Owls Archives - Craig Rogers

Re-visit To An Old Friend To Test DxO PureRAW 1.5

28th October 202128th October 2021Craig RogersLeave a comment

Back in 2016 I spent quite a few cold early mornings and evenings with a pair of wintering Short Eared Owls in Derbyshire in the UK. Some of the time I spent was far too dark to get some good shots due to having to shoot at too high an ISO.

Back then I was shooting with the Nikon D810 which was and still is a great camera today (it’s currently my backup camera), but high ISO wasn’t fantastic. Today I invested in the DxO PureRAW standalone software which “cleans” RAW files up before processing. I have been using DxO PhotoLab for sometime, however, I was only using it for it’s denoise capabilities and therefore PureRAW is a better fit.

So, I chose the following photograph to test the capabilities. My biggest issue with a lot of denoise software is that it makes the background unpleasing and detracts the viewer’s eye from where you are trying to force them to look, however, DxO PureRAW really makes a good job of the background.

I’m no mouthpiece for DxO, in fact, I had some words of dissapointment with them recently over the upgrade path of their PhotoLab software, but there is no doubt their PureRAW is something special.

(Click to view in Lightbox)

Little Owl Prints Now Available

9th September 20199th September 2019Craig RogersLeave a comment

I will be spending a lot more time with the Little Owls over the coming weeks, the shots I took a few days ago are now available to purchase in print.

Until the end of September, these prints are available at a discount price! Click each image to view in the shop.

An Old Owl Friend Or a New One?

3rd September 20193rd September 2019Craig RogersLeave a comment

The local Little Owl I photographed earlier this year has been missing from it’s favourite perch on a dead tree stump for months. I have heard Little Owls in that area and simply put it down to the breeding season.

Last night we passed the tree stump on our way into the village and there was a Little Owl back on top.

This evening I decided to go and have a session with it, I arrived at the stump and the Owl was already sitting there, so turned to plan b. I drove away and prepared the car as a hide and then parked up close to the tree. I find that Little Owls can be approached in this way as long as they don’t see you. I had a camouflage net over the passenger window, a Photography Bean Bag over the top of the open window aperture with the camera resting on top. I managed to get some shots before it flew to various other trees as it was clearly hunting for it’s dinner. (the story continues below the photos)

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📷 Nikon D850, AF-S 500mm f/4 @ 1/160sec, f/8, ISO100
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Desperate For Some Nature, So I Visited The Local Little Owl

14th May 201920th June 2019Craig RogersLeave a comment

The last 2 days have been early starts for 2 days of workshops and even though I’ve had a lot of fun, I was missing my dose of nature.

The late afternoon light was looking great so I paid the local Little Owl a visit, I made my way through some Esteva (Gum Rock Rose) and now I’m sitting here removing ticks! YUCK!

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