Great Grey Owl SNOWFLIGHT (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone) Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 100-400mm @ 250mm. ISO 640, f/9 @ 1/640s Manual Exposure and manual focus. Full Frame. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE AN IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION.

Tips for birds in-flight in the snow

Stop down, or close the aperture when shooting in snow to maximize the effect of the big snowflakes; use a larger depth-of-field to keep as many snowflakes as possible sharp. I find F/9 works well during heavy snowfalls with large snowflakes.
Place your subject against the dark background of coniferous trees to help define the snowflakes.
Use manual focus for more precise results; Most Auto-focus systems focus on the nearest, large snowflakes.
Leave some breathing room for your subject - you have probably invested a lot of time to get out in that perfect storm; make sure you include it in the image and avoid shooting too tight.

FirstPass Image Editing Software Evolves

I first told you about FirstPass image editing software for the Mac back in November and wanted to pass on the news that a new version is available with tons of new features:

✔ New image information panel
✔ Image information panel now shows image histograms
✔ Image information panel can be activated from image browser using right click menu
✔ Ratings can be applied to multiple files at the same time using right click context menu
✔ Improved memory management and performance
✔ Fix for an issue related to caching optimization

This software has evolved into a fast, feature rich, must-have image editing dream for Mac using photographers! Be sure to purchase your copy before the scheduled price increase on February 1, 2012; it's going up to only $18.99, but you can get your copy for only $9.99 now:

Check out FirstPass in the CANADIAN APPLE STORE HERE

Check out FirstPass in the US APPLE STORE HERE