Weekly Photo Challenge: Early Bird
The saying goes, “It’s the early bird that catches the worm”. This week we were challenged to get up early and capture the morning light. My challenge while in Devon over Easter, was to get up much earlier than I usually do and catch the birds! Specifically, birds of prey. I’ve been sharing a few of these images with you over the past few weeks, but this montage took some time to compose and get the feel of motion and light that I wanted. The story that I hoped to tell with this image is of the special relationship between the owl and her owner.
This is Pepper, a pure-breed British Barn Owl (Tyto alba alba), flying to her handler, Steve Hopper from South Hams Hawks and Owls. Steve is a falconer who runs a raptor rescue centre and flies his birds of prey for educational displays and photography groups. Pepper was rescued at the age of sixteen when her owner passed away. She’s now twenty one, which is very elderly for a Barn Owl! She’s almost completely blind so can only manage short exercise flights, relying upon the sound of Steve’s voice and the taps he makes on the glove to guide her to him. Watching her short flights was a real privilege. She flies high and, as Steve put it, creates wonderful “angel” shapes with her wings.
Taking One Day At A Time 
Sarah, this is a glorious montage! Full of grace and feeling….I love it
Thanks Sue 🙂 Oh, yes, Pepper is so very graceful! She really struck a chord with me. Such a lovely nature and a gentle little soul 🙂
Incredible, beautiful story and those wing shapes are truly, other worldly. Wow.
Thanks Carrie 🙂 I felt such an affinity towards her. As amazing as all the birds were that day, Pepper stole my heart!
Impressive photo montage, Sarah, and interesting owl post too. I had no idea how long an owl might live. 😀
Thanks Jet 🙂 I think the oldest recorded captive barn owl was about 25 but in the wild they will only live for about 5yrs. There are many factors in the longevity of wild owls. Habitat loss, lack of prey and road traffic are major hazards for them. Although a breeding pair may have a large brood in a good year, many of the youngsters won’t survive a year on their own. Conservation is being carried out in earnest to give our wild barn owls a better chance at survival!
Fantastic image Sarah
Thanks Mark! A fair bit of love went into this one 😀
This is a sensational montage Sarah. Love the feeling of the owl coming in to land. I think Steve should commission you to do some shots for him. This would make a beautiful marketing image.
Thanks so much Jude!! Steve is actually part of my sister and brother-in-law’s photography club so I don’t think he ever needs to commission pieces 😉 I’m happy for him to use this one (watermarked) on his new website when it’s up and running as he did let us have a bargain photo session and he puts all his profits into local wild raptor rescue! He’s taking very special care of a peregrine with a broken wing at the moment. With lots of time, patience and expertise someone like Steve can get a bird like that back into the wild eventually!
Sounds like a good bloke. BTW how long now to your wedding?
There are some wonderful people out there working with our wildlife 🙂 Five weeks today I will just have become Mrs Williams!!! I just have to do my travel insurance (costs a bomb with the Crohn’s!) and get my docs letter for all my meds going through customs, oh, and some pretty sandals or flip flops! Can’t wait 😀
Are your friends and family going over with you?
Yes, close family and friends are joining us for a week 🙂 There will be 24 of us altogether which I think is a really nice number! Of course there were a few who couldn’t be there and lots of friends want us to have a big celebration party when we’re back.
I think a small party is good – you’ll have a wonderful day 🙂
I didn’t want a massive wedding! It was just one of the many benefits of going abroad to get married 🙂 We’re having a huge mezze meal at our favourite restaurant out there and it’s just going to be a relaxed day all round!
That’s exactly what it should be like!
I’m sure people would find getting married much less stressful if they kept it simple and relaxed like this! I think the “industry” has taken away the intimacy. Four weeks now 😀
So beautiful work Sarah. Love it so much.
Thanks Raewyn 🙂 It was a fun montage to create!
What a beautiful image Sarah. It almost looks like a color sketch in a way and has a slight fantasy feel to it. I really love it!
Really great montage picture, with each bird nice and sharp as well.
Thanks Ben 🙂 Yes, you can never get these to work if the actual bird isn’t crisp to start with! There’s a lot of blending in the process to soften some of the feathers and increase the impression of movement. It was a joy to work on 🙂
Fantastic image. I love birds of prey and owls particularly. And nice to see in detail what I usually only see flashes of swooping over my car at night as I drive. Had one in my garden that I’d hear most nights for weeks. Great work.
Thanks so much 🙂 I know there are a pair of tawny owls living near us as I often hear their distinctive calls at dusk and dawn. I haven’t found their roost though! Owls often have many perches that they visit when out hunting so it’s not easy to actually find them. Glad they’ve been swooping OVER your car and not into it!!!
For weeks there was one too-witting in the tree in front of the house on crisp clear nights to another too-wooing nearby.
Sadly that is the only time I see them, the white flashes in the trees above as I drive about here.
Luckily I see buzzards a lot though.
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Brilliant
I have never tried a composite image — this one is stunning. Such a beautiful creature.
Thanks Kat 🙂 I love creating montages! It’s like painting using a selection of images as your palette. I’m always learning more as I experiment with different subjects. It’s really a case of getting to know how layers and blending works in Photoshop and trying things out 🙂 I love all birds of prey so it was such a treat to meet and photograph the barn owl!