The Way We See It: owls

Showing posts with label owls. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Jekyll and Hyde

Stony Point in Black and White - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

A story about the stark contrast in one’s humanity, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde symbolize both the best and worst in any situation, moment or time. Say their names and the imagination runs wild. They are good and evil, Yin and Yang, light and dark all wrapped into a single package; he is the misguided man who wants it all.

Owl Landscape (Aegolius funereus) - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Converter

February is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A time of stark contrasts where daylight grows and temperatures fall. Void of life, its leafless forests reveal the gems who hide in a summer’s shadow. The mass Exodus that began in August leaves the hardy behind, where survival is intimately linked to a well managed energy budget.

Contrast - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 5D Mark iii & Canon 24mm f3.5L TSE

Yet the dearth that is February includes small nuggets of gold. One’s barren woods is another’s cornucopia. While resources are depleted to the north, ours are free for the taking and opportunistic migrants seeking easy food will see the Jekyll in my February’s Hyde.

Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) - Hwy 61 Scenic Drive, MN
Canon 7D + Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tip #65: Make Eye Contact

Downy Great horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) - Minnesota
Canon 1D markII + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS + Canon 2x Converter

Eye contact makes an impact. Be patient when working your avian subjects and wait for the fleeting moment when their eyes lock onto your lens. This type of image resonates with our primate brains. Like most birds, we are a visual lot and eye-to-eye moments feel like a direct encounter. If you're seeking to captivate your viewer, the eyes have it!

Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) - St. Croix River, Minnesota
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8L IS @ f3.2

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Tip #61: Telephoto, Tripod, Head and Hand

Arizona Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) - Saguaro NP, AZ
Canon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8IS L w/1.4x @ f4.0 and 1/100 second

The following is my technique for maximizing detail when shooting in less than ideal conditions.

Use the tripod.
Don’t attach the camera to the tripod, use the dedicated collar on your lens.
Compose and lock it down...
Rest the left hand over the tripod collar, but don’t press down.
Gently place your eye against the eyepiece.
Squeeze the shutter release.
Shoot three to five images in continuous mode.

Peccary (Tayassu tajacu) - Saguaro NP, AZCanon 7D + Canon 300mm f2.8IS L w/1.4x @ f4.0 and 1/100 second

Although the latter technique may reduce your ability to shoot it fast and recompose, it will increase stability when the light is fading and you need to get the shot.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Confessions of an Average Bird Photographer (IV)

Dry skin, windblown hair, and unexpected flops can only signify one thing,... winter has descended upon the upper midwest. Sunday marked our first freezing rain event, and frigid now defines the daily forecast. It's November,... it's whine time.

I detest the cold. I hate the feeling of hammered fingers, frozen toes, and the deep chill that persists for nearly five months. Dressing requires a checklist, and a walk out of doors is worse than any trip to the dentist. Each winter I challenge myself to ignore the oppressive north winds and strive to be a "real" photographer. I trudge tirelessly with my tripod in hand and pack on my back. I will not be beaten by the inclement weather, I will not be beaten...
Image #1: Great Gray Owl. Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota
Image #2: Northern Hawk Owl. Pine Barrens, Wisconsin

Friday, April 2, 2010

The Vernal Equinox

As readers of this blog already know, I feign the endurance required to survive a Minnesota winter. We moved here to escape west coast urban sprawl, but we were unprepared for the challenges of mid-continental life. Twenty years later I still consider myself a foreigner in this place. I lack the childhood connections that bind me to a community, and have no deep seeded memories of fun in the cold. To this day, Minnesota is enigmatic to me, and I am an enigma to it. So, I fake it. Like the lover who fakes “it” for her love, I fake my pleasure for sub-arctic walks, frigid temperatures, and making art when it hurts. I say that I enjoy short days, blistering winds, and winter photography, but I lie in order to fool myself. I lie to pass the time.

The Vernal Equinox is what I love about Minnesota. March 20th is both the end of winter and the end of my lies. While March and April can be wildly unpredictable, they do signal an end. Winter is ephemeral, a fact that is not evident in January. Winter makes us stronger and better than our fellow countrymen, this is the lie Minnesotans tell to justify their existence here.
Fortunately for me, winter is not a circle that lacks a discrete beginning or end, it is a vector. It is initiated on the solstice and points to the equinox. It is spring today and it rained. I walked Sequoia and stepped on earthworms slithering across the asphalt. As I smashed these writhing exotics with my sandaled feet, I listened to the bluebirds calling to future mates and watched a heron fly overhead. While it may snow tomorrow, it is April 2nd today, and I now know that the snow will melt.