It was very late in the day and the sun had already set when I spotted this snowy owl flying right toward me and then over my head to what I assume was its night-time perch. I was shooting manual mode and thought there was no way the exposure would work given the light and my camera’s settings. But the dark background contrasted with the white owl ended up working nicely. Shot at Boundary Bay in southern British Columbia, Canada several years back. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
Hey Michael, are you in Southern California? They only come down as far as the northern states before returning to Canada in the warmer weather. Some years they don’t even show up. It all depends on the abundance of food (mostly voles) on the arctic tundra.
Thanks Sue. I got lucky on this one. Couldn’t believe the owl was flying right at me. Ironically (or perhaps karmically) I was annoyed by a bunch of photographers, full camo, huge lenses, etc, earlier that evening with a Styrofoam cooler of live mice. They were tying the mice to fallen trees trying to entice the owls. I walked past and uttered a bit of passive aggressive disdain as is my habit when I see such things. The owls, to my pleasure, ignored all their attempts. The guys finally left and about half an hour later the owl (still ignoring the spot where the mice were formerly tied) flew my way giving me a series of exposures and a nice thrill as it passed about ten feet over my head.
Gosh, who would even conjure up such an idea to get a great wildlife photo? The idea, folks, is to allow nature to take its course & be happy with an image that is possible to capture, but doesn’t come along everyday. Your image, Sean, is all the better knowing that it was captured the old fashioned way! I have been fortunate on a handful of occasions to get a lovely bird flying directly at me. The results can be stunning and the lucky photographer will surely skip all the way home as I have done from time to time
I love the serendipity moments when you are just in the right place at the right time to capture something magnificent and unexpected. Sara is right–it just makes your heart warm, like sharing a secret with nature. Those other photographers are a disappointment and glad to hear they left disappointed!
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It was very late in the day and the sun had already set when I spotted this snowy owl flying right toward me and then over my head to what I assume was its night-time perch. I was shooting manual mode and thought there was no way the exposure would work given the light and my camera’s settings. But the dark background contrasted with the white owl ended up working nicely. Shot at Boundary Bay in southern British Columbia, Canada several years back. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
Sweet shot!
Thanks Mary.
Glad this shot came out.
Thanks Donna. Me too.
I like the salt and pepper look he has going on. Though really it’s about 97% salt.
True, but that 3% of pepper really makes the owl.
great pic. )I wish I could see more these birds around town. ? )
Hey Michael, are you in Southern California? They only come down as far as the northern states before returning to Canada in the warmer weather. Some years they don’t even show up. It all depends on the abundance of food (mostly voles) on the arctic tundra.
Oh, it just DOES NOT get better than that, Sean!
Thanks Sue. I got lucky on this one. Couldn’t believe the owl was flying right at me. Ironically (or perhaps karmically) I was annoyed by a bunch of photographers, full camo, huge lenses, etc, earlier that evening with a Styrofoam cooler of live mice. They were tying the mice to fallen trees trying to entice the owls. I walked past and uttered a bit of passive aggressive disdain as is my habit when I see such things. The owls, to my pleasure, ignored all their attempts. The guys finally left and about half an hour later the owl (still ignoring the spot where the mice were formerly tied) flew my way giving me a series of exposures and a nice thrill as it passed about ten feet over my head.
Gosh, who would even conjure up such an idea to get a great wildlife photo? The idea, folks, is to allow nature to take its course & be happy with an image that is possible to capture, but doesn’t come along everyday. Your image, Sean, is all the better knowing that it was captured the old fashioned way! I have been fortunate on a handful of occasions to get a lovely bird flying directly at me. The results can be stunning and the lucky photographer will surely skip all the way home as I have done from time to time
Ooh, what a beautiful bird! Your photos are keeping me going. Thank you!
Thanks Rachel. Nice to hear.
I love the serendipity moments when you are just in the right place at the right time to capture something magnificent and unexpected. Sara is right–it just makes your heart warm, like sharing a secret with nature. Those other photographers are a disappointment and glad to hear they left disappointed!