Larry Treadwell
About the Image(s)
Meet my new buddy Boris B. Owl. Boris is a Florida Burrowing owl who stands a feisty 10 inches tall, and weights about 6 ounces soaking wet. Boris and the missus a part of a colony of 21 pairs and live on a Florida “mountain” top that stands 74 feet above sea level. Boris is sort of a loner as he has built his den on the edge of the colony. I’ve named him Boris due to his habit of strutting about his front yard very much as the Russian soldiers long in their parades.
You are going to get to know Boris quite well over the next several months. I have made at least 11 trips to visit my new friend and we seem to get along quite well. I’ve been hanging around so much that recently Boris has freely approached to within three feet once landing on my camera bag. I’ve learned his habits, and he mine. We actually carry on some conversations (me in English and Boris in Owl chirp). I sit or lay on the ground, with my camera mounted on my frisbee, as this positions me at owl eye level. My position was chosen for the clutterless background. In the cool of the mornings the sun rises behind me and the incoming off shore breezes mean that Boris generally takes off and lands coming directly into my camera lens. This image was taken on a overcast morning using my Nikon D850, 200-400mm lens @ 380 mm mounted on a gimbal head on the frisbee. Aperture was f7.1, ISO 800 and shutter speed 1/4000 with the camera in manual mode. I usually use auto-ISO but I turned it off since the light was not changing. Boris, on his morning patrol of the hill top will make several loops each time landing at regular points. However he will finish his patrol with a low pass between two trees soar in about 2 feet above ground and land about 6 feet from his front door. He is easy to track and frame the only difficulty is that he flies at speed straight into the lens and the lens must continue to focus as he approaches. The incoming trip rather than land he shifted in wing angle and flew directly over my head and grabbed a fleeing lizard about 10 feet behind me. This was captured with a three shot burst as he filled the frame. I like this shot because of the tilt of the wing spread.
I love how sharp this lens is even getting the fine facial hairs.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
Thanks for the compliment. I could have shot this at f4 (the lens is quite fast), but I chose the f7.1 to get some depth. This allowed for the legs and even the tail feathers to appear sharp.. I think the legs ARE sharp, but the tail feathers appear to be nearly sharp. I probably should have used f8 or 9.
I really credit this image to my lens and camera for tracking and maintaining focus on this speedy guy while he was coming right at me. That was the hard part.   Posted: 07/06/2021 14:34:06
These little owls seem to wake up hungry and so the early morning finds them quite active. I only spent about 2 hours actually shooting. After that it got hot and the owls went into their burrows and there was nothing to shoot.
I belong to a PSA Nature Study group and their requirements for images demand a clear nature story line (this image would not qualify for submission because of the lack of storyline) I was hoping for feeding or more interaction and that was why I returned so often---Boris was a willing subject.
All that said, my set up technique is always the same, that is I work the light and the wind.
Thanks for your kind remarks. I do appreciate your thoughts.   Posted: 07/09/2021 12:21:17