Short Eared Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2010226 views13 comments

This past weekend consisted of frigid temps and a search for Harriers. Well, I came away with seeing some Harriers, but no photos of them worth keeping. They happened to chase off this Short Eared owl from their hunting grounds. Eight Harriers against one SEO just wasn't fair And add on to that, after the Harriers chased him, a pair of crows took chase.

The blackish area across the top is the from a coal powered electrical plant's plume of smoke. I may take it out at some point.

Canon 1ds 3
500 f4 with 1.4x extender

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 5, 2010 at 2:03 PM

Perfect positioning with the moon! I've yet to see one of these (though I'm aware of a "reliable" place to see them". It's a shame about all of the harassing birds for this poor owl, and to think us photogs get a bad rap.

As for the black, to me it adds to the photo, especially because owls often hunt at night (or for the SEO, dusk/dawn) and with the moon it really gives it a twilight look

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on January 5, 2010 at 2:25 PM

Amazing! I think SEO's are great fun and you did extremely well with this one. I'd be interested to learn your aperture/shutter speed. The black across the top adds to the mood, although I'm not so keen on the vignetting in the lower corners.

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on January 5, 2010 at 2:50 PM

This is a nice composition Mitch. Some birds do tend to pick on others more readily it seems.
I would work on eliminating the vignetting on the bottom left corner.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on January 5, 2010 at 6:30 PM

Very nice, Mitch and I like the inclusion and position of the moon here. Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on January 5, 2010 at 6:55 PM

Nice placement of the subject in the frame. I think the smoke acts as a sort of natural vignette that puts more focus on the owl and moon.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 5, 2010 at 7:54 PM

How cool is that! I like the peripheral darkening and the moon for the great mood it creates. A real beauty!!! Seeing a larger view would be nice.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Dubois on January 5, 2010 at 7:58 PM

Nice mood in this shot Mitch.

Registered on February 22, 2005, 129 Posts, 4739 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 5, 2010 at 10:42 PM

Neat composition, Mitch. The moon behind the owl really adds a nice touch. I like the gradient created by the smoke.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Twaddell on January 5, 2010 at 11:39 PM

Leave it alone. Its cool.

Registered on August 16, 2007, 199 Posts, 2132 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Danzenbaker on January 6, 2010 at 4:55 PM

It's a shame the dark areas come from an unnatural source, but I think thay add to the photo. In any case, I wouldn't dream of removing them.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 40 Posts, 791 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on January 6, 2010 at 8:49 PM

Agreeing with the others, great capture of the bird and moon. I also think the dark area adds to the photo.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on January 7, 2010 at 8:43 AM

An interesting composition Mitch. I esp like the light on the bird. Wish I knew more of your techs - how did you get both bird and moon sharp at 700mm?

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Sachin Sajnani on January 10, 2010 at 9:44 AM

Wow, the moon behind the owl makes this image something else altogether. I don't mind the black smoke at all.

Registered on December 31, 2008, 12 Posts, 90 Comments