Great Horned Owl
It was very early in the morning in the Badlands when I came across this young great horned owl. This is one of those cases where I chose a slower shutter speed/aperture combination to brighten the exposure and make it look like it was much later in the day. It was actually about 4:45 AM and pre-dawn light was just starting to lighten up the sky. I saw a medium to large owl fly across the street and I pulled over to get a closer look. The owl was nowhere to be found as I sat in my car scanning the trees. Suddenly, it landed in the grass right in front of my car. I used the headlights at first to get a few exposures at a decent speed, then turned off the lights and tried this one at only 1/10th of a second (at ISO 3200 with a wide open aperture). I was able to steady my camera on the side view mirror — and with vibration reduction enabled — I got two in-focus shots before the owl flew off. I still wasn’t quite sure what kind of owl it was until I took a closer look on my camera’s LCD screen. The not-yet-fully-formed ear tufts threw me off at first but indicate that this is a young great horned owl. Eventually those ear tufts will get much more defined.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/10th of a second
Oh what great shot, I cant believe, it that stay around that long, what great pic.
Amazing ow they can turn that head around to their back….looks like an exorcist owl.
Perhaps I will become —-Wize as my years confirm me—-Until then I’ll be surprised.
Yes Mom, you’re dead right. That head of theirs swivels to about 270 degrees, to check out prey and predators.Your choice of shutter speed/f stop has worked admirably Sean. Who would have known at was taken at 4.45am. The superior knowledge of the master photographer alright. He/she is a good looking little chap. Those eyes are so piercing and see everything in view!
Cool shot Seanie, never saw an owl in the grass!
excellent shot Sean, he does look like a baby … BTW want to thank you for the camera info that you give with each shot, helps us “newbies” to learn :o)
Love it!