Owl stare
Nov, 2016Views
443
Likes
Awards
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This very cute little owl (Athene Noctua) lives in a large bird enclosure at Montecasino Bird Garden near Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa.Time
The 1 cm x 2 cm mesh screens on the enclosure dictates that the camera lens should be held close to the mesh and out of direct sunlight. The birds often retreat to the rear of their cages where they may sleep, nest or look friendly! I had to visit the bird garden a number of times to get useable shots, but then it is always a pleasure.Lighting
I found that that my 140mm lens could reach the little owl at f 5.6 with a shutter speed of 1/160 sec. and 400 ISO. Flash lighting tends to create shadows through the mesh so I normally use a steady hand and available light.Equipment
I used a Nikon D3200 with 18 -140 mm lens. I find that this combination works well.Inspiration
Wild animals often seem preoccupied and as such make nice pictures but I am also on the search for pics that illustrate contact between the subject and camera.Editing
The picture was taken in RAW so needed the normal editing including some measure of sharpening, but not more than that.In my camera bag
I travel light so in my bag is my camera and zoom lens that can cover more or less any situation.Feedback
Bird photography, in my opinion, can be made little easier by visiting bird parks where much more species are concentrated. Bear in mind though that that our feathered friends in cages may differ slightly in character from those in the wild adding to the challenge!
