Snowy, snowy Owl (aka Davev :-P~~~~ )

Ann McRae

Doing my best to embrace this beautiful, mild winter. Went searching for snowy owls, and actually found one!

Allen

Beautiful

Overfocused

Love #1. Soooo freakin' cute on the post.

I wish I had the opportunity to takes photos of birds like that but Illinois is too far south to find them except in extremely rare cases.

denisegoldberg

Wow! Beautiful, and what a wonderful creature to see!

--- Denise

davev

Darn Canadians.

Your shots are great Ann.

I chased these darn birds for 5 weekends, and found exactly one, 200 yards away, that with 600mm of lens the bird looks like a postage stamp on a semi trailer.



Should I add that the weather was great on this day also, -10F with 30 mph winds blowing into my face while trying to get this.
I'd like to say that I'm done whining about this, but I'm not.

Ann McRae

Allen wrote: »

Beautiful

Thank you, Allen!

Ann McRae

Overfocused wrote: »

Love #1. Soooo freakin' cute on the post.

I wish I had the opportunity to takes photos of birds like that but Illinois is too far south to find them except in extremely rare cases.

Thanks! You'll just have to travel! These guys 'winter' here, meaning they go north in the summer. Kind of mind boggling to think of going north of Edmonton!

ann

Ann McRae

denisegoldberg wrote: »

Wow! Beautiful, and what a wonderful creature to see!

--- Denise

Thanks, Denise. They are indeed wonderful to see! I was certainly thrilled!

Ann McRae

davev wrote: »

Darn Canadians.

Your shots are great Ann.

I chased these darn birds for 5 weekends, and found exactly one, 200 yards away, that with 600mm of lens the bird looks like a postage stamp on a semi trailer.


Should I add that the weather was great on this day also, -10F with 30 mph winds blowing into my face while trying to get this.
I'd like to say that I'm done whining about this, but I'm not.

Well, Davev, you do know there is a standing invite to you and your entourage to visit!!! This would be the winter to do so - it's been so mild, so many species are overwintering, lots of birding ops!!!

I had to go check whether the all white feather pattern was related to winter or gender. Apparently, the whiter the feathers, the older the male. Females and juveniles have barred feathers. So my guy is a wise old soul, or an old geizer I guess!

Cheers!

Allen

Overfocused wrote: »

Love #1. Soooo freakin' cute on the post.

I wish I had the opportunity to takes photos of birds like that but Illinois is too far south to find them except in extremely rare cases.

There's one down in Redbud, Illinois.

Also one much closer to you. (Chicago-ish)
http://maps.google.com/?q=41.28237,-88.8825%20%28Snowy%20Owl%20-%20La%20Salle%29

Ric Grupe

Allen wrote: »

There's one down in Redbud, Illinois.

Also one much closer to you. (Chicago-ish)
http://maps.google.com/?q=41.28237,-88.8825%20%28Snowy%20Owl%20-%20La%20Salle%29

Thanks, Allen!

I think I'll put the top down and take a ride. :ivar

Ric Grupe

Outstanding, Ann!

BTW.....what does the sign say? (I'm weird)

davev

Ann McRae wrote: »

Well, Davev, you do know there is a standing invite to you and your entourage to visit!!! This would be the winter to do so - it's been so mild, so many species are overwintering, lots of birding ops!!!

I had to go check whether the all white feather pattern was related to winter or gender. Apparently, the whiter the feathers, the older the male. Females and juveniles have barred feathers. So my guy is a wise old soul, or an old geizer I guess!

Cheers!

I'm sure we'll get up there again someday, but not this year.
We'll be heading the other direction to visit Harry and the birds and gators down south soon.

PhotoDavid78

I love #1! the extremely soft background and warm colors really makes the owl pop.

Harryb

Excellent set Ann, it may be me but the highlights seem a tad hot.

Ann McRae

Ric Grupe wrote: »

Outstanding, Ann!

BTW.....what does the sign say? (I'm weird)

Thanks, Ric!

I don't have a photo that shows the sign text but I'd venture that it marks a pipeline location.

ann

Ann McRae

davev wrote: »

I'm sure we'll get up there again someday, but not this year.
We'll be heading the other direction to visit Harry and the birds and gators down south soon.

Give Harry a hug from me, and don't get et by a gator!!! Have a great trip!

Ann McRae

PhotoDavid78 wrote: »

I love #1! the extremely soft background and warm colors really makes the owl pop.

Thanks Dave! I love it except for the centered composition. I have some others that have better comp but aren't quite as sharp!

ann

Ann McRae

Harryb wrote: »

Excellent set Ann, it may be me but the highlights seem a tad hot.

Thanks Harry. White bird, bright sunshine, small amount of snow on ground as reflector....

I agree that they look hot BUT according to the Lightroom histogram, there are no blown highlights on these shots. Close, perhaps, but not blown!

Ann McRae

The whole gallery can be seen here

We first saw him on a fence post but the car in front of us scared him away. Later, after hiking about a mile, I realized I didn't have memory in the camera, so headed back to the car and decided to head to the other side of the lake. Leaving the parking lot we saw the tell tale 'car parked on side of road' that indicates wild life viewing ops. He was in the tree top, flew to the sign, then flew to a different tree stand. Another lady was photographing him, hoping to get an in flight shot, but her companion was not as indulgent as mine, and they left while he stayed put on the sign. I walked toward him and the last sign post shot is full frame, so I got quite close!

ann

Harryb

Ann McRae wrote: »

Thanks Harry. White bird, bright sunshine, small amount of snow on ground as reflector....

I agree that they look hot BUT according to the Lightroom histogram, there are no blown highlights on these shots. Close, perhaps, but not blown!

I don't know . If you shot in RAW how was the histogram prior to processing? I downloaded one of the pictures and I was able to pull some details out of it. If you want I can post it for you perusal.