Photo of the Week 2025-04-14

 

Sorry (not really) to take you back to winter when spring is really just arriving but I knew I had another Snowy Owl image in the RAW reservoir ... 

' snowy in a snowstorm '

I was out with the then recently acquired RF 200-800 to gain more familiarity with it and work on my wildlife shooting. Approaching the location where I hoped to see a Snowy Owl, the weather worsened with snow falling very heavily by the time I arrived. It was difficult seeing the road ahead at time so wasn't sure how things would be for shooting.

 

Driving slowly along the sideroads, the tires were kicking up the freshly fallen snow and it was accumulating on the side windows of the vehicle. Every so often I would get out and brush off the snow for a clear(ish) view of the fields outside. Deciding to head down a little used track where I'd had success previously and that I knew would be closed to traffic for the season in the next couple of weeks, I stopped to clear the windows and strained to see across the field to a line of wrapped hay bales along a distant fence line.

 

... and there it was !

 

Across the field in heavy blowing snow with the 200-800 at it's maximum, I would shoot short 3 or 4 frame bursts between gusts of blowing snow. I was trying to time the shots such that my subject would be less obscured and managed it a few times.

Notes:

- for context, the top image is original width, just cropped top and bottom to 16:9 ratio 

- this lower image in approx. a 100% crop to show the detail I was able to get at 800mm across fields of blowing snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 DJE