Looking at you
Nov, 2013Views
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Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Staff Winter Selection 2015
Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Jaw Dropping
Magnificent Capture
Great Find
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Behind The Lens
Location
Nothing too special about where this photo was taken really. This photo was taken in Grand Junction, Colorado, U.S. I actually took this photo in my old neighbor's backyard. :) There are 2 owls that come back every year to his trees. Not sure what kind of trees they are, but they are very thick with big leaves. So the owls like it, ... they can hide well in those types of trees.Time
The photo was taken in late summer and it was taken in the morning, later in the morning. Maybe about 11:00 a.m. The trees created a lot of shade, it seemed quite dark under all those huge and thick leaves, but I still had enough light because the sun was shining bright that day. But the tree was so thick with leaves that the sun was barely able to shine through.Lighting
The sun is a perfect natural light, and a person can get quite a few different photos, all of the same thing, if they take the photo at different times of the day. Sometimes though, you do have to be careful of reflected light, or sometimes you can use a deflector when outdoors to lighten up a shaded face, etc.Equipment
All I used was my little Canon Rebel T3i to take this shot. No flash was used. I kept my hand as steady as possible. No tripod was used for this photo. I didn't want to miss the shot, because the owls were looking a bit bothered, and I didn't want to disturb them and didn't want them to fly off. After all, this has been their home every spring and summer for quite a few years. So sometimes a person has to just do their best without equipment, even when they would prefer using a tripod or other equipment. :)Inspiration
My dog heard something while we were sitting outside, and she kept looking up in the neighbor's tree. Eventually my neighbor came out of his house, and I told him that she (the dog) thinks there is something up in his tree. He proceeded to tell me that every single year for the past 10 or so years, there are 2 owls that come back to stay for the spring and summer in his 2 trees. I thought it was interesting that they came back to the same yard every year. I didn't know that owls would do that. I had to see them. I asked if he would mind if I got my camera out and came over to take a few photos. He was happy to allow it, but he did warn me that they can become very upset if bothered too long. And he has been enjoying their company year after year and he didn't want that to change. So I was very quiet and careful and tried to be quick. I love wildlife so even though it was in someone's yard, I had to try to get a few good photos. Sometimes you don't have to go far. :)Editing
I obviously did some post-processing to this photo. I wanted to try something different. I used Paintshop Pro 15 for my editing. Once I opened the photo, I went and clicked on Adjust, and in the drop down menu, I went to Brightness and Contrast, then in the side sub-menu, I clicked on the Curves option. I just played around with it and thought it looked pretty cool when I curved it. I found it interesting that when I edited the photo, ... the colors of the owl stayed pretty much the same. His coloring really was just the black and different shades of grays. Except for his eyes of course. I actually did this in a few different colors, and they all looked good. Curves are a fun thing to play with in Paintshop Pro.In my camera bag
My equipment is nothing too extravagant. I usually just have my Canon EOS T3i camera body, and my 18 - 55 lens, which usually comes with this camera body when you buy it. I also have my Canon 55-250 lens in my bag. I use both of them quite a bit. Also, I bring along a lens cleaning kit, a polarized filter (in case I want it), a lens hood,and of course an extra charged up battery. A person doesn't necessarily NEED a ton of equipment to get a nice photo.Feedback
When you're trying to take photos of wild animals, you need to remember that at any moment,...if they feel scared, bothered or threatened in any way,... they may become aggressive. And usually we are in THEIR territory so we should expect that. But, even if we aren't in their territory, as was the case for this photo of the owl, ... we still need to appreciate the fact that we were lucky enough ... that they had the patience to allow us to get close enough to take a photo, and we shouldn't push our luck. The trick is to be quiet, move very slowly, and try not to do anything that seems to make the animal feel threatened. If they start to get jittery, or move around as if they are nervous, ... just stand still, or even slowly back off a little. If possible, sometimes it might be safer to use a lens that can zoom in on an animal, instead of trying to get too close. For example ... taking photos of Wild Horses, Buffalo, Deer, or Bear, etc. As far as editing/post processing goes, the editing process of photos can be a lot of fun. It can also take a lot of time and patience. There are so many things a person can do with a photo. Sometimes you can crop it in and make it look like an entirely different photo. Try it sometime, ... I'm fairly certain that you'll enjoy it. :)
