would have underexposed more to darken the BG which is distracting to me.

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by BrianS on Tue Nov 25, 2003 6:47 pm
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I agree with Sandy on the BG but other than that you've got a gorgeous catch.
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by Bill Whala on Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:24 pm
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Absolutely gorgeous pose and composition. I agree with the others about the bg but this is still an excellent photo. :)
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by Scott Allen on Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:29 pm
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Nicely done. The fill flash really gave you a good catch light in the eyes.
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Great light and shooting to you all!

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by Jim Zipp on Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:45 pm
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aj, This version looks great!
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by E.J. Peiker on Tue Nov 25, 2003 7:57 pm
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This is excellent and a great lesson for flash as main light photography. By doing that you kept the background in check where if you would have done a fill flash shot, the exposure would have had to be much longer resulting in blowing out the sky. I am wondering why +1/3 though - I think 0 or -1/3 would have made it look less flashed.
 

by ajhand on Tue Nov 25, 2003 9:59 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:. I am wondering why +1/3 though - I think 0 or -1/3 would have made it look less flashed.
EJ: I made several exposures of the bird at 0 flash comp, and though I thought the sky was about the right value, the owl and stump...which were in full shade...seemed too dark on my camera display. That's why I raised it up to +1/3.

For those who want a cleaner background, I have one with a plain blue sky (had to clone out a couple small sticks) but to me it looks kind of boring and phoney, and not really very typical of the way you normally see these forest birds. I could post it if anyone cares to take a look.

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by Jill on Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:10 pm
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Dang, aj. I was so hoping the owl would remain in your yard. Love this image and the perch is glorious!!! I'd gladly look at lots more of him!!!
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by ajhand on Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:33 pm
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Jill:

Here's that blue sky version. Just seems too sterile for my tastes.

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by Jill on Tue Nov 25, 2003 10:51 pm
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aj, I agree with you. Definitely adore the initial post best !!! :D :D
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by Andrew Mc on Wed Nov 26, 2003 12:46 am
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Lovely - the background complements the bird nicely here, without being too distracting.
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by Bob Ettinger on Wed Nov 26, 2003 11:30 am
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AJ,

Sorry to hear that he left but happy that you got the image. I agree about the blue sky version being too sterile.
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by Fero on Wed Nov 26, 2003 1:34 pm
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Great photo, no red-eye problem?
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