A Marsh Owl (Asio capensis) hunting down a "Flying Ant" (Termite) during a downpour.
It was one of those days when everything came together; opportunity, experience and perseverance.
Despite days of rain I decided to go to the reserve. The termites came out in their tens of thousands seeking new homes in soft soil and the bird life after them. There was a 10-15 minute feeding frenzy but opportunities were scarce as the owls were wary of my vehicle and kept their distance. BiF is extremely challenging in poor light and heavy rain.
A 'lifer' for me, the Marsh Owl is a species of owl which is mainly a resident breeder in Africa and Madagascar. This species is part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping is the barn owls, Tytonidae. Marsh Owl nests on the ground on open marshy areas, laying 2-4 eggs amongst tussocks. It hunts over open country, often by day. Its food is mainly insects, but it will take small mammals, such as rodents and birds. The Marsh Owl is 35–37 cm (14–14.5 in) in length with an 82–99 cm (32–39 in) wingspan. Also for PAW 2012.
RAW to TIFF, Cropped, TL De Noise 5, Mask, Sharpen, Improve Clarity, Clean 3, Increase Saturation to Master, Green and Red (Will be interesting to see the comments if any about the saturation as I generally don't alter it, oft to my detriment on DPC). SFW.
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Place: 14 out of 203 Avg (all users): 6.6356 Avg (commenters): 7.7333 Avg (participants): 6.7126 Avg (non-participants): 6.4194 Views since voting: 1577 Views during voting: 233 Votes: 118 Comments: 28 Favorites: 7 (view)
Sorry I'm only getting to commenting on this now. I have wanted to write for a few days already. As herfotoman said - bloody marvelous! Hunter and hunted in focus on a shallow DOF plane is never easy let alone for a BIF shot. Its hard enough with any wildlife but I can appreciate the technical difficulties here - well done on a super image!
I also like the slight blur in the wings to show the speed at which the action is happening at. Freezing the scene totally wouldnt have the same effect of speed even if you couldnt increase the shutter speed due to ISO / Aperture limitations - I think you did very well!
Harvey this is over the top. Did not get to it in voting, but can't understand it being 15'th. The skill, the opportunity created and the result. And I'm not talking about the owl.. Hehe. Bloody marvelous.
Thank you to everyone for the votes but more so the wonderful comments, my primary reason for being on DPC, the last bastion of genuine photographic comment and the reason why I renew my membership.
Originally posted by Kroburg:
Fantastic shot and if it was your intention to shoot both hunter and hunted in one shot, my compliments... very perceptive!
Thank you Kees. Yes it was intentional. I have a few shots of Owl in hot pursuit of prey :)
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