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Baby Owl
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Baby Owl



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Was able to capture this baby owl while it was being shown to a small group of us. I zoomed in with my telephoto lens to get in close and capture the gaze of t...
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Was able to capture this baby owl while it was being shown to a small group of us. I zoomed in with my telephoto lens to get in close and capture the gaze of the small owl.
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cameraCanon EOS 6D

settings Aperture 28/10 ISO 200 Shutter 1/320 Focal Length 200/1 

upload_dateNov, 2016

Views

1068

Likes

Awards

Contest Finalist in Beautiful Owls Photo Contest
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
gerhardprinsloo richardeaton_9707 davidjprosser Vorster TonyGuzmanG arcrem NancyFlemingPhotography +208
Top Choice
James-Evans debbietintle Mariettina shihuichenlin lynetterosepurvis dattatray tarekkhouzam +17
Absolute Masterpiece
joysila Chinmayee12 travisphelps CellesteMovric22 betsycoxwell m_fryz adelehep07 +12
Superb Composition
Pseudo ahahahlena dwtxanger madonnazdmdmz hbinky valentinilin LeviEsser +10
Outstanding Creativity
Kierrastar michaelpriestley JoaquimRios morganbliss jasmineelder susancarr solomonsarkar +1
Magnificent Capture
marysorberdye photosdude eddiwest StavruDaniel Burnettj Boates Chris555
Superior Skill
klinker44
All Star
nenahampton

Top Ranks

Faces Of The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Faces Of The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Animal Planet Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Animal Planet Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Feathers And Wings Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Feathers And Wings Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspired By The World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Picturing Other Species Photo ContestTop 10 rank
At The Zoo Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Anything Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Anything Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Beautiful Owls Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Beautiful Owls Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Animal Eye Photo Contest vol1Top 20 rank
The Animal Eye Photo Contest vol1Top 10 rank week 1
Only Owls Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1

Categories

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#baby owl #Eric Schaer Photography #owl #Western Screech Owl #Woodland Park Zoo #Young Screech Owl
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Behind The Lens

Location

The glove you see at the bottom of the image is from the trainer at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle Washington. They have a program where they bring out the birds of prey and both show them off and have them fly around. Great opportunity to see them up close.

Time

This was taken in the morning while the light was soft in the background.

Lighting

This was taken outdoors without a flash so I had to set up my shot from an angle where the Owl was in at least partial sun. I did lighten up the Owl a bit in post process to bring out the detail in the feathers. As typical with Owls, the eyes are a key focal point and I could see in this shot that color would match up with the background.

Equipment

Camera: Canon 6D, Lens:Tamron 70-200 No tripod and no flash.

Inspiration

Taking pictures of animals in the wild is always preferable but at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle many of the animals are in large open areas that at least attempt to mimic their natural surroundings. This image of the owl was taken while being held by the trainer but the area in which this was taken is a wild area of the park they let the birds of prey fly around. With an F2.8 stop I was able to get detail in the Owl and have the color of the background landscape blurred.

Editing

As the image was taken in the morning the light was soft. This is good and also required some post process shadow brightening. I also sharpened the area around the feathers to bring out some detail.

In my camera bag

At the time I took this shot, I used the Canon 6D. I have always used Canon cameras and mostly Canon lenses. I have also found that Tamron makes great lenses so I have the 70-200, which is what I used in this shot of the Owl, as well as the F1.8 45mm. I always take my Canon 5DIII and my Canon wide angle 16-36mm. I also have the Canon 7DII as it is very fast. I have a Gitzo Carbon Fiber tripod and a Kirk ball head.

Feedback

To get a shot like this use a telephoto lens and get in as close as possible. Set your f-stop to a low number. Always better to use a tripod but sometimes that is not practical so you have to set your shutter a bit faster (over 125 if you can) so you don't get blur. Watch the ISO levels as, depending on the quality of your camera and lens, the higher the ISO the more light you will get but also more grain in your images.

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