Burrowing Owl

Gallery: AvianPosted August 15, 2010395 views30 comments

Athene cunicularia

Taken in Utah on August 13th. We found a family of burrowing owls and I counted at least 7 birds, there may have been one more. This juvenile was perched on the dark twig that is on the left side of the frame when without warning the owl took flight. I took three shots and clipped two.

Burrowing Owls take off and fly very fast, I probably would have needed 1/3000 to get the wings without motion blur.

D200, lens resting on pickup window, f7.1, 1/1500, ISO 400, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, aperture priority, auto WB, 0 ev compensation, early morning light, 59% of original image, not baited. Larger version provided.

I sincerely appreciate your comments & critiques, thank you for looking.

Comments

30 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on August 15, 2010 at 10:10 PM

I like the concentrated look and angle of the bird. While the motion blur normally wouldn't bother me, I find it a bit distracting here only because it "clashes" with the vegetation. If it were a bit higher and free from the clutter I think it would work.

- Luke

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on August 15, 2010 at 10:20 PM

I'm just fine with it as posted, Mia. The look in that sharply defined owl's face is the characteristic that really makes this image outstanding when combined with your usual lovely exposure, details and color. I don't mind the motion blur at all.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Graham on August 15, 2010 at 10:47 PM

You capture the intensity very well, and the wing blur doesn't bother me

Registered on August 22, 2006, 842 Posts, 2824 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on August 15, 2010 at 11:20 PM

nice one, Mia! I agree with Steve, this shot is all about that look on the owl's face. He seems pretty intent on something. Motion blur in the wings here is a total non-issue for me. My initial reaction was to crop in a little closer, taking some off the left/bottom, but I tried covering up some sections and I think I prefer it as presented.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on August 16, 2010 at 2:21 AM

Very nice Mia-you managed to capture great eye contact and I like the down stroke wing position. The brush and twigs in the foreground offer a neat habitat shot. Very cool!

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by antino cervigni on August 16, 2010 at 4:47 AM

Very nice flight shot and details

Registered on April 17, 2010, 70 Posts, 202 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on August 16, 2010 at 4:50 AM

Mia,
that look makes the image! All the rest are minor details!
Mauro.

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on August 16, 2010 at 7:13 AM

Wing blur is fine IMO Mia. Love the intensity of the gaze and the shrubby setting

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on August 16, 2010 at 9:20 AM

I really like this shot. The focus on the eyes is spot on. I have compared this shot to to my Red-tail Hawk and now I have a standard to achieve. The contributors to this site set the bar that I hope to achieve.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on August 16, 2010 at 11:07 AM

Beautiful, Mia. Nice flight image and the hooded look to the eyes really adds intensity to the image. Great bg and included habitat. A bit of blur in the wings doesn't bother me at all.

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

Comment posted by Ingrid Vekemans on August 16, 2010 at 12:58 PM

I love it as is, the eye gets all the attention. Well done.

Registered on August 2, 2010, 138 Posts, 780 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on August 16, 2010 at 3:20 PM

Wonderfully composed image Mia. Great intensity, it really draws the viewer in. Well done.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on August 16, 2010 at 3:35 PM

Great capture Mia. I like the intense look on the face of the owl and really like the setting.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on August 16, 2010 at 3:55 PM

Very nice - a shot I'd love to have taken. My only decent flight shot was back in the days of film, and it happened so fast that the owl was way past center and almost out the other side of the frame.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on August 16, 2010 at 4:21 PM

Good wing position, and I like the intent look and background colours.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on August 16, 2010 at 5:25 PM

Super Cool Mia

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on August 16, 2010 at 5:34 PM

Fun shot, Mia. Looks like this one was a little miffed at you

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on August 16, 2010 at 10:29 PM

Wonderful Mia, the focus on that face, and the intense look on the face, are just terrific. Love the inclusion of the habitat right below the bird as well.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Matt Taylor on August 17, 2010 at 2:32 AM

Nice shot. Well timed and caught
Matt

Registered on July 31, 2010, 5 Posts, 91 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on August 17, 2010 at 4:59 AM

Very exceptional capture Mia, It's all working so beautifully, the Owl, branches and BG. Congrats!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on August 17, 2010 at 10:58 AM

The intense eyes make up for the tiny nits here.
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Satie Sharma on August 17, 2010 at 12:46 PM

Excellent composition including the habitat, Mia. I like the intent look of the owl. I feel the blurred wingtips make the image more dynamic. Great shot!

Registered on November 11, 2003, 189 Posts, 5335 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on August 17, 2010 at 11:07 PM

very nice. I would be thrilled with this!

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Ross on August 18, 2010 at 8:27 AM

Very nice Mia, great concentration on the owl and I quite like a touch of motion blur on the wingtips with the implied action it potrays.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2729 Comments

Comment posted by Axel Hildebrandt on August 18, 2010 at 11:20 AM

Great wing position, setting and BG. Maybe a tad more canvas on the right?

Registered on October 16, 2006, 66 Posts, 441 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on August 18, 2010 at 3:12 PM

Late to this one Mia, but wow what a shot. These guy are hard to get in flight as they rarely seem to fly. Love the overall color scheme and the great look at the intense face. Great BG and the FG vege really adds depth and anchors the image. I would love to have this in my files. Well done for sure.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on August 19, 2010 at 5:19 PM

Outstanding, Love everything about.....I think at times some of us get caught up in being to critical judging shots....we get what we get at times, for the, I will use the average person looking at the photos do not see or judge images like we do. They see it as it is, and what a great shot. For me, the overall impression of the bird in flight shows just how the wild side is and what a wild side nature has!!!!!!!!

I wish it was me posting this image ! My hat is off to you !

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on August 21, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Sweet take off shot Mia

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on August 21, 2010 at 7:11 PM

Mia, All the many hours we've spent shooting BO's together and I still don't have anything decent of one in flight. It's virtually impossible to anticipate their take off and it happens so very fast. So, huge kudos for getting this. I really like that wing position and love the background (that we know so well). Excellent!

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

Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on September 1, 2010 at 1:33 PM

A great flight shot

Geoff.

Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments