Catching some zzzzs
This guy was on a recovery program at the World Bird Sanctuary just outside St. Louis, MO. Waited forever for him to open his eyes but decided it was more inte...
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This guy was on a recovery program at the World Bird Sanctuary just outside St. Louis, MO. Waited forever for him to open his eyes but decided it was more interesting to go against type and go with the eyes closed. This is a great place to get up close to some pretty impressive raptors.
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Aug, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured at the World Bird Sanctuary. A raptor rescue facility about 20 miles west of the St. Louis city center. This is a nice place to get close to some serious feathers! Right next door is a St. Louis county park with bison and elks roaming throughout. Another great photo opt. Drive-thru or get out of the car kind of activity. You can get pretty close but better and safer to have a long-range zoom. All makes for a great photo day.Time
It was in the afternoon. Selected raptors are placed in an open area where folks and photographers can get a closer look at these impressive animals without being in their normal holding facilities. This guy was more intent on having his afternoon nap while on display.Lighting
All done with available lighting. Used spot metering as he was in a bit of a shadow and the background was pretty bright.Equipment
Used a Canon 5D Mark III with my L series 100-400mm zoom lens. I had my monopod with me to help steady the camera. That lens produces great bokeh at the 300/400mm range which you see with this photo.Inspiration
I sat for quite some time waiting for this bird to wake up and show me the eyes. It's an owl, after all, gotta have the eyes. But the more I thought about it I came around to just shooting with eyes closed. I thought it might make a fun image.Editing
The only thing I did was add the vignetting via Adobe Lightroom. That, together with the nice bokeh created the halo effect around the little guy.In my camera bag
Canon 5D Mark III. Everyday lens is Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM Lens. A Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro and my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM rounds things out. That's enough weight to lug around!Feedback
Head to a bird rescue facility. Great place to get up close to these amazing animals. Visited one on Vancouver Island, Canada last summer. They were very cooperative with photographers even having the birds fly in a controlled area allowing for some great in-flight photos.
