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Great Grey Owl taken at Greens Creek in Ottawa
Great Grey Owl taken at Greens Creek in Ottawa
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Nov, 2013Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award
Contest Finalist in Beautiful Owls Photo Contest
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Jaw Dropping
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken on Rockcliffe Parkway near Greens Creek in Ottawa, Canada. We had to hike on the highway for about a half a kilometer and then hike another 15 minutes off the trail in the snow.Time
The day this photo was taken it was at least -25 degrees Celsius just before sunset. During this time of day the Great Grey Owls were looking for food and I was hoping to capture them while in flight. This was back in March, 2013 when Ottawa was blessed to have these majestic owls hanging out where there was plenty of food for them to eat. It was a very special event to have them here for the winter as they only visit every 4 years. My photography friends and I are looking forward to the upcoming winter to see if they come back.Lighting
To get a good shot of the owl I had to increase my ISO so that I could have enough shutter speed to make sure the owls wings weren't' blurry as most of my shots were taken at the end of the day. I was able to increase my shutter speed to 1/1000 sec. to have the wings sharp.Equipment
At the time of this photo I had a Nikon D-90 with a 70-300 Nikon lens. It was a great first camera and the lens is still my go to lens when I'm out taking picture of animals. The camera was hand held because the snow made it difficult to walk in and set up a tripod. When capturing the owl in flight it was easier to follow him/her movements without one as I didn't know which way it would fly to eat it's prey.Inspiration
From the moment I saw my first owl in flight I knew it was something that I would never tire of. My friend and I went out about 10 times during it's stay in Ottawa and if it wasn't for other commitments we would have gone out ever day. It was such and amazing feeling watching the owl glide through the air without a sound. As you can see from the picture the owls wings are just on the verge of opening before the wings are open wide. I love the way his wings are because it reminds me of the batman symbol.Editing
The only processing that was done to the image was to lighten the owls face because his wings caused some shadow in that area. It was sometime hard to find a balance between keeping the ISO at 800 to keep the grain of the image down and having the shutter speed high to keep the movement of the wings sharp. Most days the sun was on its way down and the skies were mostly overcast which didn't allow for enough light for the sensor to work at it's best.In my camera bag
When I go out to do some photography I bring my backpack because it can hold a lot of my gear and I like to have some different lenses handy. I always have my Nikon D600 Full Frame camera and most times I have my 70-300 mm lens on and ready to get some close-up action of wildlife. Once I am happy with my captures I may pull out my 24-85 mm lens for landscape photography. I also carry my 40 mm just in case my mood changes and I want to get up-close and personal with the nature that surrounds me.Feedback
To capture amazing shots of the Great Grey Owl find out if they ever visit where you live and if not maybe a day trip to a place known to have some owls would be in order. When the owls visited our area in 2013 there were many photographers driving and flying from great distances to catch a glimpse of these beautiful creatures. It always amazed me how far some people came for a chance to see the owls. Some days we would go in search of the owls but alas they were too well camouflaged in the trees and we went home sad but very eager to go the next day in hopes to feast our eyes on these gorgeous birds one more time.
