Owly, my favorite Owl

Owly, my favorite Owl.

 

Owly is the resident Great Horned Owl at the Teton Raptor Center, and is responsible (sort of) for starting the TRC as we know it today. The story goes the Founders of the TRC were rehabbing birds at their home, and Owly (named by the Founder’s young daughter) was being housed in the bathtub. The daughter went to take a bath but couldn’t so she went in and insisted that the parents get the owl out of the tub! It was the inspiration for them to acquire a bigger and better place to do their work. Owly was the first bird we photographed years ago at the TRC and my images of her have been featured in several of the TRC’s literature as well as some pieces by Tamron. She is just beautiful and has reached so many people in her work as an ambassador for wildlife. I loved this image of her as she was looking over her “shoulder” as if she was striking a pose. Please check out the Teton Raptor Center’s website. https://tetonraptorcenter.org/

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z7 via the FTZ adapter, Manual Mode, f8, ISO 800, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #NatureInFocusPhotographyWorkshops, #BearWoodsPhotography, #TetonRaptorCenter

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl, Captive animal.

 

I’m still going through all the images from two weeks ago at the Outdoor Discovery Center in Holland, MI during the SWMCCC Weekend of Photography 2019. This GHO (Great Horned Owl) was super popular with the group, possibly because of the popularity of the bird, and possibly because it was a beautiful bird that posed great for the group. It was the last bird of the evening that we photographed and the light was amazing on the bird. With the heat outside, I hope to spend a little time getting caught up with all the processing I need to do. I am putting the finishing touches on my presentation, “Painting a Photograph” for Thursday with the Georgia Nature Photographers Association in Smyrna, and my presentation on “Landscape Photography” for the Big Canoe Photographers on Saturday.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon Z6 camera, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 1100, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, Sirui P326 monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron150600g2, #SiruiUSA, #SWMCCC, #BirdsofPrey, #BirdNirdvana, #BirdPhotography, #BearWoodsPhotography

Owlie

Owlie.

 

This image of the Great Horned Owl at the Teton Raptor Center has definitely been one of my favorites from 2018. We took our workshop group to the TRC and were rewarded with some fantastic photographic opportunities. It was the first time I was able to shoot with the Tamron 100-400mm lens, and even better, shoot it on my new Nikon D-850. It revealed to me the incredible sharpness of the lens and super resolution of the camera. The combination is perfect. Owlie was fantastic and loved posing for us. We are taking our group again this year and will be photographing in a historic location with the birds. Just another reason to love the Grand Tetons and the surrounding area! The folks at the TRC are absolutely fantastic folks and their work is so important in the area as well.

 

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-850, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 720, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, Sirui monopod, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron100400, #SiruiUSA, #SiruiProfessional, #BearWoodsPhotography, #TetonRaptorCenter

Owly’s Eyes

Owly’s Eyes.

 

Owls have always fascinated some and struck fear in others. Some folks feel they are a part of some bad mojo mystical thing. Me, I am simply fascinated. The feathers are always really beautiful, but by far, it is the eyes. The piercing eyes. In Owy’s case, bright yellow. Obviously they are needed to hunt with such accuracy, but they are simply beautiful. I also learned that a Great Horned Owl can hear a mouse’s heartbeat from 10 feet away. Owl’s are so important in fighting rodents, folks should want an owl hanging around their homes!

 

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-850, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 800, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #TetonRaptorCenter

Owlie, the Great Horned Owl

Owlie, the Great Horned Owl.

 

One of the beautiful birds we photographed while we visited the Teton Raptor Center was this Great Horned Owl. Hopefully my memory is correct and its name is Owlie, named by a child, but I like it. This bird is another one of their educational birds, meaning it can’t be released into the wild, but will serve as an educational ambassador to all of us. Becky, the handler/educator, obviously has a great relationship with the birds as they respond to her very well. It was more than a few times that Owlie would “hoot” at her and they would have little conversations with each other. I have said on numerous times, please support your local centers, even better make sure you take a kid to one, so they can learn about these beautiful animals and hopefully they will do one thing that will help protect them while in the wild.

 

Tamron 100-400mm Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-850, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 720, shutter speed of 1/250th of a second, handheld utilizing the Vibration Compensation feature of the lens, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #TetonRaptorCenter

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl.

 

Our workshop group went to Dauphin Island yesterday where we were lucky enough to photograph a Great Horned Owl’s nest. One of the parents was nearby in a tree and if it hadn’t been pointed out to me the day before I would never have seen it. The ability to blend for these beautiful birds is incredible.

 

Tamron SP 150-600mm Di VC USD G2 lens on a Nikon D-500, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 800, shutter speed of 1/500th of a second, Sirui W2204X tripod and PH20 Gimbal Head, MindShift Gear TrailScape backpack, processed in Lightroom CC. #WithMyTamron, #TamronImageMasters, #SiruiPro, #SiruUSA, #MindShiftGear