Burrowing Owls

Gallery: AvianPosted July 2, 20171,134 views10 comments

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)

Place: Gila Bend, AZ
Date: August 20, 2016, 8:37 am
Equipment: Nikon D7200, AF-S Nikkor 300 f/2.8 D ED-IF plus TC-20E III (2x), bean bag on window
Exposure: ISO 800, Aperture priority spot metered, 1/640th @ f/8
Raw, PS CC 2017 on Mac, cropped to 81% of full frame

I’m finally starting to make progress on cleaning up lots of unedited/unprocessed images from my backlog. These Burrowing Owls were outside their nest burrow along the edge of a canal on a large farm I think I’ll go back again this year and spend more time with any that I find there.

Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated. If possible please view the large version before commenting.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Peter J. Morrissey on July 2, 2017 at 2:26 PM

Hi Richard
Nice work and thank you for bring these two Owls to us. They do not look happy with you.
Peter

Registered on July 3, 2011, 188 Posts, 969 Comments

Comment posted by Don Young on July 2, 2017 at 3:49 PM

Whoa, I don't think I would mess with either of these critters. Great shot with excellent detail in the eyes and face. Also has a good DOF showing the stones at their feet.

Registered on April 23, 2015, 56 Posts, 224 Comments

Comment posted by Skip Layman on July 2, 2017 at 4:15 PM

They always seem to have a pissed off look about them. This is a well done shot of the pair of them.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 558 Posts, 1704 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on July 2, 2017 at 5:00 PM

Gila Bend, eh? enlightened

I like the fact that you captured the burrow along with the owls. This is a nice angle, and the red dirt is a good color as backdrop. Yeah, they hardly ever look happy. Well done, Rich. devil

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on July 2, 2017 at 6:22 PM

f/8 worked perfectly to keep both of these owls nice and sharp, Richard. I like the in focus foreground and the dark entrance makes a great bg. If I had these handy, I'd certainly be going back.

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

Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on July 2, 2017 at 8:10 PM

Wow, what a nice find and capture, Richard! I have yet to have an owl to pose for me! I like how the background just seems to frame them up nicely. If I was to anything, and I don't think it is a must, but I found my eye wanting to leave the subjects and go to the bottom of the photo to that one little feather on the edge of the frame, so I might would either clone it out, or move the crop so that the whole feather is in the frame, and not on the the edge. Might just be me, but I thought I would mention it just in case. I am jealous though, that you got two at once, and I am still waiting for a chance to capture a shot of one! I know I would sure be going back if it were nearby!

Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on July 2, 2017 at 8:45 PM

Rich, this is way cool! The eye contact and poses are great. They look like security guards. Fun stuff devil

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

Comment posted by David Schoen on July 3, 2017 at 1:57 PM

A very nice image Richard. I like the way the two owls are just standing there posing for you in their habitat. Of always wanted to see something like this but it's always been too far from the road. Really well done.

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 3, 2017 at 2:33 PM

That's certainly a nice image to find in your post-processing stack. Excellent, Rich. Great composition, light and pose.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on July 4, 2017 at 1:24 PM

The one think I absolutely love about these owls is their attitude, which you captured brilliantly here. Great habitat AND behavioral image. I'd plan on a revisit soon! Nice work Rich.

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