What would I have to do to take a photograph at Night

[verviale]

For the last five years or more,the barn owl that lives in my barn has moved into my fireplace at the start of june to lay her eggs,she is very successful and has reared two most years and sometimes just one,it is in my bedroom so I spend every night with ear plugs in . Once they have hatched,those of you with experience will know how noisy they are,however towards  the end of August after bringing food to them for four weeks, she starves them out to sit on top of my chimney, where she delivers them a meal every 45mins or so,.It is at this point, I plant a deckchair at my gate and watch for a couple of nights until about midnight when it gets chilly, the ritual of  her feeding them.It is truly a wonderful sight and how I have wished to catch it on camra or video,would I have to have the chimney lit up by a halogen lamp or something like that.Is it something only a commercial photographer could do?

[Dick Smith]

I'm not completely sure what you want to do - are you looking to take still photographs or a movie?

What is the distance from the photographer to the subject?

If it is a still photo you will need a suitable lens, telephoto, and a flashgun capable of illuminating the subject at the focal distance and probably a tripod or some way of keeping the camera steady. If the distance is great (>20 feet) it will have to be a powerful flashgun.

For movie work a similar level of power using a continuous light would be needed.

You also need to consider the effect on the owls of shining bright lights at them at such a time. And remember Eric Hosking, who lost an eye to a surprised owl.

An alternative would be to shoot in infra-red, but that would be a bit of a technological challenge.

[verviale]

[quote user="Fluffy Kitten"]I'm not completely sure what you want to do - are you looking to take still photographs or a movie?
What is the distance from the photographer to the subject?

If it is a still photo you will need a suitable lens, telephoto, and a flashgun capable of illuminating the subject at the focal distance and probably a tripod or some way of keeping the camera steady. If the distance is great (>20 feet) it will have to be a powerful flashgun.
For movie work a similar level of power using a continuous light would be needed.

You also need to consider the effect on the owls of shining bright lights at them at such a time. And remember Eric Hosking, who lost an eye to a surprised owl.

An alternative would be to shoot in infra-red, but that would be a bit of a technological challenge.
[/quote]

Stills would be great, I would say it is about 20 feet, we have a street lamp not far from the chimney so it is not as dark as it could be, I can clearly see their faces and the mother feeding them, I think if you set a light up and turned it on every night they would get used to it,after all she has to starve them on to the top of the chimney to get them out of the fireplace, she is very clever, I always know, as she does not come in the chimney for a couple of nights but sits on the top with her catch, they soon flap about and make their way up,how lucky am I to be able to witness this year after year, it is something people never see in a lifetime, I am desperate to put a logburner in my kitchen, but I havn,t the heart to ruin her nursery, so thats on hold, my neighbours think I am crazy and tell me she will soon find somewhere  else.I think I have posted this before so I do not wish to repeat myself,but once she gets them onto the chimney she then takes her catch to the nearest  tree and makes them fly there,after that they come in the chimney  now and then and when I return in the spring they are nowhere to be seen, so it is something you have to catch over a couple of days.Thanks Dick for your comments.

[Tresco]

I can't help with the photography aspect but I haven't read this tale before; even if I had, I would still find it enchanting.

[verviale]

This posting photos is handy,this is the distance, you can just about see the top of the chimney from the gate which is where I sit, the street light is right by the left gate pillar, so it is never that dark.I hope this helps.Thanks tresco, yes it is the stuff of fairy tales,I read they are getting rarer in the u.k.my sister lives in an owl sanctuary in England so I have become owl mad over the years, well I am mad about all animals,ought to get BBC Bristol to come and put a secret camra in my fireplace,it would be brilliant.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

For flash, assuming that you have a camera that has a sync(hronisation) socket for external flash guns, you have various options that don't involve buying a really powerful electronic flash:

Mount the flash near their perching site and use a long sync lead. Properly done this would be my preference. In fact, if you use a slave trigger you would not need to have a sync lead and the external gun could be triggered by an on-camera flash.

http://www.davideaves.co.uk/PhotoTips/SlaveFlash.html

http://www.dealtime.co.uk/xPC-Hama-Hama-Slave-Unit-Hot-Shoe-Contact

See if you can find an old-fashioned flash-bulb gun. A PF5 at 30th sec is as bright as a really expensive electronic flash. You'll almost certainly need to set exposures manually based on some calculations, but I'd guess about f:8 for ISO 100 and about 25 feet.

Try to find a way of focusing the beam of your flash gun to match the narrow field of a telephoto. In theory you could probably do it with a pudding bowl and some silver foil, but I haven't done that sort of thing for decades. You'd need to have the flash off the camera so in this situation I'd much prefer my first option

[verviale]

Do you think the more I lit up the garden the  better chance I would have, after all once they are in the fireplace they have to come out at some point, no matter how light it is, just a thought.I will have to catch up with you all tommorrow as I have an early start in the morning so I am off to get some beauty sleep.However it would be lovely to post the results on the forum next september.Thankyou so far for the suggestions.

[Albert the InfoGipsy]

I don't see how lighting the whole garden will help in photographic exposure terms. Sossibly if you are talking continuous lighting for video it may me more acceptable to the owls than just lighting the chimney area. You'd have to ask an owl.

For flash I would definitely go for having a flash gun (preferably 2) rigged up at roof level with a long lead or a slave cell. This would give you better lighting, in terms of light and shade.

Really, the first question is 'can you get close enough, or use a long enough lens to take the picture you want?'

Some digital cameras have infra-red remote controls. You could rig a bracket on the edge of the roof (or even on the lamp post!) and trigger the camera from ground level. Fortunately the chimney is a fairly restricted area so you don't have to worry about the owls wandering out of shot once you lock the camera in place.

Usual disclaimer: I am not an owl!

[Megan le Fey]

I haven't a clue how you should do it, I take snaps not photographs,  however, I do hope we get to see the photos when you get them done.[:D]

[cooperlola]

I have an infra-red function on my movie camera - and have taken some pretty successful shots of badgers feeding after dark - albeit in b&w of course - but it's great to have a record.  You can alter the ISO on a digital camera, you could try a really high ISO number and a tripod - you'll get a grainy result but any shot of what you describe will be a good shot.

[verviale]

Thankyou all for all your suggestions,if I get some success, I will post the photos in September.

[Kent]

I read this and thought that you had been squatting in my house!  We have exactly the same situation. Mum is in the chimney with the babes and Dad lives in the barn. They will often go off hunting together. Then as the chicks get older they eventually scrabble up the pot and line up on the ridge.

I tried to take photos last summer with a 300mm lens, camera on tripod but they were too far away - three stories up and a steep roof - I just got a face but its not what I would call a good picture...................

However the excuse to sit in the garden with a glass of wine waiting to see the owls wake keeps me going when I am unfortunately back in the wet and windy UK

Kate

[Kent]

oops - forgot the pic!

 

[IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/Kent_66/PICT0081.jpg[/IMG]

[chris pp]

I don't want to take a negative view on this, non the less I have to say that any flash or bright lights will cause some distress to a Barn Owl, they are nocturnal and their vision is adapted for seeing in the dark, they are not one of the Owls that accepts daylight except when they are disturbed.

The odd flash from a distance will probably not be too disruptive, but the use of bright lighting or a succession of flashes certainly will be.

I fully appreciate the care that you have given to the continued success of these birds nesting in your house, and that's great, I also understand the temptation to get some pictures but please try to consider whether it is really important to you to get these photos, they are a species that is very much on the decline in France and indeed right across its European range. They need all the help and consideration that we can give them, it's really something that should be left to trained people with the correct equipment.

Sorry, not trying to be a kill joy.

Chris

 

[Jonzjob]

There is always the possibility of infra red photography and video. Both my still and my video cameras have this and even though it would be beyond the range of the IR light in the cameras I have had pretty good results with both for similar ranges.

What a wonderful thing to be able to see that. Barn owls are beautifull birds with feather patterns that are so complicated and lovely. They also weigh about 3/4 of nothing!

Good luck with them.

[Dick Smith]

Chris, I made the same point, albeit less forcefully, in my reply at the start of this thread. Owls don't much like bright lights! Hence the Eric Hosking comment - he went to photograph an owl, annoyed it, and it took his eye out. Owls are birds of prey, after all, and having had an Eagle Owl on my wrist demolishing a chicken breast I would prefer to stay on its good side...

[cooperlola]

I would certainly try the infra-red/changing ISO before I went anywhere near a flash with wildlife - you'll only get one shot with a flash before they're off!  It's no co-incidence that wildlife photographers use infra-red. 

[Jonzjob]

Come on Dick/Furry/Jean-Luk even you can take IR with your camera. You have the instructions of how to go where no human hand has set foot before. All you need is a small screwdriver and a large drink! Oh, and a steady hand!

Seriously though. I think that a barn owl would be off the other way rather than risk injury against such a large intruder.That may be the problem and if the chicks were abandoned, well?

[Dick Smith]

It was a barn owl what got Hosking's eye...

And yes, I'm really about to start dismantling the most sensitive parts of a £700 camera, with or without a supply of dried frog pills!

[Tresco]

[quote user="Kent"][IMG]http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r191/Kent_66/PICT0081.jpg[/IMG][/quote]

Kent, I know you said the picture wasn't great quality, but there is something surreal about it, and in fact it almost looks fake; as if it's been made up of bits of other photos, so it's very arty.

Please, don't take this an an insult. I know it isn't fake.

Your picture (and the story behind it) has enchanted me so much. I must have clicked on this thread 20 times since you posted this picture.[:D]

[verviale]

It really is a lovely picture Kent.They have given us much pleasure over the years flying by us when we are sitting out late and it is a real joy to see the young ones appear on the roof late August early September,I do not think I will ever be able to have a logburner put in.To all those with concerns I was not thinking of lighting the garden up like Battersea power station.

[Kent]

Well thanks for your comments - this photo was taken without flash - high iso and long exposure - hence the grainy image and the slight movement, that is what gives it the surreal effect I suppose.

Digital cameras work well in low light -some times too well - get the exposure too long and you can end up with a night shot almost looking like day!

When I took this shot the owl knew I was there and kept popping his head around the chimney pot to establish if I was a threat ( and decided that I wasn't really) The young were taking their first flights during this week and it was a privilege to be able to observe.

Kate