How to photograph owls at night in flight?
Attracting the Owl:
Use motion and sound as attractants to draw the owl toward your predetermined location.
Recommended Camera Settings:
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec, ISO: 3200, Aperture: f/8, Speedlight: 1/32 power
Setup Tips:
Secure your camera on a stable tripod or car rig to minimize vibration.
Prefocus the camera on the intended shooting spot.
Prepare a specific landing or hovering location for the owl—typically a branch. Attach a small, fluffy bait to the branch, linked by a line to your car.
When an owl approaches, gently shake the bait to attract attention.
Capturing the Moment:
Once the owl hovers near your target spot, keep your finger ready on the shutter button.
Be mindful of shutter noise, as owls are sensitive to sound. Using a mirrorless camera can significantly improve your chances due to its silent shutter mode and higher frames per second.
Mirrorless Camera Advantages:
Silent operation (reduces disturbance to wildlife).
Increased frame rate, ideal for capturing fast, precise movements.
I captured these photos using pre-focus; I had already focused on the branch I'm attracting the owls to. When they appeared, I simply trigger the shutter and hope they would pass within the proper depth of field.
To ensure success, it's crucial to check the depth of field for the selected aperture on the lens-camera combination. For instance, when using a full-frame body and a 250mm lens at f/8, the in-focus depth of field is approximately 30cm.
Examples of missed shots
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“Owl is too close too us, knowing that our focus reference is the branch with tolerance of 30cm”
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“Passing by in a perfect spot but behind our focus point, but with such shots we know that our attraction method works”
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“Focus tolerance is 30cm from the branch, 15cm infront of it and 15cm behind, these out of focus shots are impossible to fix"
