Hi all! Kind of a cool experience processing and posting this, as just as I finished the RAW conversion and was about to begin some adjustments in PhotoShop, a juvenile GHO began calling from one of the fence posts about 40ft from our home! So as I write this, there's a fair chance the owl in the picture is calling to its siblings! (Sorry, I'm easily amused by such things!)
In November my family and I moved to a peninsula acreage on a large reservoir in the grasslands below the Canadian Rockies here in SW Alberta. I had NO idea of the bird life that would be present come spring, as the lack of trees in the area had me concerned! Turns out the willows, other scrub and conifers we've planted, combined with having water on three sides of our home, more than made up for the lack of forest...we're overrun! You'd think with all 8 bluebird nesting boxes filled, an osprey pair raising their young in the pond 200yds behind us, and Great Horned Owls frequenting the place along with a plethora of song and meadow birds, I'd be posting daily around these parts! Sadly work responsibilities through the spring and early summer have kept me from taking full advantage of all the avian life around us, but I hope to correct that in the coming months.
This image is taken about a mile east of us after Josiah and I discovered 4 juvenile GHO's and their mom working the coulees one evening. While I prefer natural perches, I liked capturing this young owl in the only environment it has known thus far, with a distant field of canola adding colour in the meager dusk light.
I regret not taking my D600 along on this quick outing...I had decided to get acquainted with the D7100 I bought as a backup body and for my son Josiah to use (although I think it performed admirably given that the owls did not show up on this evening until well after the sun had set).
I hope you enjoy the scene! If we didn't donate about a quart of blood to mosquitoes every time we visited these guys this summer, Josiah and I would probably be out chasing them nightly.
Field Notes:
Nikon D7100
Nikkor AF-S 500mm f/4 IF-ED
ISO 1000
1/50sec @ f/4.5
tripod mounted with mirror up and cable release
focus fine-tuned via live view
Processing Notes:
Converted from RAW using Phase One Capture One Pro 7 with adjustments to colour balance, levels and minor rotation
Light adjustments to tone and contrast using Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and Viveza 2 in PS5
Noise reduction using Nik Dfine 2.0
cropped to app. 95% of original
Comments
12 commentsI agree with Keith to the extent the background is mildly problematic. A more severe crop might be the answer.
Keith and Phil - yeah, I know...the scene was complex enough I switched to a different angle and went to horizontal shortly after taking my initial few images showing the mountains and canola, but I still kind of liked the context so decided I'd get some feedback. I've found these kinds of images don't often appeal to other experienced photographers for the reasons given, but interestingly often sell decently within certain markets! I'll keep it in my files, and if I find an alternate, less distracting version to post later.
Phil - I know ALL too well about the destructive powers of DEET, thankfully not from learning a lesson with photo gear though! I always remind my kids about that when we are applying mosquito spray and we often carry wipes to clean our fingers and palms after application and before handling gear. Crazy stuff!
Thanks again for the suggestions...
Well done. Bill
Dennis - I know...drove me crazy deciding how to deal with that. In the end, I used the "follow this line" rotation tool (not the technical name of the tool, sorry)
Thanks again...
Your image has generated a lot of comment. The perspectives are interesting and I think everyone is right, from a point of view. Another way of thinking about this is that it is versatile. You can leave it as is and it is a very pleasing photo with lots of color and a story about the owl. You can appeal to the bird photography mavins and crop much of it out and turn it into a photo only of the owl. I like both ideas. Both work. This is a remarkable shot.