Great Gray Owl

[ronwoodcraft]

We were having a small spring snow shower when I first spotted this owl, which might explain why it was out hunting in the middle of the day. Had a difficult time with the fast changing lighting conditions. He wasn't too concerned about me, but when I got too close he would fly a short distance to another perch. I was only there for a few minutes, and the weather changed from snow to sun. When the sun came out the owl flew into the dark woods. I saw one in Oregon that looked twice as big as this one.

 

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[tamrock]

Very good Ron l think you should submit those to Nat.Geo's monthly photos.

 

[old digger]

WOW! Amazing shots of a beautiful bird.

 

[Old Dude]

I have to agree with tamrock.....those are quality pics. Beautiful bird and great selection of shots.

 

[donj]

Beautiful really sharp images.

 

[RGINN]

Like those in flight pics. Excellent!

 

[lost it]

fantastic pictures Ron that owl looks magnificent

 

[stefen]

 

[Oregon Viking]

Sweet!! Remind me again what camera you are using?

 

[ronwoodcraft]

Sweet!! Remind me again what camera you are using?

Thanks Viking, I use a Canon 5D III. and a Canon 400mm lens.

 

[fyrffytr1]

I wish I had the talent to take pictures like yours. If I tried to get an in flight shot it would come out as a still life where the bird was a second before I hit the shutter button!

 

[Oregon Viking]

Thanks Viking, I use a Canon 5D III. and a Canon 400mm lens.

I just researched that camera....wicked!
I have observed ,most, if not all of your pics posted here, you got the touch!

 

[tamrock]

Is it this what you have Ron? Plus, what is the frame rate your shooting at?

 

[Kevin in IN]

What a beautiful creature. Great pictures. Thank you.

 

[BosnMate]

Great pictures as usual Ron.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

I wish I had the talent to take pictures like yours. If I tried to get an in flight shot it would come out as a still life where the bird was a second before I hit the shutter button!

Thanks fyrffytr1, I think I just got lucky with these flying pics. I do know it's easier with a large bird than a small one. Most of the time I completely miss or get a blurred blob. That's why I take as many shots as I can just hoping to get one good one.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

Is it this what you have Ron? Plus, what is the frame rate your shooting at?

That's the same camera, but that lens is a 100-400mm. I have a 400mm 5.6 L prime lens ( Fixed focal length no zoom )

Not sure about frame rate. I keep it set on the one where you hold the button shutter button down, and it shoots repeatedly as fast as it can. Here's the image info for one of the flying shots. I see I had a shutter speed of 1/800. Surprised it caught the flying bird at all. Usually need a shutter speed twice that fast for flying birds. Another reason I got this camera is it works great with High ISO for low light conditions such as this.( Low noise at high ISO )

File Name 054.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Firmware Firmware Version 1.1.3
Shooting Date/Time 2/22/2016 1:50:09 PM
Owner's Name
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/800
Av( Aperture Value ) 6.3
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed 1250
Auto ISO Speed OFF
Lens EF400mm f/5.6L USM
Focal Length 400.0mm
Image Size 5760x3840
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF Configuration Tool Case 6
Tracking sensitivity 2
Accel./decel. tracking 1
AF point auto switching 1
AF area select mode Spot AF
Picture Style Landscape
Sharpness 4
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction Disable
High ISO speed noise reduction Standard
Highlight tone priority Disable
Auto Lighting Optimizer Disable
Peripheral illumination correction Enable
Chromatic aberration correction Enable
Dust Delete Data No
File Size 28559KB
Drive Mode High-speed continuous shooting

 

[ronwoodcraft]

Here' one more I got while I had the opportunity. Believe it or not, it was hard to get him to look at me directly. He acted like I was being a nuisance. He knew I was there, but kept searching the meadow looking for mice.

 

[Old Dude]

You're using auto focus? I figured you for a manual guy. Like someone said, you have the knack. Beautiful shots.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

You're using auto focus? I figured you for a manual guy. Like someone said, you have the knack. Beautiful shots.

I use manual for shooting mode, but have always used auto focus. Now especially, when I'm old and can't see good enough for manual.