Scenes from a bike ride

Shutter: 1/1000 sec; F-stop 9.0; Aperture: 6.3;
ISO Equiv. 400; Focal length: 55mm; uncropped image: 8mpxl;
Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XT
[Update – 2024: Enlarged/enhanced with Topaz Gigapixel AI]

Here are some lessons I learned from this morning’s ride:

  • Never assume that a camera on a bicycle is wasted dead weight;
  • Don’t underestimate the patience of a pair of burrowing owls perched on telephone lines;
  • Likewise, the importance of a good lens and a bunch of megapixels cannot be overstated;

And last but not least…

Skill counts for a lot in photography, but so does blind luck.

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17 comments

  2. Eric, welcome back. Have missed your posts.
    But, you have come back in high (high-flying?) style! Great pictures!
    I first became acquainted with burrowing owls on the parade grounds of Historic Fort Stockton … the cannons were a favorite perch of theirs.
    Thanks for sharing!

  4. Glad you guys are enjoying the photos. I didn’t know what I had captured until I got home and downloaded them. The owl in flight, in particular, caught me by surprise.
    Rachel, I think that’s the male of the pair. He seemed to be the most agitated by my inquisitiveness; he’s also the one caught in flight. They do have penetrating gazes, don’t they?

  6. Awesome, Eric. I saw a roadrunner during my after-work ride, but of course I didn’t have a camera along (and probably would have crashed trying to use it while riding anyway).

  7. Ern, the owl’s 180° (at least) range of motion for its head is one of the amazing truths of the animal kingdom.
    Linda Blair still has it beat, though. 😉
    Foo, road runners are pretty hard to catch on camera. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten a good photo of one. I’ve even tried painting a tunnel on a brick wall; they go right through it before I can get my camera focused!

  11. Stunning! And having just tried to capture flying aircraft in motion, I know how excited you must have been to see the shot of the owl in flight…beautiful shots!!
    And welcome back!

  12. Wallace, I assume you saw the article in the paper this morning about the fire. Bad stuff.
    Do they put owls in zoos?
    I guess so, although I hope not. They need to be free.
    Gwynne, I’ve tried to take photos at airshows also; they always turn out to be black specks in the sky…if I’m lucky enough to even get a speck!

  13. They need to be free.
    This is how I feel about all animals in general – I’m not a zoo person, but Tim drags me every 5 years or thereabouts. I always leave depressed. He tells me I’m a minority in thinking zoos are cruel. Regardless, if I’ve seen an owl, that would be where.

  14. Cool pics. You need to show those to a mutual acquaintance. (Bill M.) He might be able to use those in a police line up. Next time you see him, ask him what attacked him on a golf course years ago!!!

  15. Beth, I do think zoos serve a valuable purpose for some species which probably wouldn’t survive without the manmade habitat, but for other non-endangered creatures I’m less enthusiastic about their involvement. It just seems a bit cruel to cage raptors like owls, hawks and eagles, for example. Perhaps I’m overly anthropomorphizing them, but I can’t imagine them being “happy” in such a setting.
    Lyle, that was probably Bill’s fault, as he always was a little confused about the concept of a “birdie,” not having ever experienced one. 😉

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