I’ve never before been able to get this many sharp images of a bird in flight in a single pass. Many of the photos have similar flight postures so for today’s post I thought I’d attempt something new and try to give the viewer a feeling for my experience with this Barn Owl as it approached from a distance (rather than feature just the “best” shots). Early images show the bird far away and include more habitat but as the owl gets closer many of them include only the owl and the background mountains and clouds.
These images are all presented in the sequence they were taken.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I photographed this Barn Owl two weeks ago at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as it hunted the phragmites edges near the road. I could see it hunting off to the west of me so I stopped my pickup on the road and just waited to see what would happen. The bird landed a time or two and then took off and headed my way. And it just kept on a-comin’!
This is the first shot I kept of the series, taken when the bird was still at quite a distance. The lower background is stands of phragmites and the upper background is a mix of clouds and the snow-covered and partially shaded Promontory Mountains.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Because it was hunting the owl was often looking down as it approached but for this presentation I’ve chosen images where it was looking up in my general direction.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I’ve also tried to choose images with a variety of wing positions but my choices were limited because the owl didn’t significantly alter its direction as it leisurely came my way.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
With the typical moth-like flight of an owl the elevation of the bird varied from shot to shot so I chose to crop this one vertically to include the anchoring phrags at bottom.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I’ve also chosen these images for their catch lights in the right eye. Obviously when the bird was looking down I had no light in the eye at all.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
I like the symmetry of this image (this is the only photo of these nine that I’ve posted earlier).
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
By now the owl was pretty close to me and I was pleasantly surprised by how few images had clipped or cut off wings. The relatively steady course of the bird in my direction certainly helped with that issue.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
In many of the images the owl was gliding which gave me only horizontal wing positions.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 800, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
This is the last shot in the series that I kept. The image is full frame and I was lucky that the owl tipped slightly so that I didn’t clip wings or get wing-tips too close to the frame edge. The bird came very close to my pickup and I remember breathlessly saying “Wow!” as it passed.
All in all I took a total of 65 images of this owl as it approached and kept 45 of them. Nearly all of the 65 were sharp or sharp enough and very few had clipped wings or body parts. I liked the backgrounds and even though the bird was slightly side-lit so the left eye was shaded I refuse to complain about the light angle. In my experience that’s a combination that almost never happens with a bird in flight and this time it was with a Barn Owl!
The photography gods were smiling on me that morning.
Ron
This series is so gorgeous I can look at them forever, Ron. Not bothered by the light angle at all, indeed I love it, its sweet light!
Breathtaking photos of a unique looking…almost magical creature. Very pleased for you that it flew right towards you. Well done and thanks for being out there and for sharing what you see 🙂
Really enjoyed this. I liked looking at the wing set and expression in each. Nice job.
Gorgeous creature!
Fantastic! This sequence would make a beautiful wall grouping. I love them all. Thank you.
Thanks, Debbie. One would need an awfully big wall (or very small images) to include all of them. Or in the alternative a few of them could be picked out, but then you’d have to choose…
Ron, Great pictures. It made me feel I was about to become prey.
I am interested in your picture “Male American Kestrel In Flight on December 8th, 2012” for use in our website and as a logo.
https://www.featheredphotography.com/blog/2012/12/08/male-american-kestrel-in-flight/
They are active in our park and we would like to use it for our logo.
Can we buy rights for our logo?
Thanks, Larry. I’ll be in contact with you via email. “Cindy” from your group has already contacted me about that image.
WOW!! It just can’t get any better than this! Sometimes things are just lined up exactly as they should be! What was your heart rate during that shoot? 🙂 Thanks for the amazing photos!
I’m not sure what my heart rate was while I was shooting, Jane, but it most certainly was elevated immediately after!
Complete bliss.
And green eyes are glowing on this side of the world.
Thank you. I will use these photos in my defence if my glowing eyes have me incarcerated as an undesirable alien.
I’m glad you liked them, EC. Thank you.
Well, I said “wow” at the first image, and repeated myself with each new screen. Very special, indeed.
Thanks very much, Wally.
I tried scrolling as fast as I could and it was almost like watching a movie or video. This is wonderful series!!! Flying right at you! And razor sharp focus! How lucky can you get!!! Hard tp pick a favorite, but keep going back to the last….sometimes patience, experience and opportunity really payoff….BIG!
Funny–I don’t think you look like a vole…wonder if that owl does……???
You can imagine what my “video” is like with 65 frames, Patty. Remember the old “flip-books”? It might be fun to make one of them out of all these images.
That’s what I was trying to do…a flip book…came close to working…..
That’s what I was trying to do…a flip book…came close to working…..try it (flip book)….
Evil iPad is at itvagain….
Wonderful sequence, Ron. The Barn Owl’s almost look unreal with their unusual appearance. Nature has to cooperate every now and again. 🙂
Thanks, Judy. That “now and again” doesn’t happen very often, especially with owls, so I appreciate the heck out it when it does.
Fabulous!
Thank you, Alison.