The owlets are a few days old and things are quite tight in the nest. The nest is being tracked on eBird yet with the location marked for a nearby landmark rather than the exact location. This and how hard it is to see the nest which is not visible from any road or developed trail has allowed me to shoot pretty much on my own, a unique experience here in Queens, New York City. I'm going to show an environmental shot to give you an idea how difficult it is to get a clean view of the next which is in a dead tree at the side of a hill. I shoot from the hill so I'm close to eye level with the challenge of many branches obscuring my view. I have to move between the foliage on the hill to find spots to shoot from and these spots need a clear view and there are not many of them. I'm hoping the owlets branch before the trees leafs out yet I'll do what I can to try and photograph them. My shooting position is way back from the nest so i'm using 700mm on an APS-C body and then cropping as much as my captures will allow. Just to make it more fun, the tree is bathed in sun and the owls in deep shade inside creating exposure and post processing challenges.
Comments and suggestions welcome,
Morris
1) Mom looking out with one chick obscured by a twig
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens700mmf/8.01/150s800 ISO+1.3 EV
2) Mom and Owlet looking out
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens700mmf/8.01/500s3200 ISO+1.7 EV
3) Environmental view of the nest
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR lens500mmf/5.61/320s800 ISO+1.3 EV
4) Two chick visible and mom sleeping
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens700mmf/8.01/1400s3200 ISO+0.7 EV
5) Mom looking at one of her chicks
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens700mmf/8.01/1400s3200 ISO+1.0 EV
6) Owlet waking
X-H2SXF500mmF5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x lens700mmf/8.01/1400s3200 ISO+1.0 EV
Good job on these, Morris. That is a challenging situation for sure, and you did a great job in capturing and processing these.
It's amazing how big the beaks are on those little owlets -- it shows what the priority is at this stage of their young lives.
gmccroskery wrote:
Good job on these, Morris. That is a challenging situation for sure, and you did a great job in capturing and processing these.
It's amazing how big the beaks are on those little owlets -- it shows what the priority is at this stage of their young lives.
Greg
Thank you Greg,
I'm hoping they will be easier to see when they branch.
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csinseattle wrote:
Morris,
Great Nice catch and set
Chris S
