Spooky Owl Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

I woke last night with a bad cough and decided to make a coup of hot tea – while the kettle was warming up - realised I, the newspaper from yesterday still was in the mailbox – So I went outdoor in the cold night (3:30 am) but when I reached for the box my “blood freezed”, by a strange growl sound behind me – It took a while but when I realised, what have made the noised, I hurried indoor to get my camera.

The Owl (a long eared) was kind enough to sit still for several shots – this one taken with a poor flash on a distance of 8 meters – not good at all – not to mention the red eyes.

Please note the double ears – it was moving the ears between two positions during the shot

The best shot did I with a powerful torch which I used to “paint” the motif with light during 30 sec exposure time. It can seen on TN here where I also cloned away the branch in front.

I was first when I came indoor I realised she/he was about to have dinner – and I actually was disturbing

Now why the humour category – well try to image a photographer standing under a tree in the middle of the night in "pyjamas", waving up in a tree with a torch :-)

PLD_images, Tue, weswang, singuanti, ynnad, besnard, ChrisJ, berek, nwoehnl, kent_s, Xalkida, jmdaoudal, Jakou, Fixfocus, partha, elihesamian, bazal has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

P-S-I-G (24482) 2005-12-13 16:10

Hello Jeppe,
Just one word : wonderful.
Best regards,
Fabrice

PLD_images (7141) 2005-12-13 16:15

Fantastic photo Jeppe. I love the expression on this little guy's face. I find the light well managed and the color powerfull. I was worth going in the cold in your pyjamas...

Paul

Henryk_Bilor (20365) 2005-12-13 16:20

Hehe, Beautiful model you captured ;). Maybe someone affixed the owl to the branch ;).

Tue (25608) 2005-12-13 17:55

Hej Jeppe,
Fantastisk billede. Skønt det var pga. den hoste du havde fået, er jeg glad for du vågnede op, for ellers kunne vi ikke have set denne smukke ugle. Flot stykke arbejde! :-)
Bedste hilsner,
Lars

weswang (18223) 2005-12-13 18:08

Hi Jeppe, A wonderful capture. Hope your cough is getting better.
I think you have a great TE sense to get up 3:30am in the morning to patrol the trees in your neighborhood in pajamas. I am sure your neighbor would appreciate your service as well as your fellow TE trackers.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful night owl shot here. It is a wonderful shot with amazing 30 second exposure result. Thanks also to your cooperative model to show the patience and wonderful expression. I guess that your picture may be posted in a TE page in the owl world today :D.

singuanti (15240) 2005-12-13 22:18

Hi Jeppe. Funny story about the pajamas. What amazes me is that the owl stood so still for the 30 seconds. It must have been very happy where it was because it must have taken you a good while to get the camera and tripod all set up. Wonderful shot Jeppe!

ynnad (1026) 2005-12-13 23:31

hi jeppe.. i have not actually seen an owl outside the cage... but i think this one is the best bird picture i've seen so far... i even like it better than your other post with a powerful torch... i could give all smileys here if i can... :) thanks. regards, danny

besnard (30370) 2005-12-14 2:11

Bonjour Jeep
Très belle photo de cette chouette qui semble nous regarder les yeux dans les yeux. Il a fallu sans doute du temps pour surprendre ce rapace.
Bon travail et bravo.
Nicole

jrj (34779) 2005-12-14 5:23

Interesting work Jeppe - and what a birdto have in your backyard. I guess the eyes was due to the flash - or it would have been really spooky with the blodshot eyes there - or maybe it had been to a pre xmas party.
(Did look at the one at TN - wonderful)
Anyway very good work...

Galmeida (12559) 2005-12-14 5:33

Hi Jeppe,
What a surpring night shot that you made to this nice Owl. I like also the other at TN. Incredible and wonderful capture in "Pyjama under the tree", and also funny. No more coments because this is FANTASTIC and WONDERFUL.

Bravo. My best regards and have a nice week.
Fernando

ChrisJ (69840) 2005-12-14 7:34

Hi Jeppe

A superb macro zoom of the owl. Excellent sharpness, with a very good shallow dof. I like the low key tones.

berek (28824) 2005-12-14 9:46

Hi Jeppe ,

Nice close taken. Good colors and light. TFS.
Interesting.....
B.Erek

Sharpness:8 ** Light:8 **Colour:9 **Compo:10
**Idea:10**POV:9**Note:10
PS:Evaluation rate is max:10

nwoehnl (118) 2005-12-14 13:35

Wow, that guy sure has a compelling look and interesting hairdo, Jeppe. Well done with the exposure and retained amount of detail in the patterned plumage of the bird. The shining violet eyes are quite fascinating.

kent_s (1911) 2005-12-14 14:20

Davs Jeppe
Hoppas dina naboer inte var vakna för annars hade de väl undrat över den vad där Madsen gör ute mitt i natten med lommelampa och kamera i bara pyjamasen samtidigt som han hostar illa. Vi är nog alla lite halvt sindsyka i jakten på den bästa bilden. Men det kanske är så att ju galnare man beter sig desto bättre blir bilden.

Ett helt vansinnigt bra resultat
Hälsningar
Kent

Xalkida (11740) 2005-12-14 17:48

Hi Zep

Wonderful shot of this spooky bird! :) The expression of this owl is fantastic. Excellent note too! TFS!

maphoto (8076) 2005-12-14 22:31

Oh Jeppe, very nice and colorful, very good for a night shot, great picture, gorgeous details, very well done.

Ina (2679) 2005-12-16 12:45

Hej Jeppe...

Ude med hoste i kulden... Ja sundt lyder det jo ikke, men heldigt var det da at det gav gevinst... Et flot og meget anderledes billede fra din hånd... Til trods for de røde øjne, så er det et meget spændende og sjældent motiv du her har fanget... Kompositionen med den mørke himmel og grenene som som snor sig omkring bag uglen er rigtig dejlig... Den grønne stamme som bund og den lille halestump underneden fuldender billedet... Tak for synet og god jul...Ina...

sergecross (3438) 2005-12-16 17:38

Jeppe, very interesting animal. I like the red eyes and the dof is very worked.
Excellent darkness and the focus is very well catched.
Sergio

jmdaoudal (82) 2005-12-17 3:01

This one has something special in the eyes, but I have seen the whole performance from the photographer and the Pijam attitude, and this may be at the origin of the special eyes colers of the bird :-))
Great nature one and very nice Howl too.
A good one
Jean Michel

Jakou (642) 2005-12-17 4:11

Bonjour Jeppe,
Great "pyjama" work. Thank you for sharing. Regards.

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-12-17 10:50

This is an amazing pair of eyes!Excellent long time exposure with nice colors.
Have a nice weekend,
Hermann

partha (13655) 2005-12-18 12:00

Its really tough to capture.
Exceptional lighting at its eye.
Well done.
Partha.

john_c (24635) 2005-12-19 16:28

Hi Jeppe,
A superb capture. The detail and clarity are remarkable and those eyes are just captivating - blazing at us. In many ways I prefer this shot to your alternate one. The eye colour here is so unusual. Well done.
John

ukasz (799) 2005-12-20 12:36

hi, i like the shot a lot, the owl is beautiful and its eyes look so unnatural but it doesnt matter, here it is to a possitive effect! i like the sharpness of the owl:) in my opinion it is a really good photo:) greetings
ukasz

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-12-22 8:45

great shot, I liek the eveys of this owl, very angry like, really nice work though, well done

elihesamian (26091) 2005-12-22 15:26

Hi Jeppe,

amazing result,
What an attention you had in the cold night with your pyjamas and action for photography :)

A great result,wonderful details,very well captured and managed the DOF in that dark situation,nicely done,I like it verymuch,

And...Merry Christmass and happy new year to you and your family,hope be in health and peace and love.
Best Wishes
M

bazal (7898) 2006-01-20 3:18

Hi Jeppe.
This one is a great naturalistic shot and it's amazing you had time enough to obtain such pictures. The presence of the dead mouse in the owl's claw reminds us that it is a predator helpful fo regulate populations of rodents. The DOF is wuperbly managed and the light is good, even if the reflection in the eyes is slightly disturbing. Nice idea to put this shot in the humor category ! Thanks for sharing !

Maddog (4407) 2006-02-19 16:31