The Owls are Back

I haven't been around these parts for a while, so it's high time I put up a couple of photos. Plus it's owl season here in sunny mid-Florida. The female great horned has been sitting on her nest since I first noticed her around December 8th of last year. I am sure she's hiding a hatchling or two or hopefully three, but nothing observed so far. I would guess that we'll get a peek by this weekend if last year was any indication. In the meantime, here are  a couple of photos of the female which I believe is the same one as last year.  These were taken yesterday late in the day.

Female Great Horned Owl - Perfect Camoflauge

...and as the sun set we got some very nice ambient light.

These were shot with a Better Beamer. For those who don't know, a Better Beamer is a device added to the flash unit that uses a fresnel lens to beam the light over greater distances. A fresnel is the same lens found in many old lighthouses to beam the light out to ships on the ocean. Well, not exactly the same lens—the lighthouse fresnels weighed several hundred pounds and were made of glass, whereas this fresnel is made of clear plastic and weights only a few ounces. Same principle, though.

Normally when shooting birds that are up in a tree, the camera would naturally under expose the subject because of the bright sky behind it. So the Better Beamer "fills" the shadows caused by the back light.

She sure is gorgeous, glad to have them back!