articles/Owls/mysteryowls-page5

Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls - part 5 of 1 2 3 4 5 6

by Jon Ashton Published 01/02/2012

In an ideal world we would have good, but not harsh light, there would be a high tide to push rodents (and hence any owls) towards the shore line and there would be a light breeze blowing landward. If we were really lucky it would also not be too cold either (this is, however, purely for the comfort of the photographer!)

The Tripod

I would recommend using a tripod under all circumstances regardless of lens length, unless there was a compelling reason not to do so.

Hand-holding a 500mm lens (or bigger) is possible and practical but it is not over a sustained length of time; your arms will tire and you will find it difficult to keep the lens steady - I guarantee! I would recommend using a tripod and a gimbal head of some kind; certain ball and socket heads work with big lenses but most result in the lens flopping over as the ball becomes loose in the socket. I place the tripod so that the camera eye-piece is just below eye height and when panning I brace myself so that my head is pushing against the camera eye piece and my left arm is on the lens or holding the gimbal head, this way vibrations are reduced and it makes for smooth panning.

The Lens

A telephoto or long zoom lens will definitely be required; it obviously depends upon how big an owl is and how close it will fly to the photographer but I would suggest a 400mm lens is going to prove an absolute minimum. A prime lens will focus more quickly than a zoom lens and any lens without a supplementary Tele Converter/Extension Lens will focus more quickly than one with. I use a Canon 500mm LIS f4 lens, and only if necessary do I fit a 1.4 teleconverter. The aperture selection will very much depend upon the light and how close you are likely to be to the subject; the closer the bird you will need a smaller aperture, the further away a larger aperture will be ok - this is because depth of field is directly related to magnification - the closer the bird, the greater the magnification.

The Camera

Most photographers will be contemplating using an SLR digital camera; it matters little if it is a full frame or a crop frame camera, provided a reasonable sized image can be captured. The most important aspects to be constantly aware of are settings that may require adjusting to track changing light or changing light direction relative to the flight of the owl.

If the light is at the rear of the owl, for example, the meter setting will need to be altered to that if the light was lateral or to the front of the owl.

The photographer has a choice, either be aware of the need to over- or under-expose, or consider setting the camera to manual mode. If the light is constant and the sun is not continuously being shielded and unshielded by clouds, then Av mode metering may prove the better option, just bare in mind the need to over- or under-expose the subject relative to the surroundings. I always set my camera to Evaluative Metering and I usually use Av mode. If I am photographing a short-eared owl flying over marshes then, depending upon light direction, I would start off assuming that the bird would have a similar luminosity to the dried grass stems.

If the owl was against a bright blue sky then I would of course need to increase exposure. When I arrive at the scene one of the first things I would do would be to take a few shots of the surroundings and check the histogram, ensuring I was 'shooting to the right'. I would then know instinctively if I had to over- or under-expose the subject according to its position in the frame. I would select an ISO setting that would provide a little leeway for adjustment, eg one that would permit 1/1000sec or 1/800 sec. Slower shutter speeds are possible but the hit rate will be appreciably lower. I recognise of course that sometimes it may be a conscious decision to select a slow shutter speed to demonstrate movement, but in general a pin-sharp head is what is required.

• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 1
  
• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 2
  
• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 3
  
• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 4
  
• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 5
  
• Mystery, Superstition and Imagination Ashton's Owls page 6
  

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