Due to my recent surgery I hadn’t been out shooting for over two weeks but when I saw there was a possibility for decent light yesterday morning I decided to give it a go. If felt good to be “out there” again.
1/5000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I had chances at several Barn Owls in flight and this shot may have been my best result of the morning. One thing I really like about the image is the light angle on the face and eye. The morning sun was just over my right shoulder which was just about perfect to get good light on that deeply set eye and it resulted in a nice catch light. Because their eyes are so deeply set Barn Owls are my most difficult avian subject when it comes to getting catch lights, especially in flight.
I sure messed up on a bunch of Barn Owl flight shots though. My mobility is still limited, I can’t yet turn at the angles in my pickup that I used to and mild to moderate pain is a constant reminder when I try to push my limits. For now the “T” in my forbidden BLT sandwiches (bending, lifting and twisting) is my primary limiting factor for bird photography, particularly with flight shots.
It had been long enough since I’d been in the field I could tell my flight shot skills were already a little rusty. It’s surprising how quickly that kind of thing can leave us.
Ron
On an unrelated note:
Last night my sleep was rudely interrupted by a mild but sharp earthquake. I went from sleep to wide awake in an instant at 2:30 AM according to my bedside clock but when I looked the quake up later in the morning the USGS site said it occurred at 2:31 and was 3.1 on the Richter Scale. The sharp tremors only lasted for about two seconds but they sure got my attention (I never slept after that). The only sound I heard was a squeaking sound coming from the direction of my bedroom window but it was still an eerie experience.
For the past week or so there’s been a swarm of over 100 earthquakes in the Bluffdale area about 15 miles south of my home. USGS says this was another one in that swarm but it’s the first one I’ve felt.
The Wasatch Fault here in northern Utah is long overdue for “The Big One”. I hope I’m gone before it happens.
Darn Great Shot Ron! What did you expect to do after surgery fly like the birds! I think you should be very pleased with your efforts. You might want to consider taking some mile pain killers before arriving on the scene.
Charlotte
NO TWISTING! Bacon and lettuce sandwiches only (besides, tomatoes are yucky right now). 😉 Still glad you got out for a little while — have Mia clean your windshield and you can shoot through that, right? 😉
Glad the only thing damaged in the EQ was your sleep. I live next to the Newport-Inglewood fault (1933). These little tremors are always reminders for us to check and update our EQ/emergency kits — home and car — if we haven’t done so in a while.
What I love most about this image is that the bird seems to be lofting – I feel the air under the wings and the lift! Nice!
Thank you, Sallie.
Here’s hoping your back heals faster than expected so you can get back to putting yourself into a pretzel shape and getting that great photo.
That’s a great photo. I envy you for having barn owls around. They’re pretty rare in Missouri. In fact, the only barn owl I’ve seen was in Southern Illinois nesting in a crawlspace under the roof of a firehouse.
I never take Barn Owls for granted, Jack. I feel privileged to have opportunities with them. Thank you.
In addition to the bird’s posture & light, I love the fact that the angle of your shot was just right, and it appears the bird was flying at a low altitude? I could only wish I’d catch them in flight let alone half as nice as this one.
Yes, It was flying quite low as they usually do. Thanks, Elmer.
Dear Mr. Bird Photographer(aka Pretzel Man),
Do you REALLY want to go through this back stuff again? Twisting your stubborn self into a pretzel to take that “not to be missed”, “special lighting”, “great background”, “one of a kind”,
etc., etc., etc., shot??? Huh? Huh? Huh?” REALLY????(I KNEW you weren’t to be trusted…you’re no smarter than my sister!!!)…Did you drive down bumpy roads, too??? Jeeeeeez!!!
And kick my butt you did… 🙂
Our middle daughter lives off the grid in petrolis, in northern CA, where a couple of faults intersect…between potential quakes and wildfires,makes us pretty nervous…As for you, I KNEW you’d get antsy and be out shooting as soon as you could!!! BARN OWL image is a beauty, though….
I thought of you when I did some very minor twisting yesterday, Patty. Figured you’d kick my butt…
👎🏻😡 🙊
Fantastic shot of the Owl. It looks like it was peeking at you. We’re overdue for the big one as well. We’re right by the San Andres Fault Line. I too hope I won’t be around. I experienced the Sylmar Earthquake back in ’71. Almost threw me out of my bed, and I lived 6 miles from the center. My heart was pumping good that morning.
I’ll bet it was, Jean. I had an aunt and uncle living in Northridge for that quake. Their stories were similar and they had a lot of damage to their home.
Hi Ron. So glad you didn’t get the big one.
It must have been wonderful to be out in the field again even without the ‘T’.
I’m in Botswana and had my camera with my long lens stolen last week. It really pisses me off when I see a good bird or animal.
Keep on that recovery trail, my friend.
I sent a message yesterday on your eagle post but I dont think it made it to you.
Thanks, Judy. Sorry about your camera and lens. I’ve often had nightmares about that.
Sorry, I don’t see anything rusty about this photo. Methinks your photography muscles, at least, are in great shape.
I lived 10 miles from the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta 6.9 quake. Like you, I’d prefer to avoid the big one.
If only they made a swivel seat for your truck….
Lyle, my batting average wasn’t a good one yesterday, but I did hit a double and this was it.
I’ve often wished for a swivel seat that elevated me through an opening in my roof…
Wonderful capture. Lovely light in the eye. I wondered if you have been seeing all the barn owl posts in forums and going stir crazy at home! Sometimes getting out is the best medicine. I am worried about all the owls hunting in the day. When I have walked the dikes I am not seeing as many voles as I did in December.
I was dying to go yesterday afternoon after the storm cleared the light was golden. This morning looked great also, but I have a head cold lodged in my ears and sinuses giving me some vertigo and I don’t feel comfortable driving much. Maybe this afternoon I can roam the Salt Lake Cemetery. It’s a good birding location.
Yup, I’ve been seeing those posts, April. And it did make me a little nuts.
I wish you luck with your cold. I haven’t had one since I retired from the classroom 14 years ago. I’m very grateful!
Glad you could get out and enjoy some fresh air and catch a bird or two in flight. It just something we all need to take time in recovering. Have a good weekend.
Thanks, Trudy.
Welcome back, mister! Great photo.
Thank you, Art.
Wow! Amazing photo of a Barn Owl. Didn’t you say a while back that photographing a BO was a rarity? I am so glad you are able to get back in the field. Take it easy. And as for the earthquakes, I hope “big one” is decades away but keep your shoes handy.
Nancy, in most areas of the country finding Barn Owls flying in daylight is a rarity. But around here in February it’s fairly common.
High quality shot, whether you had limited mobility or perfect mobility! You haven’t lost your touch, even though it may feel rusty and your movements impeded. Do take care. We want long term recovery for you so we can read your blog, not a few painfully gained shots and then nothing. Actually, we want long term recovery primarily because we don’t want you in pain, but there is also the selfish aspect.
I’ve been reading about your earthquakes in the news for a while. Is someone “greasing the fault?” You may we’ll be aware of the hundreds of small earthquakes in Denver back in the late 60s because those “cleaning up” the Arsenal were injecting chemicals deep into the ground to “get rid of them” at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (now RMA National Wildlife Area). Of course, the officials didn’t want to take responsibility for a long time. But then the earthquakes stopped when the injections stopped. We’ll never know whether they postponed “the big one” or made it closer.
Thank you, Nancy.
I’m unaware of any “greasing” being done around here but who knows what outfits like Kennecott are doing.
Spectacular, Ron! What a great “first bird” for your return to the field! I hope your recovery continues without any setbacks.
I’m still not in the clear but I’m hopeful, Diane.
I’m so happy for you that you’ve been able to get “out”–now your SPIRIT can begin to heal– in my experience, that will give a big boost to your physical healing !
I think you’re right about that, Kris. Thanks.
Gorgeous reward for “getting out there” a bit! Getting the catchlight in the eye with it being so deeply set is huge bonus! I was thinking about the “T” part of “don’t do” for you when it first came up knowing you photograph from the truck…. 😉 Doesn’t take long for skills to get rusty! 🙁 Sometime in the last year I was awoken by a quake in Lincoln – quite aways from here – by an upset dog and glassware rattling on top of a cabinet – it is unnerving! That being said I have a sister living in Eagle River, AK – the aftershocks of 3. something and more still going on!
Yes, twisting is the part of the “sandwich” I have to be most careful with, Judy – while photographing but many other times too. I have one of those “arm extensions” (I call it my grabber) for picking things up off the floor or ground that prevents me from bending over most of the time. It’s funny (not) how I’ve become more butterfingered than usual and drop things more often than I used to…
The joys of aging…….. 🙁 On that note I haven’t noticed Dick Harlow out here lately……?
Judy, Dick’s been having computer problems that make it impossible for him to access my site.
Several other long-time readers (or their family members) have been having health problems so they haven’t been active here lately either.
Thx – Miss Dick’s comments and all who have been “regulars”……..
If you don’t mind, I will post the Wikipedia quote on the other blog. There are several asking.
Go for it, Frank.
Ron, I participate in a photography blog that this am showed a photo of a black vulture grooming (?) a crested caracara. Have you ever heard of this type of behavior among species. If you like, I can send you the link. I found the behavior really unusual, but considering you are a much better ornithologist than me, just thought I would ask.
Frank, it’s my understanding that it’s pretty unusual but it does happen. This from Wikipedia (allopreening is birds within the same species preening each other):
“In most cases, allopreening involves members of the same species, although some cases of interspecific allopreening are known; the vast majority of these involve icterids, though at least one instance of mutual grooming between a black vulture and a crested caracara has been documented.”
It sounds like they mention the same example you do.
Frank I can ask my daughter, Haley, too. She has experience at aviaries and zoos and is currently taking a ornithology class at the U with CAGAN H SEKERCIOGLU. I know aviaries and zoos are a different habitat but most of the caretakers have vast avian experience in the wild too.
Ron I hate side tracking your posts. Frank if I get any info on allopreening can I send it to an e-mail? Mine is april.olson@hotmail.com
No problem, April. You’re not side tracking at all.
Nice that you are out and about a bit, although a bit stiff. Getting time for physical therapy to move things along a bit?, under your Doc’s advise of course. And a nice reward for your first outing. I didn’t realize you spent some time in S. Cal. Me, my whole life, but now, nice to be out.
Frank, my first follow-up appointment with my surgeon is Wed of next week. I imagine my PT regimen will begin then.
Yes, I spent quite a bit of time S. Cal. During grade school and jr. high my family lived in Poway and Escondido during the winter months and would return to the MT farm during the growing season. I also went to Palomar Jr. College during my sophomore year.
Congratulations! That is one beautiful shot! That face is ‘tack sharp’! Who would ever think that very small dot of light would illuminate the entire bird but it sure does. I really like the angle seeing both sides of the wings together like that. It is a good thing you get those ‘twinges of pain’ with overturning at this point in the healing process. One could really over-turn early on getting shots like this from inside a vehicle. I can’t imagine the feeling of having an earthquake as my alarm clock. Don’t think I’d fall back asleep either…
Thanks, Kathy. I have to keep reminding myself that in this case pain is a good thing – a reminder you can’t ignore that you’re beginning to push things a little too far, too fast.
That quake reminded me of the years I lived in southern CA. We had them often and mostly just ignored them.
Lovely photo. I am glad you were able to get out and enjoy your passion.
Thanks, Zaph.