Little Owl
Apr, 2015Views
1138
Likes
Awards
Top Shot Award 21
Featured
Curator's Choice
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Top Choice
All Star
Genius
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Love it
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the zoo in greece.I've never taken before a photograph of animals and i thought it would be a good idea to make a start.I took my partner in crime and went to the zoo.We learned a lot and i also managed to capture this photo :)Time
This was one of the times that i didn't planned the time.Unfortunately we arrived there around 11 in the morning with a clear sky and the sun as hot as ever.Lighting
I rebember seeing the owl sitting on the wood and the light falling in its face.I took some shots to test the setting and the waited till i get a little bit of contrast because we had a clear day with no clouds.So i waited till it turns and all the light falls in its face just to get the contrast from its feathersEquipment
I usually work with my canon 600d but i dont have a tele lens...so i borrowed my friends Nikon D90 as he wasn't giving me his D800 :( I used a 18-200mm telephoto lensInspiration
As i wondered around i saw this little guy staring something up top...so i took some shots in panorama and i didnt like the composition.Then i climbed the bars and waited for a while and took this photo in portrait..In my mind it was like the owl was staring the light and i wanted to create something like a portrait with a glamour light streaks falling on this little guy.Editing
I knew from the moment i took the shot what i wanted to do and thats why i framed it accordingly.At first i wanted the background to be a little more abstract.I usualy change it completly but i just added some motion blur and created these light streaks i wanted.I also added this glow on the owl to give emphasize on the light falling on its face and i made the exposure on the left side of the portrait a little more strong for the same reason.In my camera bag
The first thing i do is put my Canon 600D in my bag with my 50mm lense that i use the most.I add my 18-55mm next to them and my remote controll.Next i put my batteries and my charger (cause you never know),a small tripod for low angles,my memory cards,a rain cover and small bag with tools(screwdriver and stuff like that) because u never know when u might need to screw something on your camera.I sometimes add a reflector and a small led in my bag.Feedback
As this is the first time i ever shot animals i can only tell what i learned from this.When come to animals you don't have all the time in the world to fix your camera settings,wait for the light to be right and stuff like that that we do in every shooting.Thing is that the animal is not gonna stay there and wait for you or even take a pose for you.You have to be fast and swift to take the pose you want from it as fast as you can and as best as you can.You need to know very well the camera you hold in your hands to make the most out of it.Don't be afraid to climb some bars to take the shot that you need (as i did in this photo) but don't make it in way that scares the animals.Try to take a few shots to see what you like and take fast decision you dont know when the birds it's gonna fly away or horse run away,speed is essential.Never delete anything from your camera(unless is too much out o focus or has some issues thats cant be fixed later) you never know what you can achieve later with a little post-processing..at least thats what happened with my shot,i had a good composition with a good all around lighting and i brought out what i wanted in the post-process.So always shot the best you can and try to bring the most out of your image (or create somthing completely different) with some post-processing.
