Barn owl at sunset

KentYeti · #1 (**permalink**) 06-03-2011, 08:20 PM

This was taken at the end of my first week of bird photography.

I thought it was a rubbish shot, and only casually mentioned it to someone tonight on Sheppey whilst waiting for the barn owl to turn up again. It did, but there was no sunset as such tonight.

I mentioned it in the context of the shot I would have liked to have taken! I.e at the very least with the owl flying towards me so you can see it's face. And better still flying at me straight out of the centre of the rather dull orb of the setting sun.

I'd actually wiped the shot off my camera SD card and deleted it from my PC. I only got it back tonight as it was still in the recycle bin. But the comment from the guy tonight when I decribed it to me made me think I should at least post it here for some down to earth home truths about it!

Two versions. As taken And with the fence etc taken out.

I'm itching to stick it back in the recycle bin of my PC and keep going back to Sheppey until I get a decent shot of an owl at sunset.

Tricia · #2 (**permalink**) 06-03-2011, 08:40 PM

Actually, I like the first one. I certainly would not bin it! It has great atmosphere. I would want to crop it so that there is less space above the sunset.

Dogghound · #3 (**permalink**) 06-03-2011, 08:57 PM

I like the first too, the bottom one looks unnatural, these birds are rarely seen high above the ground.

David Hyde · #4 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 03:33 AM

I prefer to first one too. From a composition point of view I think the fence adds greatly to the picture. However, to be honest, there is a bit too much empty space. With the sky being plain it is possible to move the sun nearer to the owl and, by using a vertical crop much of the 'emptiness' especially to the left and right can be removed, resulting in a much tighter image.
I took the liberty of re-working your thumbnail pic as above, of course you may not agree.
Good shot, all the elements are there, I would certainly play around with this one. Regards, David

Tricia · #5 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 12:57 PM

Oh! I can't work out how to post the crop I did!

Never mind, very much like David's except I left two fence posts in the picture so the owl and moon are over to the right more.

This is the only way I could find to do it - I will delete it from my images once you have seen it.

JeffH · #6 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 01:17 PM

I agree - this shot has some potential.

It's a pity we can't see more of the bird's head and it isn't a bit sharper but it's a very atmospheric image and I agree that a portrait crop with the sun on the top right (and with one or two fence posts) is better compositionally.

I seem to recall that a recent winner of the Birdguides 'photo of the week' also showed a Barn Owl with the setting sun in the background so you're certainly heading in the right direction

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

KentYeti · #7 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 08:26 PM

Thanks one and all for the comments. I'll keep the photo and crop etc as suggested.

It was the lack of the owls head in view etc that made me want to delete it in the first place! LOL!

I was back at Capel Fleet tonight. And this is the sunset I wanted with an owl in the middle of it. But the Barn Owl didn't turn up!

There were two of us there waiting and hoping..............

Two short eared owls did appear, but not in their "normal" pattern of the last ten days. They didn't both appear until way after sunset.

So, it's back there tomorrow night to try again for that magic shot. Could be a few years before I get it!

glsammy · #8 (**permalink**) 07-03-2011, 08:33 PM

Quote:

So, it's back there tomorrow night to try again for that magic shot. Could be a few years before I get it!

Don't give up. I've been looking for barn owls for five years and still not spotted one!

KentYeti · #9 (**permalink**) 08-03-2011, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glsammy

Don't give up. I've been looking for barn owls for five years and still not spotted one!

You can see a barn owl on Sheppey in or near the RSPB reserve most evenings. Well I have since I started birding two weeks ago! One of three that live locally according to the notes at the RSPB centre.

It's just a matter of persuading it to be in the right place at the right time.

Here barny, here barny..... LOL!

And it does fly at sunset where I took that sunset shot last night. Part of it's patch so as to speak.

Although it does need to take care. One day in the last week it flew up the Hartey Ferry road just after sunset, almost being hit by two moving cars. It sort of weaved in and out between them, quite sharply at one point! My heart was in my mouth watching it. Must have spooked the drivers of the cars too.

As for waiting for shots Graham. I've plenty of experience of that with my steam loco and aircraft photography. There is only one way to do it. Keep trying, keep trying, keep trying......................

I did get two that I really wanted, (and more), in my steam loco and aircraft photography. A wonderfully atmospheric shot at at place called Vordernberg in Austria. Lowish light, cold, plenty of loco clag with a loco each end of an iron ore empties train leaving Vordernberg for the slow thrash up the steep rack line to Praebichl and Erzgebirge. The "Iron Mountain" railway.

And a shot of Balair's wonderful 4 engined, (props drive by piston engines), DC-6B touching down at Gatwick with rubber smoke off one landing gear wheel and the other two landing gear wheels still just airborne.

Without setting myself such targets I find photography becomes a bit meaningless.

KentYeti · #10 (**permalink**) 10-03-2011, 05:59 PM

I'm going through all the photos I've taken in my first two weeks of Bird photography. Sorting those I want to post on my website. Just done the first 4 days of those efforts and have selected just 7 out of rather a lot!

With the help given here, and having read the declaration that is elsewhere on WAB I have included the Barn Owl shot we discussed here.

I've actually taken the next frame I shot, where the owl presented a better view, and moved that back to fit in with the sun.

In terms of the declaration I don't think I'm misleading anyone. I'm just putting the owl as it was less then a second later in the same location. I did put it in front of that fabulous sunset I got a few days later, but am certainly not going to use that! LOL!

To me this is still a fairly ordinary image, but if fits in with the sequence of two more images I took of the owl at that time in low lighting conditions.

Any further views gratefully accepted.