Cedar the Owl Flyover - Dunrobin Castle

[TheBigE]

Part of the tour of Dunrobin Castle in Scotland was a Falconry Demonstration. It was very interesting and memorable. Looking through the photos, I was able to catch Cedar the Owl during a flyby.

I played around with many options on cropping and ended up going with a Cinematic Crop and leaving some room on the right to show where the owl came from...moreover, I felt that having him on the edge of the frame on the left added some tenision to the image - as if there was not enough on how low he flew over the crowd.

Just some minor edits in LR and ColorEFEX to bring out some of the details.

C&C Always welcome

ISO200 70mm f/8 at 1/640s (-2/3 EV) with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8

[Shadowman]

Nice shot.

[NorthernFocus]

Interesting. It looks like a press conference with all of the cameras. I like you choice of crop. It fits the situation.

[Dave Humphries]

Good capture Erik,

I have shot at several similar displays myself, so I know how tricky it can be to get the bird sharp when it is this close.

My only suggestion regarding processing would be that if mine, I'd have cloned out the bright bit of phone/tablet on lower edge of frame.

Well done,
Dave

PS for Dan

It looks like a press conference with all of the cameras.

Yeah, these BoP/falconry displays are quite common over here Dan they're run at many castles, falconry centres and wildlife sanctuaries, it can get a bit distracting when you're in amongst the masses and everyone tries to shoot with whatever they have to hand because they can. Not uncommon to have certain species flown directly across the crowds (usually told to remain seated).

I like these shows, they're a challenge, but rarely do I get anything as good as this shot by Erik - if the bird is sharp, it is usually missing a wing tip at the edge of frame and if not the latter, then it's blurry

Of course, you shoot your wildlife actually in the wild, which brings its own challenges, although you are equal to those, as we are fortunate enough to see regularly.

[TheBigE]

Thanks John, Dave and Dan - This was my first ever BoP/Falconry display and I was very impressed. I am not sure they are all the same, but the handler (right name??) was very good, entertaining and super informative. I was able to snap a few photos of him, nothing that I am that happy with but a nice memory.




Photgraphically, yes it is a challenge and even at 1/640s as above I still see some blur in the tips of the feathers...not enough to distract from the image but I really learned how difficult it is to capture these in flight and so close to the crowd. I have plenty of photos that look like the one below.....

[Dave Humphries]

Yeah, your last is like most of mine

Th handlers do have 'the gift of the gab' and are often entertaining here (in UK) too.

If you go somewhere that has them again, if included in the price, might be worth checking out earlier/later shows, they often do 2 or 3 a day, flying different birds each time - and often, after the first, you'll know the location well enough to sit in a better place for sun and flight lines.

Cheers,
Dave