subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 1 June 2019 33
Camera settings
Being largely white, barn owls’ plumage can confuse
automatic exposure modes on your camera, so I tend to
use manual exposure. I take an exposure reading off a
neutral area, like grass, then dial this in. Take a few test
shots first and check the shots as you go; it is sickening
to get home and find all your images over- or under-
exposed! Although barn owls often fly fairly slowly as they
quarter across the ground, I still keep my frame rate at its
highest, and will almost always be using single-spot AF, to
get the focus point as close to the eye as possible.
Time of day
As you will probably need to be out early or late in the
day to photograph barn owls, the sun will be low in the
sky, giving you nice soft light and reducing the risk of
losing detail in shadows and highlights that come with
shooting in harsh light in the middle of the day. When the
sun is at its lowest you can experiment with different light
angles. Images can look gorgeous when shooting into
the sun when it’s low, with light coming through the
bird’s wings and a rim-lighting effect. If the sky has
some colour, you can also try silhouettes.
Shooting advice
wildlife watch technique
Easy to identify, barn owls are
one of the UK’s most-loved birds.
They are great to photograph too,
but they are protected as a
Schedule 1 species so be careful
not to cause any disturbance
during the breeding season.
l Location Found over much
of the UK, except some
upland areas like the
Scottish Highlands.
l Size Length: 33-39cm;
wingspan: 80-95cm.
l Nest Usually located in holes
in trees or undisturbed
buildings. Less often found in
mines, cliffs and quarries.
They will also use nestboxes.
l Diet Small mammals such as
rodents and shrews, as well as
occasionally some larger
mammals and birds.About the
Barn owl
I love the evening light coming
through the owl’s wings here
Nikon D800, 400mm with 2x teleconverter,
1/640sec at f/5.6, ISO 640I was keen to keep the owl
smaller in the frame to show
more of its environment
Nikon D800, 400mm with teleconverter,
1/1600sec at f/7.1, ISO 800