DRINK TO ME ONLY WITH THINE EYES
Pearl spotted owlet
Pearl spotted owlet
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Aperture 63/10 ISO 2000 Focal Length 400/1 
Sep, 2018Views
956
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Awards
Winner in inquisitive bird photos Photo Challenge
Community Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 37
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
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Behind The Lens
Location
In the fallen trunk of an ancient acacia near a desert waterhole in the Kgalagadi trans-frontier park: a million hectares of wilderness stretching across the borders of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.Time
just after 9:00 amLighting
The hole in the log was south facing and in shadow all the time, but as the sun moved overhead the angle of bounce off the desert sand changed luminance levels through the day. Always working on relatively high iso, I had to keep adjusting through a band between 1000~3200 iso.Equipment
Nikon D3 with Nikon 200~400mm f4G ED VRII, off a beanbag in the car window.Inspiration
sitting at a waterhole late afternoon on my own. There was another photographer in his own vehicle. the owl flitted out of a nesting hole in a fallen over camel thorn tree branch. He was in position just under branch and as the owlet flew off he got his shot and left. I moved into position and waited the bird's return. As dusk settled I had to leave to get back to camp before the gates closed. I returned the next morning and settled down to wait but there were others at the waterhole before me and no opportunity came my way I returned on a third day and all in, had invested around 11 hours over 3 days before the owlet obliged and gave me ten minutes of her timeEditing
converted image to tiff. made 4 exposure masks and then combined the mid tone range from each mask.In my camera bag
a Pair of Nikon d3 cameras. prime lenses 24mm,55 macro, 500 mirror. zoom lenses 14~24mm, 80~200mm, 200~400mm. macro ext tubes and lens reversal rings. Mecablitz flash circa 1970's it held together with ductape and prayer.Feedback
patience. When you find an active nest, or den, it pays to prepare for an open ended stakeout. it takes as long as it takes, but sooner or later the opportunity will present to lock down the shot. Here, after 3 trips of over 20 kilometers each way, as well as 11 hours of waiting, in the end I had an uninterrupted 10 minutes with this pearl spotted owlet (a tiny bird barely larger than a sparrow) for a once in a lifetime opportunity.
