January 23, 2016

Wise One

SDP 1-23-16

Believe it or not, I had given up on seeing any wildlife at Myakka State Park last Saturday evening, when I encountered this barred owl. It was a beautiful evening and the park was filled with families, so most of the wildlife had opted to go into hiding. I couldn't have imagined I would have an excellent opportunity to use two new pieces of camera equipment I received for Christmas: a tripod with a ball head and a remote control. 

As I was driving out of the park, an owl flew right over the hood of my car --- and landed in a tree top about 35 yards away in the woods. Yes! By the time I had quietly positioned myself to get a good shot, I realized I was almost directly under the bird -- a perfect situation to use the new tripod.  (It was quite exciting to shoot almost vertically on a tripod.)  To minimize camera shake, I used the remote control.  And…voila!   The owl seemed very curious about what I was doing.  Unfortunately, the fading sunlight resulted in washed out colors.  So, I converted the image to black and white.  Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

9 comments:

Jack said...

You got him! Every time I see something that calls for me to dig my tripod and remote out of the back of my car, the subject departs, thumbing its nose at me.

Brian King said...

Fantastic! The black and white works very well!

Kate said...

You certainly had a photographic adventure! Great shot and wonderful story of serendipity!

Kathy said...

Great shot! I'm amazed that you had time to park, unload and set up the equipment in time to get the shot. You must be fast as lightning, girl!

Lorraine said...

I still have not seen an owl in the wild yet. Maybe I just don't know where to look. I hear them, but never see them. So cool!

Nancy J said...

Good timing, and what great gifts. He looks magnificent up there.

William Kendall said...

What a beautiful bird!

Kay said...

How exciting! Great shot. Black and white works. I've only seen owls on the wing, at or past dusk, and moving too fast to catch.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Oh well done SRQ, brilliant first use of your new equipment. I can just hear him thinking 'what'? As opposed to 'hoot' :)