![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/barn-owl-3581b-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"barn-owl-3581b-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nDue to my recent surgery I hadn’t been out shooting for over two weeks but when I saw there was a possibility for decent light yesterday morning I decided to give it a go. If felt good to be “out there” again.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II,\u00a0Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I had chances at several Barn Owls in flight and this shot may have been my best result of the morning. One thing I really like about the image is the light angle on the face and eye. The morning sun was just over my right shoulder which was just about perfect to get good light on that deeply set eye and it resulted in a nice catch light. Because their eyes are so deeply set Barn Owls are my most difficult avian subject when it comes to getting catch lights, especially in flight.<\/p>\n I sure messed up on a bunch of Barn Owl flight shots though. My mobility is still limited, I can’t yet turn at the angles in my pickup that I used to and mild to moderate pain is a constant reminder when I try to push my limits. For now the “T” in my forbidden BLT sandwiches (bending, lifting and twisting) is my primary limiting factor for bird photography, particularly with flight shots.<\/p>\n It had been long enough since I’d been in the field I could tell my flight shot skills were already a little rusty. It’s surprising how quickly that kind of thing can leave us.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On an unrelated note: <\/em><\/p>\n Last night my sleep was rudely interrupted by a mild but sharp earthquake. I went from sleep to wide awake in an instant at 2:30 AM according to my bedside clock but when I looked the quake up later in the morning the USGS site said it occurred at 2:31 and was 3.1 on the Richter Scale. The sharp tremors only lasted for about two seconds but they sure got my attention (I never slept after that). The only sound I heard was a squeaking sound coming from the direction of my bedroom window but it was still an eerie experience.<\/em><\/p>\n