48 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2020 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
f/6.3 1/160sec 100 ISOJIM
CUMMING
Resident in Ottawa,
Canada, Jim has been
photographing wildlife
since 2008, and his
work has appeared in
a wide variety of media.
His go-to location is the
Ottawa Valley, and his
favourite animal to
photograph is the
white-tailed deer.
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WITH JIM CUMMING
The Canadian photographer reveals how this stunning snowy owl image was shot
or this snowy owl
photograph, I was
standing in an
open ice- and
snow-covered
field about three miles from
my house, a location I know well.
When I saw the owl perched
on an old fence post, it was just
a matter of finding the right
angle and making sure the
background was pleasing.
The overcast sky made for
lighting conditions that were
ideal to work with, although the
light was fading quickly, as it
was 20 minutes before sunset.
It wasn’t particularly cold on the
day, but there was a chilly wind,
so I was wearing a warm coat
and boots, with snow trousers
and hand-warmers inside my
mittens, and a hat.
The snow was a bit hard and
loud when I put my foot down to
walk. To get close enough to theowl, I constantly observed how
it reacted to my movements:
after each slow step, I would
check to see what it was doing.
I also approached in a zig-zag
pattern and didn’t get too close.
Given my Canon EOS 7D Mk
II’s crop-sensor, my 300mm
prime lens had an effective
focal length of 450mm.
To help get a steadier shot,
I knelt down in the snow in front
of the owl and sat back on my
legs. I also talked to the owl in
a calm manner – I’m not sure if
this actually did anything, but if
I’m calm then perhaps he is, too.
For post-processing, I use
Adobe Photoshop. It can be
hard to get the right exposure
for images like this, especially
with the whites, but I think this
shot came out pretty well.
My advice for anyone looking
to shoot wildlife is practice,
persistence and patience.F
PRO SHOT
Snowy owl
Sadly these photogenic creatures
don’t make it as far as the UK: their
habitat is the Arctic regions of North
America and Eurasia. The males of
the species are almost pure white,
while the females have smatterings
of black in their plumage. Snowy
owls have wingspans of up to
150cm, and mainly feed on small
mammals, as well as other birds.PRO ADVICE
The reciprocal rule
Capturing a stationary snowy owl
won’t require a fast shutter speed,
but if you’re using a long telephoto
lens, don’t forget the reciprocal rule- your shutter speed should be the
inverse of your focal length. So for
a 300mm lens, you need to use a
shutter speed of at least 1/300 sec.
KIT TIPS
Take these with you
For shooting in cold weather you’ll
need a battery grip and some spare
batteries – put them in your pocket
to keep warm. A lens hood will keep
the wind and snow off the front of
your lens, and a camera cover will
provide a thermal barrier, protecting
your hands from cold lenses in
colder temperatures.EDITING TIPS
Raw workflow is best
Working with white subjects on
white snow can be difficult. Make
sure you shoot raw files alongside
JPEGs so that you have more
information to play with in post-
production. I open my photos
in Camera Raw and adjust the
exposure, whites, shadows and
highlights. Once I’m happy, I then
open the file in Photoshop CC to
remove any noise, then add a little
saturation and Unsharp Mask.