Tawny Owl

[William Dickson]

• Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 16.0.1 (Macintosh)

Canon R6
f/2.8 70-200mm Mk2 at 200mm
f/6.3
1/200
ISO 800

I was at the set up a couple of days ago to photograph Pine Marten during the hours of darkness. I had 3 LED lights set up, and a remote flash. After waiting a while, there was still no show from the Pine Martens. A few rats were scurrying about on the ground, picking up seeds which had fallen from the feeders. Then, I saw a Tawny Owl flying in towards me and perched on a nearby tree. I managed to get locked on, the Owl was in the low light, but too far for a decent shot. Waited for about 10 mins, maybe the Owl was watching the rats. Anyhoo I got lucky, the bird took off, flew towards me, and over the top of the hide. I managed 7 keepers, all in a different flight pose, so was more than happy. Gimbal Head. ACR and PS.

Will

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Why such slow SS Will? What caused the lines through the wing tips and truncated tip on the RH wing as viewed?

Steve

 

[William Dickson]

Hi Steve. It wouldn't matter what SS I was at, not much anyway, as it is dictated by the flash unit. This could easily have been 1/5000 .. Re the wing tips. The line is black feathers, the far left one is blowing upwards and the one next to it is folded over.

Will

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Yep, forgot it was linked to the flash, you could have gone to f/7.1 at 1/250, but…. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Colin Driscoll]

Very nice Will, worth the wait.

 

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Really nicely done, Will.
While it's obvious a flash had to be used, to me this does not have the bright flashed look, which is great.
What settings/power was your flash at?
Colors and details look excellent. I don't know what perceptible difference f7.1 and 1/250th would've made.

Also, did you use AED? Very encouraging that auto-focus works in such low light.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Did, it’s my default setting.

Will, how does flash affect the subject? Although you can see them in the trees during the day and they may look at you, but as night hunters in pitch darkness, with the flash going off how does it affect them?

 

[William Dickson]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. Hi Sid. I left the flash at the default setting. AED was used. The flash unit was fixed towards a nearby tree trunk where the Pine Marten usually shows up, and not directed towards the Owl, this is probably why it never showed a flashed look. Hi Steve. As I said I was set up for the Pine Marten, and wasn't expecting the Owl. I know from past sessions with the Pine Marten, the flash didn't appear to affect them, as they looked quite relaxed and and I took over 50 shots. Not sure if it would affect the Owl. According to a mate of mine, who uses flash with Owls, said they return on different nights, so it don't seem to deter them. When the Owl perched, I took a couple of flashed shots, the bird remained on the perch, and when it took off towards me, I was photographing it continuously, I think anyone would, given the circumstances.

Will

 

[Jack Backs]

Very nice, hard to believe 1/200 sec. Well done.

 

[Dorian Anderson]

Working at the speed light -- versus the speed of the shutter -- was the way to go on this image; it's fantastic! Exposure and details are great, and I hardly noticed the shadow on the bird's left wing tips because my attention goes straight to the face and feet. Bravo!

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

For me tickety boo - no reservations super shot. I am not a fan of night shots but the exposure and colours on the face in particular really hold my attention.

 

[William Dickson]

Thanks for that guys, appreciated.

Will

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Will ... superb owl shot at night .
Not a fan of these flash shots in general , but the pose is priceless .
All does look good technically , I would also raise the question ( like Steve ) of using the flash with owls .

BTW the camera does dictate the sync speed ... unless you go with high speed sync , as far as I know.

TFS Andreas