With this last article my Snowy Owl journey has come to an end. As the expression goes: ‘save the best for last’ which is what I hope I managed to achieve when I took that lucky shot of miss Snowy Owl flying right towards my viewfinder in those early evening hours in Alberta, Canada…
We’re at the end of part 3 and in fact nearing the end of this Snowy Owl series overall. The last couple of images were shot right before and after sunset and this is where especially the ‘older’ Nikon DSLRs were sometimes struggling to keep the right white balance while trying to make sense of the difficult light and colour-combo. Nikon gradually improved metering and color balance on its newer DSLRs (the D850 is sort of an ‘older new’ one) and continued to do so on its Z mirrorless series.
In my previous article I wrote about the (hopefully) upcoming Frisian Flag exercises in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands, hosted by the Royal Dutch Air Force. This major international military aviation event usually takes place each year but has been cancelled twice now due to the Corona virus pandemic. The Dutch Air Force took advantage of this interval to transition from the ageing F-16 to the super duper modern, hyper expensive, hyper noisy but quite impressive looking F-35…
Unexpectedly I find myself going through my Snowy Owl series into 2022! There are a few more articles pending in this part (3) and then with part 4 this series will conclude. I’m not sure about what comes next; perhaps I’ll dig up some images from my previous travels and/or I’ll wait for what the Dutch Air Force has planned for the hopefully upcoming Frisian Flag exercises this April – it was cancelled twice due to the pandemic but now it’s fingers crossed for 2022.
In addition to the various very nice reactions I often receive on my site, every now and then I also get questions related to the image processing techniques I use. And “how do you get these sharp images” is definitely there in the top 3…
In my previous article I wrote I was waiting for the Nikon Z9: Nikon’s very first, pro-level mirrorless camera. The expression “be careful what you wish for as you may get it” is so real in this case. While only a handful of professional photographers have had a chance to play around with pre-production Z9s, the features and performance are simply stunning!
In my previous article I mentioned I’m waiting for what is promised to be Nikon’s very first, very professional mirrorless camera: the Z9. Why am I still waiting and why didn’t I switch already to the current Nikon Z-series mirrorless cameras? Or (worse), why didn’t I switch completely to another brand like Sony or Canon? (although Canon, like Nikon was also very late in developing this new technology…)
There was no such thing as automatic focus, or ‘autofocus’ when I started learning about photography using my first SLR camera, the Minolta X-500. In those days it would have been nearly impossible to capture this shot. Or better said: completely impossible…
When a Snowy Owl takes flight it is usually not pointing straight at its prey, which is not needed anyway as it can turn its head by up to 270 degrees. What has to follow however, is the inevitable turn in the air to change the angle of flight towards breakfast/lunch/dinner. This is another one of those key moments a photographer hopes to capture…
After a Snowy Owl has raised its wings and jumps up for take-off, it pushes them again downward for the initial lift. What’s remarkable about these birds is that they never leave sight of their prey during the whole process of take-off until the end of their flight. They are supported by their ability to turn their heads by up to 270 degrees, which is not only useful but also quite needed as they cannot rotate their eyes. These are firmly stuck in their eye sockets; in fact owls do not even have eye balls as such!
It has been over five years since I visited Canada to see Snowy Owls. It was in February, and I recall the relative small amount of snow in the fields where these animals hunt for small rodents. And I remember asking myself at the time if the lack of snow was perhaps in any way related to reports about our planet warming up…
If you’re at the right place (e.g. Canada) and time (e.g. winter) you may spot a Snowy Owl checking out its surroundings, waiting for prey to show up…
This one has been way overdue… A couple of years back I was in Canada shooting what is my in opinion one of the most beautiful birds in nature: Snowy Owls. And looking back at my images recently, I figured the most impressive ones deserve a separate page on my blog…
