Barred Owl at dusk: Double Inspiration

Posted by ajhand on Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:46 am

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Paul Fusco and I were shooting this owl at dusk the other day, and I was knocking off my usual tight-cropped verticals. At one point I started "chimping" over Paul's shoulder and noticed some interesting, looser horizontal frames he had captured. They reminded me of a style used by Robert Bateman in several paintings in his book, Birds: Moody, lots of habitat, with the subject way over to one side, facing the "wrong" way. So I took off my 1.4X TC, backed off a few steps, and got this.
Thanks to Paul and Robert Batman for the inspiration.

Canon 1DII, 500, ISO 400, 1/25 f/5.6, Evaluative AV minus 1/3

aj

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ajhand
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by Jim Zipp on Fri Jan 14, 2005 10:57 am

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Works for me aj. This guy is cool!

Jim Zipp
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by Jim Roetzel on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:12 am

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Leave in the habitat...with all the guys with huge glass now (as opposed to 10 years ago)
filling the frame has become the easy shot...using habitat effectively is typically more challenging

I like it ... moody as all get out

Jim

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by Alan Murphy on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:14 am

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I too like the mood of this too. Very sharp for 1/25. You didn't mention flash, although it looks like some blue in the eye, which I would tone down.

Alan Murphy
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by Laura Stiefel on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:19 am

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Hi A.J.,

I love images that include habitat well as you have done here. Large in the frame images with tons of detail are great also but every once in a while something a little different, like this- makes me stop and catch my breath.

Alan mentioned my only nit.

Laura Stiefel
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by whf4 on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:28 am

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Hi,

I really like this! I love how the owl is sort of pale and ghostly

this is the kind of image I would liek to make....

4 down, 2 to go.

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by ajhand on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:42 am

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Alan Murphy wrote:I too like the mood of this too. Very sharp for 1/25. You didn't mention flash, although it looks like some blue in the eye, which I would tone down.

Allan:

I forgot to charge my flash up so I didn't have it for this shot. The eyes are picking up bits of sky which gives them this steel-eye look. It is more pronounced in the jpeg than it is in the full TIFF.

aj

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by Terence P. Brashear on Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:50 am

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This is wonderful. Very well done.

Terry

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by Nick Dunlop on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:04 pm

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I love the oof background, it gives the image an owl like mood....nice shot!

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by fredcor on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:07 pm

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Very nice including some of the surroundings, definately improves an image.

Frederick Lat Correa

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by Tom Bentley on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:18 pm

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I really like this composition. A species I have never seen. Would like to have this in my files.

[b]Comments welcomed!!

Tom Bentley
Schaumburg, IL

Website all new!!!
http://www.thomasbentley.com[/b]

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by Jim Neiger on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:29 pm

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Great shot, AJ! I like it a lot.

[b]Jim Neiger - [url=http://www.flightschoolphotography.com]Flight School Photography[/b][/url]
[b]Kissimmee, Florida[/b]

[url=http://www.flightschoolphotography.com/FSP%20Current%20Workshops.htm][b]Flight School Photography Workshops[/b][/url]

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by Alan Melle on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:44 pm

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Very nice! A handsome bird.

Alan Melle
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by Rob Palmer on Fri Jan 14, 2005 12:48 pm

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Really cool. Great use of environment. I agree with the Bateman reference for this image.

Rob Palmer
[url]http://www.falconphotos.com/gallery/7385039_qUuth#!i=774854059&k=Uuoef[/url]

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by Paul Fusco on Fri Jan 14, 2005 1:49 pm

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AJ -

Lookin'good!
Bateman would be inspired!

Also, the left side is perfect for a block of text in a double page spread.

- Paul

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by Michael Dossett on Fri Jan 14, 2005 2:38 pm

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Gorgeous shot AJ. Definately works for me. I was scrolling through thumbnails and this one jumped out at me.

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by Chris Kayler on Fri Jan 14, 2005 3:03 pm

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Works for me. Great shot AJ!

www.chriskayler.com

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by john on Fri Jan 14, 2005 3:19 pm

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Very nice. Works great and the owl really stand out.

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by Daniel M. on Fri Jan 14, 2005 4:06 pm

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Very nice shot.. I think the fact that the background is sort of foggy and the foreground is contrasty and sharp adds to the mood this image has.
thank you all for the inspiration... should we call this a triple inspiration

Daniel Mendez
"Nature and Revelation alike testify of God's love"
-E.G. White

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by Richard Ditch on Fri Jan 14, 2005 4:22 pm

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I seldom comment here, but this image demands it. I love everything about it. It is a style I've been championing for a long time, and Bateman is the perfect comparison for it.

Habitat is such an important part of the lives of these birds and for me is a large part of the enjoyment of seeing them. Tight cropping has its place, but I much prefer seeing a bird as part of the larger world they and we occupy.

You've really captured the mood of this bird, this place, and this time of evening.

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