Burrowing Owl
Taken in a neighborhood park in Las Vegas
Taken in a neighborhood park in Las Vegas
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Aug, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken in a neighborhood park near my house in Las Vegas.Time
A Sunday morning about 10 AM. A coworker found him a couple of weeks prior. Everyday, I would drive through the park after work, but there were always a lot of people (he perches near the basketball courts). That Sunday, my coworker texted me to tell me he saw the owl during his morning run. A leisurely morning immediately turned hectic. I threw down my breakfast, changed out of my pajamas, grabbed my camera, and jetted out the door.Lighting
The lighting was perfect that time of day for his profile choice. The sun was still low in the sky in the east, and I was facing west when shooting him.Equipment
Olympus EM-1 with a 40-150mm zoom lens. No tripod used. I was laying on my stomach in the grass and propped up on my elbows to help steady the shot. This was shot at 111 mm, f/9, 1/640, ISO 200.Inspiration
Owls are one of my favorite creatures. Even if I wasn't a photographer, I would have sat with him for awhile just to observe. I was in the middle of an online photography course at the time, so this was my first practice shot to work on light metering while remembering composition and aperture settings for a small focal range. Also, I never imagined I would have found a burrowing owl 5 minutes from my house!Editing
I am proud to say that not a lot of post-processing was done on this photo. As a new photographer (at least for this one), that is a rare statement! This image is not cropped. I did white balance correction, added a little saturation to the grass, and increased the clarity a bit.In my camera bag
I am a new photographer, so my bag is light. Along with my camera body, I have a 14-42, 40-150, and 60mm macro lens. I am most interested in landscape, wildlife and macro photography. I have a portable, lightweight tripod that is great for hiking when you wish to conserve weight. I just recently purchased a full size tripod and am looking forward to using it later this month in Arches National Park! I am a hiker and don't care to carry 20 pounds of camera equipment. I hope to limit myself to 2 lenses (appropriate to zoom in on wildlife or swap out to do landscapes) at a time for any hike.Feedback
Animals are tricky. You want to get as close as possible without disturbing them. I began the morning about 100 feet away from the owl, as he was keeping a close watch on me. I would take a couple of pictures, stay still, and wait until it appeared he was used to me. I would move a few feet closer and repeat the process. Sometimes, he would spread his wings a little indicating he might fly away. Whenever that happened, I stopped what I was doing until he settled down, again. When I got about 50 feet away, I went from standing to sitting so I didn't appear as big to him. When I finally reached the grass, I laid down on my stomach. When I took this picture, I had been with him about 45 minutes, and he was about 20 feet away. My suggestion: don't make sudden movements, and make yourself small and / or hide yourself as much as possible. If you want to get close, it will take some time. Be patient, and enjoy the experience!
