Posted by Kurt Bowman on August 1, 2014 at 9:34 PM
I posted most of this series in the Avian gallery, but I don't think many of the members on this forum make their way to that gallery very often since most do landscape work. So thought I would post it here also...sorry if this is repetitive for some.
I found this Red-winged Blackbird having a fit about a Burrowing Owl because he was sitting atop this perch. The blackbirds are pretty territorial, so I assume this was the main issue. He kept threatening the owl by performing fly-bys. The owl lost sight of the blackbird's location a couple of times and towards the end just seemed more disgusted and annoyed of the blackbirds antics...so he finally flew away.
Here are the images. BTW...it wasn't entirely possible to get enough DOF at 500mm...even if I stopped down to f/16 (was already stopped down to f/10)...to get both birds super sharp, so I kept critical focus on main subject (owl). I think they still work, but that is of course open for debate.
I am posting these in the order they occurred. I have a few more images of this, but haven't decided whether or not to process them yet.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on August 1, 2014 at 9:35 PM
#2
Posted by Kurt Bowman on August 1, 2014 at 9:35 PM
#3
Posted by Kurt Bowman on August 1, 2014 at 9:35 PM
#4
Posted by Kurt Bowman on August 1, 2014 at 9:35 PM
The visual interaction between the participants makes that first shot head and shoulders above the others. The others are wonderful also but the body posture of the rw blackbird in the others isn't as clear and dynamic. Great series, must have been truly entertaining to witness!
Posted by Scott Fricke on August 2, 2014 at 1:30 PM
Great series Kurt, better than each individually. I like the last one the best just for the timing and the wing positions. Well done as usual!
That is a terrific series Kurt, and congratulations on one of them getting the WP. My fav is perhaps #4 for the owl's priceless look, closely followed by #3.
Discussion
11 repliesI found this Red-winged Blackbird having a fit about a Burrowing Owl because he was sitting atop this perch. The blackbirds are pretty territorial, so I assume this was the main issue. He kept threatening the owl by performing fly-bys. The owl lost sight of the blackbird's location a couple of times and towards the end just seemed more disgusted and annoyed of the blackbirds antics...so he finally flew away.
Here are the images. BTW...it wasn't entirely possible to get enough DOF at 500mm...even if I stopped down to f/16 (was already stopped down to f/10)...to get both birds super sharp, so I kept critical focus on main subject (owl). I think they still work, but that is of course open for debate.
I am posting these in the order they occurred. I have a few more images of this, but haven't decided whether or not to process them yet.