Another Snowy Owl from a recent private owl workshop. As was the case with the last Snowy Owl that I posted HERE, I had my Sony a9III set up and ready to test the pre-capture and was ready for blast-off, but it simply didn’t happen while we were there waiting, and we left it where we found it as it got dark. So happy that there are a few owls finally moving into their winter territory!
Snowy Owls: They're back!
One of three frames I made during my brief encounter with this beauty while cruising the backroads looking for ….. owls :) Only two spots are left for my winter Snowy Owl Workshops in January.
Snowy Owl SOLITUDE
A Snowy Owl from last winter’s WINTER OWL WORKSHOPS. Allowing for a generous negative space adds definition to your subject, and it reduces the negative impact of a busy composition by acting as a buffer, an area in which the eye is drawn back toward the subject.
Juvenile American Bald Eagle with fish in light snow
A juvenile Bald Eagle with a fresh catch in light snow from my Eagles Galore Workshop in March. Another instance when I reached for the Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens and used it wide open at f/2.8: I just love the different sizes of the out-of-focus snowflakes this creates.
Bald Eagle in blizzard
The excitement is always off-the-charts during my Eagles Galore workshop when we are out with the Eagles and it snows. I had our captain head straight to my favourite spot with dark cliffs to emphasize the snowflakes and I chose an aperture of f/2.8 to render the dark cliff in the background out of focus to make the Eagle pop.
Bald Eagle Snowshoes
Exposing for snow
Exposing for the snow is so much easier than most photographers think: Simply set your camera to manual mode, select your desired shutter speed and aperture and then adjust the ISO until the in-camera light meter reads plus 1 & 2/3 while filling the frame with the white snow. Pop off a test image and see the histogram will be populated all the way to the right without touching - so easy!
Snowy Owl SCREAM
A Snowy Owl screams on the coldest morning of the year @ -33C plus wind chill. I have to confess: I was considering breaking out the butane camp stove and making a hot cup of coffee after realizing there would be no glorious light with lake effect clouds interfering with my plans. I am glad that I stayed out and got this territorial scream as another owl flew into its winter territory. I watched it fly off and chase a Tundra Swan until they disappeared beyond the horizon and then broke out the hot coffee - smile.
Snowy Owl Dorsal View
Q: Hi Chris, I have been told a few times by other photographers that I should throw away any picture that does not include both eyes. Do you follow this rule?
-James Bauer
A: Hi James, Absolutely not! While it is rare for me to keep an image where you can’t see at least one eye, it does happen. The dorsal view of the Snowy Owl here is a good example of when that works. Browse through the images in this blog and you will see many images with just one eye visible to the viewer.
As for what to throw away, once you have deleted any images that are out of focus, or obvious immediate failures, it is up to you what to keep. We all have different tastes and storage is cheap these days. Keep the images that you like - smile!
Snowy Owl Final Approach
A Snowy Owl on final approach in fresh snow from my recent Winter Owl Prowl. I got down low and used my Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Head on a monopod. If you missed it, be sure to check out the review by clicking on the button below:
Snowy Owl
Here’s a Snowy Owl from the first Snowy Owl workshop two weeks ago; always a treat when everything lines-up and there is enough snow on the ground.
Read MoreBoreal Owl
Boreal Owl or Tengmalm's Owl (Aegolius funereus, Nyctale de Tengmalm) while scouting for my Winter Owl Workshops in Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @190mm ISO 400, f/5.6 @ 1/400s Manual exposure. Full Frame.
Here's a Boreal Owl with a sprinkle of snow photographed with the new Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens while testing the new Wimberley MH-100 Monogimbal Head for monopods (stay tuned for my mini-review of this awesome new addition to my kit soon).
Great Gray Owl WINTER DREAM
Great Grey Owl WINTER DREAM (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @220mm ISO 4,000, f/5.6 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full Frame.
Here's a Great Gray Owl in a snowstorm; perhaps one of my favorite subjects in my favorite weather. Only 1/4 turn to zoom from 200mm to 600mm with the new Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens is fantastic!
KUDOS
I wanted to thank you for a wonderful winter owling workshop last week. It was great to be in the field with you and I learned a great deal about the birds, environment and my camera. Thanks so much for being such a great naturalist, photographer and trip leader. I will go on another trip with you in the future.
Lynda Goff (Professor Emeritus Ecology & Evolutionary Biology UC Santa Cruz) Santa Cruz, California, USA
Thanks, Lynda! To learn more about my workshops CLICK HERE.
Snowy Owl in a blizzard
Snowy Owl in a blizzard (Bubo scandiacus, Harfang des neiges, SNOW) from my Winter Snowy Owl Photo Tour in Ontario, Canada. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @800mm ISO 5,000, f/2.8 @ 1/2,500s. Manual exposure.
Here's a Snowy Owl from my Snowy Winter Owl workshop on the coldest day last winter. It was -34C and the wind was howling at about 70km/h. The fine, dry snow that had fallen overnight was being picked-up by the strong wind and was sand-blasting the cold right into us. It was dark, and I saw an opportunity to make the owl stand-out by shooting wide open at f/2.8 which rendered the trees in background out of focus. I like the yellow eyes against the otherwise monochromatic image ;)
There are just a couple of spots left for my Snowy Winter Owl Photo Tour. Learn more HERE.
Happy New Year
American Bald Eagle SNOWDRIFT (Hailiaeetus leucocephalus, Pygarge a tete blanche, BAEA) from my BALD EAGLE WORKSHOP in Kachemak Bay (near Homer), Alaska ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE100-400mm F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS Lens @ 400mm Full Frame image. ISO2,500, f/5.6 @ 1/4,000s Manual mode.
Happy New Year!
This image of a Bald Eagle from my Bald Eagle workshop in Homer, Alaska might be my favorite image from 2018. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year ahead to all!
Merry Christmas
Great Grey Owl SOLITUDE (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) Gatineau, Quebec ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. 244mm ISO 3,200s, f/5.6 @ 1/2,500s Manual mode. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Peace, Joy & Love
To everyone who visited this blog or my Facebook page, attended a workshop, safari, seminar or lecture, purchased a print or licensed an image: Thank you for making 2018 my best year yet. I am so very lucky and grateful!
Great Grey Owl BOO
Great Grey Owl BOO (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera & Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS ISO 2,000, f/5.6 @ 1/2,000s Manual Exposure mode and Sony's eye AF. Join me for my winter owl workshops this January/February to learn More CLICK HERE.
Yet another example of how well the Sony Eye AF works! I am loving the new Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS
Join me for my winter owl workshops this January/February to learn More CLICK HERE.
Sony 400mm f/2.8 GM Mini Review
Great Grey Owl (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera & Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS ISO 1,250, F2.8 @ 1/5,000s Manual Exposure mode. Join me for my winter owl workshops this January/February to learn More CLICK HERE.
Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS Mini Review
I am just back from a cross Canada road trip that took just over six weeks and covered more than 17,500km. I was honoured to stop and present at various camera stores across the country, then ended the trip with presentations at ProFusion (Canada's largest camera show); all sponsored by Sony of Canada. Thank you Sony. I got to meet so many great photographers along the way; it was a blast!
I have received a lot of email asking about my thoughts on the new Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS lens; if I had one, and if I thought it was worth the price tag. Yes, I do own one and YES, it is worth the price! When paired with the Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera, the Sony FE 400 f/2.8 GM OSS is the fastest, most reactive with the most accurate auto focus lens that I have ever used. It is light and very well balanced (there was a lot of engineering involved to carefully design the lens with most of it's optics toward the back to make it really easy to hand-hold; a real win for birds-in-flight photographers). Add the Sony 2X Tele-extender, and you end up with a prime killing 800mm f/5.6 that is sharper and more capable than the Canon or Nikon prime lenses that I have used.
Sony took a huge step when thy developed the hybrid AF system that the Sony a9 uses; they have leapt forward with the XD Linear focus. There is no camera and lens that can focus as fast!
From the Sony website: "The XD Linear Motors have been newly developed to deliver higher thrust and efficiency than conventional types in order to make the most of the rapidly evolving speed performance of current and future camera bodies. Linear motor design and component layout have been thoroughly revised to achieve significantly higher thrust. Two of these new motors are used in the SEL400F28GM, achieving up to a 5x improvement* in moving-subject tracking performance. This means that the full speed performance of advanced camera bodies can be applied to capturing perfect images of the most dynamic sports or wildlife subjects. The XD Linear motors are further supported by new algorithms developed specifically for them, notably improving the motors’ response to control signals and minimizing lag and instability that can occur when driving a large aperture focus lens group for quiet, low-vibration operation. "
In summary, XD Linear focus is so much faster than the conventional rotational focus because it quickly and efficiently "thrusts" forward and backward to achieve tack sharp focus. Since conventional lens elements rotate like a nut on a bolt, they have to travel about five times further (think how little a nut moves in relation to how many times it must be turned). There is a limit as to how fast a lens (or lens group) can safely move in a rotational manner.
Bald Eagle Photography Workshop
American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Pygargue à tête blanche, BAEA) from my Bald Eagle Workshop in Kachemak Bay, Alaska ©Christopher Dodds Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Camera & Sony FE100-400 F4.5-5.6 G Master OSS @ 271mm ISO 2,500, F5.6 1/5,000s Manual mode.
Here's another one from my Bald Eagle Photo Tour in Alaska last March. Both workshops in March 2019 were sold out, but I have just had a couple cancel, leaving two spots open. Learn more about my March 10-14 Bald Eagle Photo Tour HERE.
Bald Eagle SNOWDRIFT
Eagles Galore
Thank You Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Great Grey Owl SOLITUDE (Strix nebulosa, Chouette Lapone, GGOW) Gatineau, Quebec ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. 244mm ISO 3,200s, f/5.6 @ 1/2,500s Manual mode. Click HERE to order a print or license image for publication.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Peace, Joy & Love
To everyone who visited this blog or my Facebook page, attended a workshop, safari, seminar or lecture, purchased a print or licensed an image: Thank you for making 2017 my best year yet. I am so very lucky and grateful!