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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> FIRST REAL OWL!
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03/28/2015 03:37:45 PM · #1
I am soo excited, I have been trying for MONTHS to get a capture of an owl and failed because these buggers were always so far away from me. They do make you work for it, but finally, finally have my first owl shot!

Not happy with the technical thing and changed the exposure and settings at the last minute which blew it as usual, but for me just to get him is a huge thing.

What was your first shot that wasn't so good but you loved it anyway LOL I know I can't be the only one that was excited to finally get that one shot they been after..

I am gonna be chasing him more before the leaves come in, but for now, it was a successful day at least.. along with these shots



Other photos I took at the same place, never moved
It was a wildlife dream this morning



Of course there was trumpet swans, ducks, geese, seaguls and other birds, but these were the ones I was after this morning

All shot with the D60

Message edited by author 2015-03-28 22:37:29.
03/28/2015 04:25:43 PM · #2
Good going Julie!
03/28/2015 04:48:58 PM · #3
Way to go, Julie. Nothing like coming upon one of these magnificent creatures.
03/28/2015 09:02:02 PM · #4
Thank you, they are fun creatures
03/28/2015 09:08:43 PM · #5
Happy for you, Julie! I felt the same way with my first (and only) elk!
03/28/2015 10:22:36 PM · #6
Well that sounds like a great morning! Thanks for sharing these!

I'll never forget the first owl shot I ever got. Drove right up on it in the Everglades and then crawled on the pavement while it sat in my headlights. I was honestly just a little worried about it attacking me - very imposing animals when you're facedown only a few feet away.



Message edited by author 2015-03-28 22:25:43.
03/28/2015 10:35:49 PM · #7
Their stares are quite creepy aren't they

That is super cool, when I grow up I will take photos like that hahaha

Message edited by author 2015-03-28 22:53:14.
03/28/2015 11:25:12 PM · #8
That is super exciting! I do have to ask...How many fake owls have you photographed? ;) LOL

I, on the other hand am a little sad, the snowy owls in my area have left.
03/28/2015 11:29:36 PM · #9
aweee that is sad.. that is one owl I would loveee to find because they are so rare, but the closest snowy is 4hrs away . Anyone that gets to see that or photograph that is very special

As for the fake owls, I had to delete over 100 images, I was so excited but very disappointed only to find them be tree knots or extra full branches when I had to crop and zoom in, I made over 20 trips to that area before actually finding something that actually moved LOL

Message edited by author 2015-03-28 23:32:33.
03/29/2015 12:01:58 AM · #10
Here's a Snowy for ya. They've been coming to the salt marshes here the last two winters...

03/29/2015 12:12:21 AM · #11

My pet for a day.
Owls here like to work street lights at empty parking lots, because bugs bounce off the lights and land on the ground where they can easily pick them off for their lunch.
03/29/2015 07:16:09 AM · #12
Since we're sharing, the first owl I was able to capture was a Snowy that took up residence at a local reservoir during the first big incursion in the winter of 2011-12. I was fortunate to be able to shoot it multiple times over the course of a month, usually on an old broken tree it seemed to favor, or on the dam for the reservoir.



About a month after it left I was walking a path through the woods near my house, something I did every morning that spring, but on this morning I had an undeniable and unexplainable urge to turn left off the path and go back into the woods. Call it the voice of God or Mother Nature, but it was something I'd not done before or experienced since. As I walked back about 200 feet I saw a bump on this large, fallen branch hanging off an old tree. Sure enough, it was a juvenile Great Horned Owl. It remained there for a couple more days before fledging to a taller tree nearby. I never saw the mother up close, but you could hear the crows harassing her nearby as she diverted them away from the nest.



And finally, in late 2013 I'd heard seen there was a Snowy Owl spotted at a construction site about 30 minutes from me (Cornell University runs an ebird list that will send you emails every day of birds spotted in your state - I get the NJ and PA lists), so the wife and I got in the car and went off. There was a large, muddy farm field on either side of the road where it had been spotted, and my wife noticed a white bump in one that looked very different from the spots of snow that were elsewhere. I put on my boots and got within about 300 feet before it took off, landing on the chimney of an old farm house. Thankfully I was able to march back thru the mud and drive to the house where I shot this through the window.



I've heard barn and screech owls this past summer and fall in our yard, but have yet to spot them. Maybe this year?
03/29/2015 03:38:30 PM · #13
Originally posted by Enlightened:

That is super exciting! I do have to ask...How many fake owls have you photographed? ;) LOL

I, on the other hand am a little sad, the snowy owls in my area have left.


Aw dang, Trace stole the joke I was gonna make ;-) I only saw one snowy all winter and of course I didn't have my camera with me. Male, perched atop a telephone pole, scanning a stubblefield for critters.

However, today as the snow was melting on my garden path, I found a large suspiciously compact oval of what looks like fur, bones, etc...so I imagine it's an owl pellet. We have screech, great horned and barred owls in the immediate area and have had a snowy or two in the past.
03/29/2015 10:23:50 PM · #14
Owls are amazing, always fun when you find a nesting pair. I was fortunate enough a couple of years ago to have a pair of Horned Owls nest in some trees where I work and watched thier three babies grow up. Then last year the nest was used by Hawks and they also had some babies.

Baby Owls and Hawks
03/29/2015 11:15:14 PM · #15
These are sooo awesome, thanks for sharing,

Keep it coming! I am so jealous of all of the snowy owls just beautiful, lucky dogs

I love that one photo of those two owls on the branch and one turns upside down, that just cracks me up

Message edited by author 2015-03-29 23:16:51.
03/30/2015 09:22:38 AM · #16
Originally posted by jgirl57:

I love that one photo of those two owls on the branch and one turns upside down, that just cracks me up


Funny story, but I had that one hanging at a friend's gallery and one day another artist was helping the owner move some of the work out of the shop for a sidewalk sale event. She looked at the photo and said, "I'm not one to criticize other people's work" (actually she was) "but why would you take a picture of a dead owl?!" The owner laughed for 10 minutes.

I'd actually been stalking it for about 15 minutes as it sat quietly on this stump when it opened its eyes, shook its feathers, walked forward a little and then bent over to scratch, which is when I got this. Thirty seconds later it backed up to the other end of the stump and relieved itself. I got that too, but let's just say it's not as good a picture. LOL
03/30/2015 04:04:52 PM · #17
These two took up residence outside my wife's office windows for a few weeks. They must have just left the nest and were looking for a safe spot to grow up a little, so we lost the right to use one of the doors to the kitchen for a while, but they sure were fun to watch grow.
03/31/2015 09:07:22 PM · #18


This is the first owl photo I took with the Pentax k-3.. This is at a 100% crop
I was pretty happy with the results :)

~~~

Just love all the owls that are shared, that so awesome :-) Love to see more



Message edited by author 2015-03-31 21:08:35.
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