GetRealJC

Those Eyes

The haunting orange eyes of a Eurasian Owl

The haunting orange eyes of a Eurasian Owl
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Canon EOS 7D

settings

Aperture 4/1 ISO 200 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 160/1

upload_date

Aug, 2018

Views

369

Likes

+38

Awards

Zenith Award

Top Shot Award 21

Contest Finalist in Beautiful Owls Photo Contest

Absolute Masterpiece

+13

Superb Composition

+12

Top Choice

+11

Peer Award

Outstanding Creativity

All Star

Superior Skill

Magnificent Capture

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This was shot at the Canadian Raptor Conservatory which is located in Vittoria, Ontario. It’s a small non-profit that focuses on conservation and rehabilitation of birds of prey and educating the public about their role in the ecosystem. This is a Eurasian Eagle Owl and is likely the largest species of owl in the world and normally found across Europe and Asia (hence the name). The orange eyes and large size (the wing span can be more than 6 feet!) make it an easy raptor to identify.

Time

This image was shot late in the afternoon, a bit after 4pm on a cold winter day. The snow was blowing and a cold, cutting wind was coming off Lake Erie. The owl was modeling as part of a photo workshop, and when you look at his expression I like to think that he was particularly grumpy about being outside in the cold and snow (I know I was)!

Lighting

This was all natural lighting on a cloudy day so the sky acted like a giant soft lightbox with very little shadows and even lighting. The forest behind the owl was in shadows and the field was fairly even in tonality so he (I just assume it is a he!) stands out from the background since it blurs out nicely.

Equipment

This was shot with a Canon EOS 7D Mark I, paired with a Canon EF 70-200/F2.8 lens and Canon 1.4X adapter. It’s a pretty basic and relatively compact setup for birding and birds in flight which we also shot as part of the day. The actual settings on this image are ISO 200, 1/500th shutter at F4.

Inspiration

Those eyes, LOL! And actually that’s what inspired the title of the image, of course. Seriously, when you see that grumpy expression and those amazing orange eyes it’s pretty natural to compose closely and grab a portrait. In this case, the owl is part of the conservation efforts, so by cropping in close I could also ensure the metal tags, leather straps and wooden post he was sitting on didn’t show and become a distraction. But… it’s all in the eyes!

Editing

Absolutely, I always shoot in RAW so the images will come out of the camera a bit flat and need some type of processing. I am an ON1 Guru and used ON1 Photo RAW to process this image. Aside from some minor, basic adjustments I added in Dynamic Contrast to sharpen the feathers and a Color Enhancer Effect to bring out a bit more of the yellows and oranges. And, as with about 99.9% of my images, the last step is to add a Vignette to gently guide the viewer’s gaze to the main subject. And yes… I have to admit I added a snow overlay as an additional layer. It was very cold and actually snowing during this shot, but the flakes were small just didn’t show up on the image as I would have liked so this shot was digitally enhanced with a few more snowflakes.

In my camera bag

Most of my landscape and travel work is shot with Olympus Micro Four Thirds equipment, but when I shoot wildlife or sports I prefer to pull out the Canon for auto tracking. My Canon gear is quite dated now, but still works great. For this shoot, I only brought the gear mentioned above to keep nimble and be able to quickly move around to get different perspectives.

Feedback

To get a similar shot, in this case it’s simple matter of working with the Canadian Raptor Conservatory and booking a slot in one of their photo workshops. Of course, that means you need to be in Ontario, but similar groups are located around the country and many also offer photo programs, so search out a wildlife conservation group that may be nearer to your home. Some photographers will not consider these type of images “real” wildlife photos since they use animals that are captive, and that argument can be valid. However, these type of photo sessions allow you go get much closer to an animal than you might be able to in the wild (though you are still kept at a safe distance from the bird so as to not cause any stress or anxiety to them). Additionally, you can get shots that you may not otherwise, and the animals are more used to being around humans. Your rate of “keeper” images will be much higher in this type of program, and you can practice techniques that may be unfamiliar or not part of your regular photography routine (such as focus tracking a bird in flight). Finally, a portion of the fee helps the organization with their efforts to rehabilitate, conserve and educate so I like to think that is helpful to support these types of groups.

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Those Eyes

The haunting orange eyes of a Eurasian Owl

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow GetRealJC

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