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Photo
Nov, 2018Views
207
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I stopped at the Alberta Birds of Prey facility in Coaldale Alberta once in 2013 and again in 2019. This picture was from my first visit in 2013. Their primary focus is rescue and release of injured hawks, falcons, eagles & owls. Unfortunately not all the birds can return to the wild and those that can't help educate the public. I took this picture in their aviary where they kept a few birds which the public could approach. This guy was sitting on his perch watching every move people were making. If look carefully at the background, you can see the vertical lines from the shadows in the corrugated metal which formed the base of the enclosure. The picture was taken at 180 mm at F4.5 using a NikonTime
Luckily I was there early in the morning and there were not too many visitors causing distractions. I took this picture at 9:45 on July 28. Everything was shady where this guy was sitting and the sky was clear.Lighting
I tried to pick my time and location so that I didn't need to worry about HDR with both subject and background at an even lighting.Equipment
The picture was taken at 180 mm, F4.5, 1/400 s, ISO 1000 using a Nikon 70-200 mm lens with a D7000 body. I prefer to hold my camera for most pictures because it gives me more versatility. It also helps when trying to shoot around people.Inspiration
I have had great success with taking pictures of wildlife in the Canadian Rockies and have some pictures from Reifel Migratory Bird Sancuary in Vancouver, but have never had much luck with Raptors. As I was passing through Coaldale I saw their sign and decided to stop in and check it out. It gave me a few incredible pictures of Raptors and let me practice with one more style of photography.Editing
I use Lightroom and Nik for most of my processing. I'm still working on learning post-processing and Covid 19 has certainly helped give me more time to look at my collection. Luckily I didn't need to do too much for this picture, I reduced the brightness of the background to further blur the enclosure, and increased the clarity, vibrance, saturation, sharpening of the owl.In my camera bag
I always travel with lots of camera equipment because I never know what to expect My shooting style can vary from a trek, to a day hike, to being less than an hour from my car. My favourite camera body is Nikon's D750 with 10-24mm F2.8, 24-70mm F2.8, 70-200 F2.8, and Sigma 150-500 F5.6-6.3 lens with a Manfrotto 055C tripod and Speedlight SB-900 flash. When I'm risking a fall with my equipment or I need to go lighter I'll use a Nikon D7000 body with 10-20 F4-5 and 16-85 F3.5-5.6, or 28-300 F3.5-5.6 with a Cameron BH10 or Joby tripod and Godox TT350 Flash. Playing in the water I use a Nikon waterproof coolpix AW110. And for fooling around I have a Samsung SM-A520W which is watertight. I had to go diving in the ocean for it once after it slipped out of my grasp in the Azores. I have a variety of filters but the circular polarizer and fader ND Filter are worth mentioning. I also have at least one spare battery and a few extra SD cards in my pocket.Feedback
Being an avid outdoors person, I am not in favor of techniques that are harmful to the subject and I don't have the patience of a professional photographer to spend an entire week to get one photograph. I simply carry a camera with me in my travels and use subjects of opportunity to capture memories. The Canadian National Parks are great places to visit if you would like to see some breathtaking scenery, along with wildlife that is not too skittish. The Raptor recovery centers present excellent opportunities for close-ups of birds without the necessity of a bank loan, and other venues such as botanical gardens and butterfly gardens give opportunities to capture unique subject matter up close. After having spent over 55 years in the outdoors and joined the digital revolution with the new millennia, there are so many places to visit and so little time available. A good photographer can take an amazing picture with almost any equipment. Not being a studio photographer, I enjoy the sights while travelling and capture those amazing moments during the journey. Practice, practice, practice. You should be able to stand anywhere and compose an amazing picture from what you see around you. If equipment was truly the secret, we would be complimenting a chef on his pots.
