Marsh Owl
This image was captured with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, 500 mm lens with 2x converter.
ANDRÉ WRITES: “I took this photo at the Marievale Bird Reserve between Nigel and Springs in Gauteng. During June last year, I noticed that these owls were out hunting in the veld until late morning. I’m not sure why this was so; my guess is it was because their hunting grounds had diminished after a veld fire destroyed much of the reserve last year. Perhaps this made gathering food more time-consuming.
“Even though they fly quite slowly, they’re not easy to photograph. They have unpredictable flight paths. You just have to sit and shoot and hope you get a few shots in focus!
“I took this photo from my car - I used an Ergorest with a Manfrotto 501 head for stability.”
TOAST SAYS: Bird photography is not easy, but André managed to capture this owl in a good position, in good light, and in pinsharp focus.
With his Ergorest (a tripod that clamps to the car window) and the stable Manfrotto head together, André kept his heavy 500 mm lens stable. The Ergorest is sort of like your solid Schalk Burger forearm, whereas the Manfrotto head is your delicate Amanda Coetzer drop-shot wrist, which enables smooth panning as you follow the flight of the bird. I really like that the wingtips, the legs and claws are separate and stand out clearly. Great stuff!
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