Sympathetic Eyes
Again, another Snowy photo from my past files. The title says it all!
On The Money
This Snowy is hoping that the field post doesn't move before it lands!
Cropped for composition. Bumped up the contrast. Removed some sensor dust bunnies. A bit of sharpening applied.
I like the upturned feather on its right wing!
I Use My Own Patented Springboard!
As usual, the colours are that of a late afternoon winter day, therefore no balancing for whites. There is no white at around 16:00h, just before sunset- lots of magenta, though.
Cropped for composition, because I always center a moving/flying bird in the center of my viewfinder so that my autofocus can follow the bird.
Arise Oh Beautiful One
Another Snowy from my files.
For Snowy take-off photos, you should have the wind to your back, because Snowys take off into the wind - even if it means they must fly towards you at first. Once in flight, they will, of course, deviate to avoid you.
Also, for good lighting of the eyes, you should also have the sun directly to your back. This is especially important if you want the eyes well lit.
In this photo, although the sun was at my back, the Snowy looked off slightly to the side as she took off. Therefore, the sun was not directly in her eyes. This is why one eye is 'shadowed'.
And the Journey Begins
You always have to position yourself with the wind at your back to photograph a Snowy taking off.
The Snowy, like many birds, take off into the wind. Then of course, you also have to be positioned to have the sun at your back to prevent possible unmanageable backlit shots.
Lights - Action - Camera
A cold light with a hint of golden vegetation adds to beauty of the Snowy in movement.
Not Much To Land On
The Snowy had no difficulty perching on this this post.
This Is My Domain
Snowys in flight are my favourite, but you can't deny that a portrait pose is also great!
Cropped for composition. Again, no balancing for whites - at that time of day, there is no pure white.
Nature's F-35
No balancing for whites with this file photo from my past. The light was a late winter setting sun -therefore, not much pure white to be seen :-)
Nape-of-the-Earth Snowy Flight
Another Snowy from my files
31-Jan-2024
Dramatic Light For a Dramatic Snowy
Venturing Into the Warm Golden Light
Another of my many Snowy Owl photos from my files. Good thing I have them, because I stopped bird photography around six years ago due to pain and mobility issues with my knees.
I, of course, did not balance my colours to white with this photo, to preserve the warm light rendering. The golden-coloured vegetation also adds to the warmth of the photo.
The Big Embrace
Here is another from my files from the year 2014. The wingspan of these birds is incredible.
Don't You Dare Follow Me
Another one from my files unpublished, circa 2014.
I have a couple of other "looking over my shoulder while in flight" photos of this type on my site, but they are always a pleasure to look at.
Male Snowy Surprise
Again from my files of several years ago.
The older adult male Snowy Owls tend to turn white in colour, and are a minority in my region.
New Years 2021-2022 - Sweetie Snowy Curiosity
Another of my many Snowy Owl photos from my files from several years ago.
Happy New Years.
A Blast From the Past
It's been about six years since I stopped my bird photography due to bad knees. Here is a Snowy Owl from my files taken about that time with my Canon 5D Mark III.
Delicate Repose on Dom's Rock
Another Snowy photo from my files of several years ago.
Taken with my Canon 5D Mark III handheld with the fantastic 500L f4 lens.
It appears that the Snowy Owl had a strand of dried vegetation caught in her feathers.
The afternoon light was beginning to turn the scene warm, but for this one, I decided to cool it off a bit. It was not late enough for a real golden light.
If I took the photo late in the afternoon with a real golden glow, I would have left it that way.
As I've mentioned before, I ceased bird photography at that time because it was too difficult and painful due to multiple knee surgeries, and of course, age :-)
This pile of rocks bears the name Dom's Rock as a callout to my good friend Dominic (Dom) who first spotted the owl using it as a perch at the time.
Apart from bird photography, Dom is also an avid astronomy photographer.
Salut, Dom.
A Donald Trump Farewell, Snowy-Style
An old file photo for the occasion.
V For Victory - Snowy Owl
Another Snowy Owl from my files. Taken in 2015, just before I stopped my bird photography due to my bum knees.
Fence-Hopping Juvenile Snowy Owl
From my files in the final year of my bird photography days five or so years ago.
Holiday Northern Hawk-Owl
This photo taken on Christmas in 2016. A small branch cloned out just below and to the rear of the bird.
Happy Holidays.
Alert Tree Hugger
Once again, even though I had to give up my bird photo outings several years ago, I still have lots of photos on file to add to my site.
This young Cooper Hawk is checking out for mom or dad for a possible yummy meal delivery.
Only the Shadow Knows
I haven't been out doing bird photography for several years now due to my knee-related mobility problems. But, I do have many Snowy Owl photos that I have on file.
Here is one with a shadow following the bird.
Snowy Owl - Phantom Menace
On a Level Plane - Snowy Owl
Formatted to a 1:2 frame.
Snowy Owl - Rock and Roll
Snowy Owl - Flashback On the Fly
Snowy Owl - Off to Meet the New Year
Taken under shadow/cloudy light - which explains the white/dark look with lack of detail in some of the highlights after post-processing.
Joyeux Noël - Merry Christmas - Xrystos Narodyvsija
Snowy Owl - Picket Patrol
I just love these dynamic Snowy picket perching photos.
As usual, later afternoon shot, which explains the dark-patched snow.
Cheers,
Mike
Snowy Owl - Get Ready, Here I Come!
It has benn quite some time since I added photos to my site. So, here we go!
I deliberately left this image on the cold-side with its blue tinge, to give the felling of extreme cold with this later-afternoon shot.
Cheers,
Mike
Fox Pup - I'm So Darn Cute!
Canon 5D Mark III with my 500L f4 lens handheld @ 1/400, f4, ISO 1250, +3 exposure compensation. Cropped for composition. Eyes slightly dodged.
Very late afternoon shot before sunset with a veil of clouds. The veiled sky provides for great portrait lighting in this case.
Cheers,
Mike
Snowy Owl - Hey, This Is Not the Arctic!
With the trees in the background and vegetation peeking through the snow, this Snowy Owl will soon leave us to fly back to its breeding ground.
Canon 5D Mark III with my 500L f4 lens, handheld as usual @ 1/1000, f6.7, ISO 400, no exposure compensation. A late-afternoon photo. Slight crop for composition purposes. This time, balanced for whites with a touch of selective sharpening to the face, and that's about it for post-processing.
Cheers,
Mike
Snowy Owl - Spring Is In The Air
Although it is still winter, the extended daily sunlight with its longer shadows an greater palate of colours gives us a taste of the coming spring.
This is an end-of-the-day photo, with the sun just lowered behind the cloudless horizon, giving us the resulting colours. The lighting condition is reflected in my camera settings. Another advantage of early and late afternoon Snowy photos - the bird's eyes are wide open without any dark shadows due to mid-day overhead sunlight.
Canon 5D Mark III with my 500L f4 lens, handheld @ 1/750, f4, ISO 1250, +3 exposure compensation. Small crop for composition purposes. Selective sharpening of only the face.
Cheers,
Mike
Moon Landing - Snowy Owl
Another of my hard to take annual moon photos with a Snowy Owl. The sun behind me had just dropped off the horizon as the moon came up. As usual, impossible to get both bird and moon in focus due to the zoom lens used and distance to the bird. Therefore, it is one or the other.
Canon 5D Mark III with my 500L f4 lens handheld as usual @ 1/1000, f4, ISO 800, +3 exposure compensation.
Cropped for compositions purposes. Two annoying small branches at the bottom of the photo cloned away. Because the whole of the image was almost a monotone cyan/blue, I selected only the bird to reduce the cyan/blue to bring it closer to a white. Therefore, a miniscule blur brush as applied along the outline of the bird to reduce the resulting contrast line between bird and sky.
Cheers,
Mike