Deep thought
I had an amazing opportunity to take photos of Buttercup. This is Mike 'The owl box man' owl. This animal is amazing and so gentle. Mike does some ama...
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I had an amazing opportunity to take photos of Buttercup. This is Mike 'The owl box man' owl. This animal is amazing and so gentle. Mike does some amazing work in the community and it was awesome to take some photos and bring some exposure to him.
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Aug, 2017Views
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Contest Finalist in Beautiful Owls Photo Contest
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Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
I live in Brackenfell, Cape Town, South Africa. Even though it's a suburban area there are always owls around, but very difficult to spot and obviously difficult to capture as they are out at night. Unfortunately one of these beauties got stuck in a local shopping centre. I really care about animals and wanted to find out if the owl was going to be okay. This is how I met Mike - The Owl Guy. He captures and releases these stunning animals. We got to talk and he invited me take a few pictures of the animals they have in shelter. This one is Buttercup. A really gentle owl that will unfortunately never be able to be released into the wild due to a complete misinterpretation of these beautiful animals' existence. Buttercup was attacked and kicked by people that believed it would bring death to people in its presence (a local myth about owls).Time
I woke up around 6 am and packed all the gear I needed. I arrived at Mike's place around 8 and was met by a chicken (that believes he is a guard dog). Probably one of the strangest yet most entertaining pets I've ever met. At that time Mike was caring for three owls. One was ready for release, the other one was really badly hurt and was very touch-and-go at that moment (Mike informed me around 2 months later that the owl made it and was released) and then he had Buttercup that is incredibly tame. It was around 10 am that Buttercup started performing for the camera and I could get really close with the 50mm on this shot.Lighting
The african sun is harsh, so we chose a shaded area on the side of his house. I opted for backlighting, behind Buttercup. My initial set up was at a lower angle to get lens flares, but I moved to a higher angle when I saw how the light was highlighting his ear feathers, and generally could get more texture in his feathers this way.Equipment
I literally packed my whole bag full of goodies as I had no idea what to expect. In the end my go to was the Canon 7D with a Canon 50mm f1.4 and the 70-200mm f4.0 non IS. As this was late morning (bright sun) I didn't need to use any tripods or any extra equipment. It was as simple as my camera, Mike and the owls' performance.Inspiration
I had, previously to this moment, captured a few shots with the 70-200mm a little further from Buttercup, but I really wanted to get close with the 50mm. Mike mentioned that Buttercup is really at ease with me and the camera so I asked if I could get closer. As soon as I got closer to Buttercup he lowered his head and looked at Mike that was standing just to the left of me. I wanted to capture the texture of the feathers but also the right eye of Buttercup. The shot lined up perfectly.Editing
I wanted to keep the photo as 'natural' as possible, but there were some tweaks made. A little editing in Lightroom but no composites or any major adjustments were made.In my camera bag
I shoot with a Canon 7D most of the time, but as backup I have a 550D. As for the glass; a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, a Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens, a 50mm f1.4 and my 70-200mm f4.0. Next for me is to get the 24-70mm f2.8 a dream lens for action photography (my other passion).Feedback
I was fortunate enough to capture this majestic animal in a controlled environment, so I could get up close. My advice if ever in this kind of situation is that you want to capture pure emotion within the frame. Be patient, don't just go crazy and take hundreds of photos. Pick your moment(s), plan your shots and look at the entire frame before capturing the moment. Look for those elements within the frame and you will be halfway there. Don't rush the animals and read their behaviour or have someone close by that can do so for you. If they say the animal has had enough, feel tired or agitated, stop and try another time. Lastly don't be afraid to learn. Not everything you do is perfect. Always look at your images and ask yourself what you could have done to improve the image. It will let you grow as a photographer and a human being AND it will keep you humble. With that said, don't be overly hard on yourself either.
