![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/short-eared-owl-7878b-reprocessed-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"short-eared-owl-7878b-reprocessed-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nTaking a mulligan.<\/p>\n
After yesterday’s post of a Short-eared Owl in flight that was soft I wanted to demonstrate that I can actually take a sharp photo of one. Besides I posted this shot over five years ago and looking back at it I don’t like the way I processed it back then so I wanted to take a mulligan on it and have a do-over.<\/p>\n
I like this version better, in part because I cropped more tightly on the owl.<\/p>\n
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1\/1000, f\/5.6, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I got a series of shots as the male Short-eared Owl flew in my direction for a few seconds before he veered off to our left to deliver the vole to his family at their nest. In this low light I was lucky and very happy that most of them were sharp.<\/p>\n All of the photos in the series have this background that I love – the shaded Centennial Mountains above and sagebrush flats below. I really like the layers of blue and sagebrush green back there. This photo will likely look familiar to some viewers, in part because I’ve posted other shots from the series in the past. But this one has direct eye contact and raised wings to set it apart.<\/p>\n That aggressive direct stare from the owl makes me think that he’s almost daring me to try to steal his vole.<\/p>\n I like the series of shots well enough that I have a large canvas print of one of them hanging in my living room. It reminds me of one of my favorite experiences with birds in the field.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Taking a mulligan.<\/p>\n