An Owl's Stare
Florida native these beauties are really feeling the pressure of urban development as it moved deeper and deeper into the everglades and Florida woodlands. ...
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Florida native these beauties are really feeling the pressure of urban development as it moved deeper and deeper into the everglades and Florida woodlands.
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Jun, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in South Florida in a bird rehabilitation center, the facility specializes on birds of prey. The birds are often brought in with injuries or young birds that have lost their mother. I have been lucky enough to be involved in the release program a few times. This owl perched up perfectly before flying away.Time
This photo was taken outside, in the late afternoon, lucky for me the owl landed infront of some dark trees giving me a great opportunity to get a darker background despite the strong Florida sun.Lighting
Getting to work with the birds and then seeing them recover and get released just adds so much to the power of the photo for me, hopefully the next one will not need to make the stop in the rehabilitation center.Equipment
Shot on a Canon 5DmkII with a 200mm lens. No flash or tripod was used.Inspiration
I knew we were going to be close to the birds so I brought out the 200mm lens to get some really nice details and close ups without having to get too close to the animals and stress them out more than I needed to. I have always felt a great connection with nature and I don't often get to photograph birds, so I jump on any opportunity I get.Editing
I did some basic color correction and added light gradient filter just to make it pop a little more.In my camera bag
Im all over the place when it comes to what and how I photograph, I usually always have my 5D and 24-70mm on me, after that it will vary, most of my work is done shooting in my studio with strobes and constant lights. Though I have my tripods I really like having my camera in hand since I tend to hop around a lot when I'm taking photos trying to get different angles. On the field I like to have my speed lights close by to help with some off camera lighting and I love using polarizing filters both solid and gradient to slow my shutter a bit and give me more control.Feedback
When working with birds and just nature in general its all about patience, you can't pose or move them to a better spot, so you need to let them come to you or position themselves better. Also really learn to use the gear, sometimes you have a split second to make an adjustment if the bird moves from a shady spot to somewhere with more light; being fast on the controls and not having to navigate the menu looking for ISO will really help not miss the shot, and the best way to get there is to just shoot more and more. Lastly awareness of your surroundings, try to leave the park or forest the way it was before you got there the only way to keep taking photos like this is if there are birds like this one to photograph in the future.
