Weekly Photo Challenge: Delicate

For this week’s photo challenge from WordPress I picked photos of the Eurasian Eagle Owl to represent the theme delicate.  Despite being one of the larger owls, it’s individual feathers are quite delicate.  I found one on the path at World Bird Sanctuary and took the photo just to show how delicate it is.  If you click on that photo you can see the wood chips through the feather in several places.  I have included a couple of pictures of the owl too, just to give you a feel for its size and beauty, if you are not familiar with this particular bird. Just for your information it is against US Federal Law to possess feathers (and the like) of birds of prey.  If you see the feather, take a picture, not the feather 🙂

ISO 160 95mm 0.33 f/5.6 1/25

ISO 160 95mm 0.33ev f/5.6 1/25

ISO 160 95mm 0.33ev f/5.6 1/25

Cheers!

Friday, a work in progress

Today I am writing about a photo that I shot a few weeks ago but have just started editing:

ISO 320 50mm 0ev f/1.8 1/160

This is Twig, a 19 year-old Eastern Screech Owl who lives at the World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis Missouri.  I put the link in for their website and would highly recommend a visit if you happen to be in the area.  Twig sometimes takes naps on the floor of the enclosure causing concern for more than one visitor.  It was unusual for Twig to be this close to the front of the enclosure so this is probably the best photo I have.

As far as the editing goes, first I started in Aperture where I tried to remove as much of the enclosure as possible.  Then I made three copies in order to change the exposure.  So one version I set at -1.33, one at +.33, and one at +1.33.  I then put the three versions in Photomatix and the image you see above is a fusion of the three copies.

I am thinking I am not finished messing with this image.  I would like to attempt to do a better job of removing the enclosure.  I would also like to create a version or two that I like better in Photomatix.  I know I can come up with a better image, so I think I will keep working at it.

Happy Friday to you, and I hope that the projects you are working on are going well.

Cheers!

Just Hanging Out

Here is a subject that was hard to shoot:

ISO 1000 50mm 0ev f/2.2 1/25

This is Batty and Scar.  They are Straw-Colored Fruit Bats that live at the World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis Missouri.  I set my white balance to florescent, because that seemed to get the truest to real life color result.  The bats are in an enclosure, so I got as close as possible to get as much of that out of the picture as possible.

The lighting casts some pretty harsh shadows, so in Aperture I lightened the bat that is further back in the frame.  I also messed with the curves slider to get the color the way I wanted it.  The photo has also been cropped and sharpened.

Cheers!

Having a foggy Monday?

Then here is a photo to go with your day:

ISO 640 50mm 0ev f/10 1/250

I took this photo near some bird feeders where this Downy Woodpecker was eating.  It was pretty foggy; I had my white balance set to shady in the hopes of keeping the feel of the fog.  The photo has been cropped in Aperture.  Then I increased the exposure slider a bit.  I also lightened just the woodpecker and sharpened the photo.

Cheers!

Tawny Owl

I was taking some bird pictures.  Usually there is more than enough if not too much light when I am taking outdoor shots.  Today was the opposite, not a lot of light.  Overcast skies can help really bring out the darker and richer colors that are available though.  Here is a Tawny Owl:

ISO 800 f/1.8 1/1000 50mm

I shot this with a bracketed exposure and then edited first in Photomatix.  I kept the version that was called “natural” because in this case I was trying to make a more representational image.  When I imported it into Aperture I boosted the saturation and definition and then sharpened the image.  It has also been cropped.  The original image was taken with a high shutter speed and a tripod, in the hopes of stopping any motion as much as possible.

Cheers!