New Nest Site
New Owlet
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
About half a mile from our home we were awarded a second season of Great Horned Owl nesting. It was a difficult season for our new owl family this year, as the city decided March was a great time to trim all of the palm trees along the walkway and all of the giant eucalyptus tress the week after. We called the city, told them there was an owl’s nest where the tree crew was getting ready to trim the next day, sent them photos from the last time and the mother owl from this year in the nest, all to no avail. The contracted tree company trimmed away right over the top of the nest and six other trees within fifty feet of it. Then they ground up the trimmings right under the tree. We showed the crew boss the owls in my camera and with our binoculars. He smiled and said they would not bother the owls. Right! The week after all the trimming was done we talked to a city maintenance worker who said if it had been the city crew who did the trimming they would have been fired. I was told the trimmer actually took a cell phone photo from above the nest which showed two owlets of two very different sizes. Only one owlet made it through the ordeal. The last family of owls hung around the nest for about two and a half months three years ago. This year they were gone after only a month and a half. Other agencies in our area have developed policies not to trim during potential bird nesting season, I’m hoping our city will adopt a similar policy next year.
Specific Feedback
The new nest was in a fairly exposed area this year and then the trees were trimmed removing even more shade and cover for the owls. I toned down the brights in post processing, but I’m not sure it was enough.
Technical Details
- Canon 7dMii, f10, 1/125 sec, iso 1600, -0.3 EV, 100-400/1.4TC at 560 mm deep shade.
- f8, 1/1000 sec, iso 500, 520 mm, windy conditions.
- f8, 1/500 sec, iso 400, -0.3 EV, 560 mm.
Hi Ed, so sorry to hear the trauma these owls experienced and that only one owlet survived. Each of these images help tell a story nonetheless. Yes, you had to deal with harsh light but I think you managed pretty well. Wondering if the perch in the first image could be toned down on the right. Perhaps cloning at a low opacity would help. I think the bird in the first image may be showing the signs of a slow shutter speed in terms of sharpness.
I’m wondering if the owl in the second image is showing the effects of motion blur.
Still, a nice set of images of these awe-inspiring subjects.
A nice series, Ed. I think Allen covered all the issues I noticed. I think you’re using PS Elements, but I believe it has a cloning tool and his recommendation is good for using it. I’d be tempted to get rid of those really bright twigs in the first image if PSE has the tools to do it.
For what they’ve been through, they seem so content. What a crazy story. Unfortunately this is an all too common scenario, at least where I live in Southern California. Let’s hope new policies are written to prevent scenarios like this from continuing to happen.
Is that palm tree the actual nesting site? Very interesting. In the first image, I would burn down that bright spot on the very right portion of the perch and I’d consider removing the branch that is going through the tail and out the back of the owl along with those bright twigs just under the tail and the branch in the LLC that is just sneaking into the frame. It’s hard to find these birds in the open like this so good for you for capturing this one.
I agree with what @Allen_Sparks mentioned about harsh light and you’ve done great at toning these down and it also looks like you had windy conditions which might have contributed to the slight motion blur in these.
Thanks for telling the story behind the images, Ed. It’s a miracle even one survived.
@David_Haynes I appreciate your thoughts on these David. Thank you. That palm was the actual tree they nested in. The first shot here is the actual tree after they trimmed it about twenty five feet over the nest. The second shot is what the palms looked like before they trimmed them.
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