Long-eared Owl


Posted by Brian L. Zwiebel on Sun Jan 18, 2004 9:30 am

All times are UTC-05:00

Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 11 posts | 
Image
© Brian L. Zwiebel

Another image from Killdeer Plains in north central Ohio, a relatively tame but wild bird. Several LEOWs continue to use the same tree, right next to the road, even after the power company topped the tree last year because it was growing into the power lines. The tree is referred to as a Cedar but I think it is actually a Juniper.

Many thanks to David Louis Flores for suggesting the head shot and for holding the flash well off axis for me. The perch was OK but there are some distracting elements in front of the tail (white wash) that make me prefer the tighter image.

Eos 1v, 500mm IS, 2x II, 550ex, Velvia F @ 200. Small crop, mostly from right and top to create a more interesting composition and a small clone job on the left edge of a slightly distracting Juniper leaf.

Thanks all for your comments and constructive suggestions.

BZ

Posted by:
Brian L. Zwiebel
Forum Contributor
Location: Oregon, OH USA
Posts: 2874
Joined: 26 Aug 2003

   

by Alan Murphy on Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:32 pm
User avatar
Alan Murphy
Lifetime Member
Posts: 27330
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: Houston, Texas
Member #:00014
Nice shot Brian. Good flash work.
Alan Murphy
NSN 0014
www.alanmurphyphotography.com
 

by AlexC on Sun Jan 18, 2004 1:45 pm
User avatar
AlexC
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5948
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Member #:00024
Oh boy!! Do I wish a date with her!!!!
Killer Owl!!, What a magnificent bird!!
I would have gone flash as main even more to darken the BG!!
Congrats!!! 8)
[b]Alex Calzadilla[/b]
[b]Miami, Florida[/b]
[b]NSN-0024[/b]
"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." - Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ
 

by Bill Whala on Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:39 pm
User avatar
Bill Whala
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5979
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: Littleton, Colorado
Love those ears and love those eyes. Flash work is excellent. A very wonderful image, IMO. :D
Bill Whala

"Aves of similar plumage tend to converge with one another"
 

by Laura Stiefel on Sun Jan 18, 2004 8:05 pm
User avatar
Laura Stiefel
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4184
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
Location: Northwest, Ohio
Member #:00229
Hey, I know that tree!

I'm amazed by this clear shot knowing first hand how tangled that tree is. I love the way the owl's eyelashes stand out and the perky long ears. Again I'm so jealous!

Did I tell you I was told a school bus knocks into this tree daily flushing the owls? These guys sure are tolerant!
Laura Stiefel
[b]NSN 0229[/b]
 

by Wayne Nicholas on Sun Jan 18, 2004 8:30 pm
User avatar
Wayne Nicholas
Forum Contributor
Posts: 5751
Joined: 21 Aug 2003
Location: Houston, TX USA
Member #:00046
You obviously made the best of a tricky situation. Great shot.
[b]Wayne Nicholas[/b]
[b]Nanpa Member[/b]
[url=http://www.naturescapes.net/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=25][b]Texas Regional Moderator[/b][/url]
[color=blue][url=http://www.NicholasNaturePhoto.com][b]NicholasNaturePhoto[/b][/color][/url]
[color=blue][url=http://waynenicholas.naturescapes.net][b]Naturescapes Portfolio[/b][/color][/url]
[b]NSN 0046[/b]
 

by Juan E. Bahamon on Sun Jan 18, 2004 8:36 pm
User avatar
Juan E. Bahamon
Lifetime Member
Posts: 5688
Joined: 22 Aug 2003
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Member #:00080
This is such a nice picture that begs for the background to be darkened in PS.
Juan E. Bahamon
www.birdsofcorpuschristi.com
www.juanbahamonhummingbirds.com
 

by Matt Cox on Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:29 pm
Matt Cox
Forum Contributor
Posts: 676
Joined: 15 Sep 2003
Location: Parker, Colorado
Nice shot in what sounds like a very tough situation -- definitely a cool bird capture well. If you could have used flash as main light here by underexposing the background, it may have made it even better.
Matt Cox
 

by Bruce DiVaccaro on Mon Jan 19, 2004 6:25 am
User avatar
Bruce DiVaccaro
Forum Contributor
Posts: 18925
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Location: Sheffield Village, Ohio
Brian,

Very nice shot. This illustrates the ears very well. Great work with the flash.
Bruce DiVaccaro
Sheffield Village, Ohio
NSN 135
 

by E.J. Peiker on Mon Jan 19, 2004 9:41 am
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 86761
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
What a cool bird. It looks just a bit contrasty here probably due to the pushed Velvia but you handled the bright background well.
 

by Brian L. Zwiebel on Mon Jan 19, 2004 7:59 pm
Brian L. Zwiebel
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2874
Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Location: Oregon, OH USA
Thanks all for the comments. I too wish I had tried shooting the BG a bit darker and using a bit more flash. I do however like the ligth and mottled BG as is too.

Darn thing about film is you don't see and think of these things till the film comes back, a month later. Big plus for you digital shooters.

The good news is, I will be back to Killdeer Plains at least a couple more times this winter and will likely find a LEOW in the same spot.

BZ
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
11 posts | 

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group