Here is another Short Eared Owl image from last weekends session.

Having spent a couple of months now trying to photograph these wild Owls, the elements finally came together. Personally speaking, I feel that this image is my best Short Eared Owl picture to date. On this particular day there was little or no wind so the Owl was quite likely to be out hunting. The low winter sun was shining which helped me to get some light under the wings. By positioning myself carefully in the field, I was able to include complimentary tones in the background and when the Owl flew towards the sun, I took this picture, which lit up his eyes.

It doesn’t happen very often in nature photography but when the elements do all combine together it makes the two months of preparation seem all worthwhile.

Here is another keeper from last weekends session with a local Short Eared Owl.

This particular Owl would fly about two metres above terra firma with its eyes focused on the ground most of the time. When it is gliding like this it is a lot easier for me and the camera to keep track, as generally speaking it is moving at a fairly constant speed. When it sees something below, however, it stops and turns without notice and heads for the floor. Typically this sudden change of direction throws both myself and the Auto Focus system on the camera, out of sync.

Once on the ground the Owl was fairly well camouflaged, so I tried to keep me camera pointing in the approximate area where the Owl had landed and wait for it to re-emerge on its next flight in search of food.

A strange title you might think but hopefully I can explain.

This weekend it was time to redecorate the kitchen. So, following lots of preparation, I set about applying new paint to the walls. When the first coat was complete, rather than hang around drinking coffee I decided to load up the car with my camera and have a mad dash to the fields. The weather forecast had promised good light, so if the Owls did appear there was a chance of some reasonable images. Well, what a good choice that turned out to be. I got my first “keeper” of the day within a minute of setting up the camera in position. The “DIY break” then just got better and better with several very close encounters, sometimes too close.

This image is one that I particularly like from the “DIY session” given the tones and texture in the background that compliment those of the Owl. I have therefore decided to have this image made into a canvas to hang on the now complete and freshly painted wall in the kitchen. That should act as a daily reminder that Photographing Owls is part of a Home Life balance…

Back to UK Wildlife for this post and another image of my local Short Eared Owls.

Over the last few weeks I have continued to monitor the weather forecasts, looking for some light and little or no wind to coincide with my availability in the field. Those moments have been few and far between which makes each image captured so rewarding.

Here is the Short Eared Owl at the point where it turned from gliding to diving in search of its prey.