It was a relatively simple shot. Since I couldn’t transport him to the lighting studio, I brought my equipment with me to the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge in Wilmington, NY, and set up. Since I needed low light, but not too low as to frighten or blind the bird when my flash fired. Considering the power they have in their wings and their sharp talons and beak, the consideration was also given for the safety of myself and Steve Hall.

As the sun was setting, I went out with Steve and he brought Utah away from any walls or objects in his enclosure so nothing would be caught in my key light. My key light for the night, a simple YN-560 Speedlight paired with the amazing Lumiquest ProMax System (using the white insert and the diffuser). Set with that, I dialed in as tiny as I could f-stop wise (f-16), held my light about 2 feet to the left of the owl, and began. I loved the look the ProMax system gave me, and the f-16 gave me some wicked sharp detail of all those feathers. I have a slight fascination for birds, so this was a real treat.

He didn’t seem to mind once we got started. Although generally he looked very pissy, Great Horned Owls rarely look thrilled to be anywhere.

So out we went into a nearby field with a few speedlights and modifiers. My sister, the chosen model for the shoot, is a talented graphic designer, but needed a bit direction at posing. I set her up in a natural standing pose, slightly angled to my right, and began setting up. I brought my arsenal with me, but decided to keep it simple for the time being. I chose a white umbrella and a LumiQuest SoftBox III – umbrella on a stand as key and handheld softbox as fill.

When we first got there, the sun was low, but not setting. Therefore, it made a nice soft light on corn, and lit up the sky alright. Having said that, I was less than enthused by the sky itself. It was grey-blue, and a bit murky. Neverless, we shot on, and our patience was rewarded as the sun set. The murky clouds parted and revealed a lovely array of cumulous and random wispy clouds. Almost instantly, the setting sun threw out some lovely pink and yellow hues to really spark up the clouds. Awesome.

So there you have it. A relatively simple shoot with a Cowboy Studio umbrella and a LumiQuest soft box.