"It's hard to get animals to look at you like humans do."
January 31, 2015 3:04 PM Subscribe
In Audubon Magazine, Brad Wilson's amazing photographs of owls. Or photographs of amazing owls. Either works.
More wildlife photography on Wilson's site, in the series Affinity I and Affinity II.
(via Kottke; at least we've moved on.)
More wildlife photography on Wilson's site, in the series Affinity I and Affinity II.
(via Kottke; at least we've moved on.)
But...Superb Owl Sunday is tomorrow.
posted by wintersweet at 3:14 PM on January 31, 2015 [85 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 3:14 PM on January 31, 2015 [85 favorites]
(seriously though, great photos and interesting facts that I didn't know. "The Western Screech-Owl plays host to a surprising houseguest: blind snakes—worm-like reptiles that dwell underground—that the owls ferry, live, back to their nests." WHAT?! Crazy! Also, I saw a barn owl today in Oakley, and while they may be common, I've never gotten such a good look at one. Awesome.)
posted by wintersweet at 3:19 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by wintersweet at 3:19 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
owl these photos are a hoot
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:20 PM on January 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:20 PM on January 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
Yes, yes good. Superb Owl Sunday starts first in your heart.
posted by The Owls at 3:27 PM on January 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by The Owls at 3:27 PM on January 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
Flammulated Owl is as close to my favorite owl as I'm likely to get.
posted by rtha at 3:30 PM on January 31, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by rtha at 3:30 PM on January 31, 2015 [9 favorites]
I prefer mine fricasseed.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:46 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:46 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Little bonus: the article has tiles in the left sidebar to hear 3 of the owls.
posted by polymath at 3:53 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by polymath at 3:53 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
WHY ARE ALL OF THEM ANGRY AT ME?
posted by mudpuppie at 4:10 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:10 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
All I have to say is that is one brave photographer. If I was behind that camera, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking of owl talons tearing into the soft flesh of my own eyeballs.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Someday this owl will be yours.
posted by hal9k at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by hal9k at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
(Except for the Barn Owl. He's just really, really disappointed. I'm sorry, Barn Owl. I'm really sorry.)
posted by mudpuppie at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mudpuppie at 4:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Magnificent, indeed.
Thank you for posting these, We had a deal, Kyle - they are indescribably beautiful! The intricacy of their feathers is amazing!
posted by jammy at 4:12 PM on January 31, 2015
Thank you for posting these, We had a deal, Kyle - they are indescribably beautiful! The intricacy of their feathers is amazing!
posted by jammy at 4:12 PM on January 31, 2015
For the hundredth time, it's whom!
posted by hal9k at 4:14 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by hal9k at 4:14 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
I see them in the wild all the time, but generally perched in trees or peering out of an abandoned barn. Once in a while they swoop directly overhead, but usually it's at a distance, so it's neat to see these photographs of what you might be able to see if it was possible to walk right up to an owl.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:29 PM on January 31, 2015
posted by Dip Flash at 4:29 PM on January 31, 2015
i would like to pet all these owls
posted by subbes at 4:38 PM on January 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by subbes at 4:38 PM on January 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
Back in the 1980's I took a picture like this of a rescue Great Horned owl at the Audubon Zoo. It was the "Zoobilation" behind the scenes party and I was using an ultrasharp 200 millimeter copy lens on a homemade tube with a 35mm camera body, and "Joel" stared straight at me as I clicked the shutter release. The striking thing was, like these owls, he was totally at ease. Every feather was razor sharp even blown up to poster size. I had business cards made of that photo for awhile.
posted by localroger at 4:40 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by localroger at 4:40 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
i would like to pet all these owls
You might want to arrange for a blood supply and put 911 on speed dial.
posted by localroger at 4:41 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
You might want to arrange for a blood supply and put 911 on speed dial.
posted by localroger at 4:41 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
I actually reached out and ran my fingers down my monitor, because it seemed so clear that I could just touch those images.
Sadly, it just felt like my monitor, which is to say a little dusty and in need of a good cleaning.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:53 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sadly, it just felt like my monitor, which is to say a little dusty and in need of a good cleaning.
posted by jacquilynne at 4:53 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
i would like to pet all these owls
You should visit Tokyo & spend some time in one of its owl cafes.
posted by scalefree at 5:05 PM on January 31, 2015
You should visit Tokyo & spend some time in one of its owl cafes.
posted by scalefree at 5:05 PM on January 31, 2015
Cinemagraph, owl in snow."
I can't look at this without hearing
It's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes
A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed
Within your eyes
I'll place the skies
Within your eyes
posted by BrashTech at 5:37 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I can't look at this without hearing
It's such a sad love
Deep in your eyes
A kind of pale jewel
Open and closed
Within your eyes
I'll place the skies
Within your eyes
posted by BrashTech at 5:37 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
You should visit Tokyo & spend some time in one of its owl cafes.
Yes, also the penguin bar.
posted by subbes at 5:43 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yes, also the penguin bar.
posted by subbes at 5:43 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
About a decade ago I had three young Barn Owls camp out in my trees for about a month. At the time I only had a crappy video camera so the video isn't the best.
Owls really seem to like it around here, I've seen Great Horned, Barred, Long Eared, Western Screech, Saw Whet, Burrowing and Barn Owls. Most nights I hear Barn Owls calling in my yard and there's some kind of owl that likes to camp out in my spruce. I've never seen it but it frequently clicks its beak at me when I walk by the tree.
posted by Tenuki at 6:17 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Owls really seem to like it around here, I've seen Great Horned, Barred, Long Eared, Western Screech, Saw Whet, Burrowing and Barn Owls. Most nights I hear Barn Owls calling in my yard and there's some kind of owl that likes to camp out in my spruce. I've never seen it but it frequently clicks its beak at me when I walk by the tree.
posted by Tenuki at 6:17 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
So Cute....superb, thank you for the post.
posted by shilimukh at 8:06 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by shilimukh at 8:06 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have met some of these owls! If you ever come to St. Louis (or if you already live here, and haven't been yet) you should definitely visit the World Bird Sanctuary, where some of these owls live. It's amazing.
posted by BlueJae at 8:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BlueJae at 8:11 PM on January 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
What amazing photos. His website doesn't seem to be loading right, but I did manage to look at the Affinity I series and about half the Affinity II series before it stopped working. The birds of prey and the big cats are especially amazing to me, especially when he gets the cats in that kind of grumpy half-growl.
posted by jaguar at 8:19 PM on January 31, 2015
posted by jaguar at 8:19 PM on January 31, 2015
I love these, thanks for posting this!
posted by SarahElizaP at 9:46 PM on January 31, 2015
posted by SarahElizaP at 9:46 PM on January 31, 2015
Well done, otherchaz. About time somebody mentioned O RLY owl.
Saw whits are the cutest lil' buggers ever.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:02 PM on January 31, 2015
Saw whits are the cutest lil' buggers ever.
posted by BlueHorse at 10:02 PM on January 31, 2015
How does he get that black background?
posted by oceanjesse at 10:02 PM on January 31, 2015
posted by oceanjesse at 10:02 PM on January 31, 2015
It's one of the backdrops they use for a driver's license picture; the black curtain means "under no circumstances is this owl allowed to operate a motor vehicle".
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:56 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:56 PM on January 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
How does he get that black background?
Possibly a dark backcloth combined with high-speed flash sync to kill any ambient light in the room. It looks like the photos were shot hand-held (you can see his silhouette reflected in the owls' eyes).
Or maybe just Photoshop.
(out of curiosity I checked the EXIF data: 1/500 sec. shutter speed and holy crap 60 megapixels)
posted by neckro23 at 11:37 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Possibly a dark backcloth combined with high-speed flash sync to kill any ambient light in the room. It looks like the photos were shot hand-held (you can see his silhouette reflected in the owls' eyes).
Or maybe just Photoshop.
(out of curiosity I checked the EXIF data: 1/500 sec. shutter speed and holy crap 60 megapixels)
posted by neckro23 at 11:37 PM on January 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'll place the skies
Within your eyes
heh while reading that I immediately started singing it. Glad I'm by myself at the moment.
looooove these owls. spectacular
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:19 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Within your eyes
heh while reading that I immediately started singing it. Glad I'm by myself at the moment.
looooove these owls. spectacular
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:19 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Owls are the best! Did you know that some owls have asymmetric ear apertures --- one higher than the other --- so that the time difference in sounds arriving can tell them how far above or below them their prey is? And that their tube-shaped eyes are so large --- filling over half their skull --- that you can see the side of the eye through their ears?
I've been painquale, your annoying fifth-grade know-it-all.
posted by painquale at 4:20 AM on February 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
I've been painquale, your annoying fifth-grade know-it-all.
posted by painquale at 4:20 AM on February 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Owls are also masters of disguise.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:18 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:18 AM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
These are stunning - I love animal portraits.
Owls really remind me of cats - large eyes, very intelligent and expressive faces, super-sharp claws meant for killing. One of my cats looks quite a bit like an owl.
posted by Fig at 8:14 AM on February 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Owls really remind me of cats - large eyes, very intelligent and expressive faces, super-sharp claws meant for killing. One of my cats looks quite a bit like an owl.
posted by Fig at 8:14 AM on February 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I had no idea how much I needed this. Such grace in those animals!
posted by notsnot at 8:41 AM on February 1, 2015
posted by notsnot at 8:41 AM on February 1, 2015
polymath: "Little bonus: the article has tiles in the left sidebar to hear 3 of the owls."
Using this very small sampling I can state:
My cockatoo likes screech owls. He does not like barn owls.
posted by Splunge at 8:58 AM on February 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Using this very small sampling I can state:
My cockatoo likes screech owls. He does not like barn owls.
posted by Splunge at 8:58 AM on February 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
If you find yourself in Minneapolis, I highly recommend taking a tour of the Raptor Center. It's $8, given by volunteers who do an excellent job, you learn a ton of really interesting things, and get up close to some really cool birds, including some superb owls!
posted by VTX at 12:47 PM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by VTX at 12:47 PM on February 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Holy god these portraits are amazing!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:02 PM on February 1, 2015
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:02 PM on February 1, 2015
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posted by spitbull at 3:10 PM on January 31, 2015 [3 favorites]