Wildlife World Zoo, Litchfield Park, Arizona
Yellow Eyes, Steady Stare
At Wildlife World Zoo, a burrowing owl standing on a log, looking straight down the lens.
Burrowing owls have one of the most intense stares in the bird world. This one held it.
The owl stands in the middle of the frame, on top of a dark log that runs diagonally across the lower part of the picture. It's small and compact, its body speckled brown and white, its feathers patterned in spots and bars. Its face is round and pale, with white brows above two bright yellow eyes, looking directly at the camera. Its long legs are hidden mostly by its feathers, and its feet grip the top of the log.
The log is dark and weathered, its bark rough, its end cut cleanly and facing the camera. It sits on a mound of teal-tinted rock, rough and textured. Behind the owl, the background is a soft blur of browns and teal, out of focus, with no detail.
What I wanted was eye contact. Burrowing owls are curious, and they often look straight at you. The trick is to have your focus on the eyes and be ready when the owl turns to face you. When it did, its yellow eyes were the sharpest, brightest thing in the frame.
The log provides a strong base. It runs from the lower left toward the centre, and the owl stands on it like a sculpture on a pedestal. The cut end of the log faces the camera, a dark circle that echoes the round shape of the owl's head.
The background colours, browns and teals, came from the habitat's rocks and soil. In processing, I kept them muted and dark, so the owl's speckled feathers and yellow eyes stand out.
This bird lives at the zoo, in a managed habitat. I want to be honest about that. But burrowing owls are native to Arizona and the desert Southwest, and seeing one up close is a way to appreciate a bird that's often hard to see in the wild.
The companion to this frame shows the owl, or one of its neighbours, at the entrance of its burrow.
From the bag
Sony A7R III · Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II · 200mm · 1/40s · f/2.8 · ISO 100
At 200mm and f/2.8, depth of field is very shallow, which blurs the background completely while keeping the owl sharp. Focus went on the eyes. 1/40s is a slow shutter speed for 200mm. It works because the owl was standing very still, and the lens's stabilization helped hold it steady. A higher ISO would have given a faster shutter, which I'd choose next time for more margin. At ISO 100, the shadows and the soft background stay clean.