Serendipity strikes again but this time it took an unusual form.
After a shooting session my normal work flow is to cull images and then categorize the ones I’ve kept in albums by species. So theoretically at least all photos on my three computers should be in one of those albums and when I want to find a photo of a particular species one way to find it is to click on that species album and browse the images. Once I’ve culled photos there shouldn’t be any that aren’t in an album.
But yesterday while browsing through my images on one of my two older computers something made me click on “Items not in any album”. I expected it to be empty but it wasn’t. I found a handful of photos that I’d somehow missed categorizing years ago and this is one of them.
In other words this photo has been “lost” for almost eleven years (it was taken at Farmington Bay on February 18, 2008).
1/2000, f/8, ISO 400, Canon 40D, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM, not baited, set up or called in
It was a frigid morning when I caught this Barn Owl hunting over the phrags. This sky color is typical of Farmington Bay when it’s this cold, partly because of all the moisture in the air. I like the phrags anchoring the owl at the bottom of the frame and I’m always delighted to get a Barn Owl in flight.
I was disappointed to not have any light in the eye but I allow myself just a little wiggle room on that standard when it comes to Barn Owls. Because of their deeply set eyes they’re the most difficult species to get light in the eye that I photograph and their crepuscular hunting habits certainly don’t help in that regard. But this time it was those deeply set eyes that foiled me with this angle of light. Not getting a catch light is a regular occurrence with Barn Owls.
So far this winter Barn Owls hunting in daylight have been relatively rare but if we get more snow and it turns even colder that will likely change. I’m seriously torn by what to wish for – Barn Owls hunting in daylight means they’re really struggling to survive in the cold and deep snow but if they don’t hunt during the day I almost never see them.
Whatever happens in the next couple of months in regard to cold and snow I wish them well.
Ron
Notes:
- For any photographers who may be curious, the photo organizer I use is Adobe Elements but I always use full Photoshop for processing.
- Ok, now I have to remember to click on “Items not in any album” on my other older computer. You never know, serendipity may happen again.
Glad you found it! It’s a fantastic shot Ron! Thanks for sharing!
Charlotte
Beautiful Ron. I hope you have a happy and healthy New Year filled with lots of birds!
Thank you, Debbie. I wish the same for you.
Glad you stumbled upon this gem. Not sure if it’s the angle of the shot, but it looks like Barn Owls have a smaller wing:body ratio than some of the other owls. Those look like relatively short wings to lift that chunky fuselage.
Thanks, Marty. Could be, I’m not sure.
On one of the Facebook Utah bird sites someone posted photos of a barn owl at Bear River today. I suspect with all the development around Farmington the days of Barn Owls are limited. I am so ready to move to a cabin in the middle of nowhere. I want to bury my soul in the woods and seclusion.
Sadly, I know that exact feeling all too well, April.
As I so often say, too many owls would be barely enough. The lack of catch light emphasizes how deeply set their eyes are.
And I do find myself wishing that they didn’t have to hunt during the day – despite knowing how difficult that makes it for the photographer. Sadly as we impinge on their habitat and with the changes in climate I suspect that falls into the impossible wish category.
Thank you, as always for this beauty.
The chilly backdro is more than welcome this mornng too.
Thanks, EC. I hope OZ cools off soon. I’ve even been seeing stories about your heat on our national news.
You may be interested in a story on KSL that included phrags and an owl. I think it was a barn owl. Davis County rescue was showing off a new rescue vehicle (they were after some stranded duck hunters). The vehicle looks like a snow cat or troop carrier and it was speeding through tall phrags. They had a camera on top of the vehicle as the phrags were a few feet taller than the vehicle. Well shoot, there was an owl in those phrags in the vehicle’s path and all of a sudden there it was being filmed trying to get out of the way. I have pasted the link below. Found it interesting an owl would be hanging out in those phrags.
https://www.ksl.com/article/46455485/utah-hunters-safe-after-adventurous-rescue
I’d heard about the incident but never saw the clip. Thanks for providing it, Brad. Funny they didn’t even mention the owl in the clip.
Actually I see Barn Owls in phrags quite often in winter. They like to hunt the phrag edges and if they’re hunting during daytime they often roost in them to take a break. They may even roost in them for much of the day but I’m not sure about that. I’ve photographed Barn Owls in shorter, thinner phrags many times.
Didn’t realize the Phrags got THAT tall! YIKES!
I saw that story and noticed the owl too. It made me happy they are still out there with all the development around the airport.
Nice find!! Beautiful bird and great shot…Thanks Ron.
Thank you, Steve. This time “nice find” has a double meaning…
Wonderful to find buried gems.
A lovely “un-cover-y”
It sure is, Brett! Wish it happened more often.
Gorgeous. It makes me feel cold. 🙂
It does the same thing to me, Arwen. Hot shower coming up soon…
Beautiful!
Thanks, LS.
Beautiful photo Ron and I can feel the moisture in the air just looking at the photo. I have never seen a Barn Owl. Love the pattern of the underside of his/her wings. You may not see the light in that deep set eye, but it is so close to showing light that it almost makes you think you are seeing it. Speaking of deep set eyes reminds me of the Northern Harriers when they are looking straight at you.
Everett Sanborn, Prescott Az
Thank you, Everett. I hope you get to see one in the wild some day.
Beautiful photo Ron, I bet you were happy to discover these older files! That is a dilemma, getting to see the daytime barn owls and then realizing they are struggling in the cold. It is very cold here in Santa Fe now, and sadly our owl populations have plummetted. No more western screech owls it seems (once an easy one to hear calling) and my barn owl boxes are all vacant. It is spooky how the owls just seem to have disappeared.
Ed, Barn Owls in particular don’t do well in extreme cold (and they don’t migrate). That becomes quite evident when you look at their range map. For example, they’re essentially nonexistent in Montana. The Barn Owl I cut out of barbed wire in MT some years ago was one of the very few ever seen in that frigid state (and even then it was in the sw corner of MT).
Thank you for another year of treasures. I know this year has been a particularly challenging one for you, and that makes your posts even more of a treasure (a lot like this photograph) on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing not only your passion for all creatures, your knowledge of the art of photography, but especially, this year, your struggles with life as a real person. It has kept me company while I endure my own.
Your comment means a lot, Suzanne. We all have our struggles and sometimes I think I whine a little too much in public about mine. But they affect both my photography and my blog so I figure my loyal readers deserve to know the basics of what’s going on. Thanks very much.
Beautiful owl, Ron…… 🙂 They are the strangest of creatures BUT gorgeous in their own way. The Phrags do add to the picture – I like the context for photo’s of wildlife. Fortuitous for me is you mentioning using the Elements Organizer. I have Elements for a bit of post processing but have never used the organizer – just folders by date(month and year)in Picasa/on the computer. It’s all been rather intimidating…..;) I’ve been noting your labels of late as far as categories and tags which has given me some “clues” about it that are logical to me and the mention of “Albums” this morning adds to that. May have to get “brave” with that and RAW..;)
Judy, part of the reason I use Elements for organization is probably that I’m a creature of habit and that’s the way I’ve always done it. But I love the way it works and I’m used to it so I stick with it.
Elements is also fully integrated with Photoshop so they “talk” to each other. Once I find an image in Elements that I want to process all it takes is a single click to import it into Adobe RAW and Photoshop. I love that.
If you’re serious about your photography I hope you make the jump to RAW. The sooner the better but it is a big decision…
Since I have a 2nd slot for cards on my D7200 I could “ease into it” by taking shots in both .JPEG & RAW…… 😉
You probably wouldn’t even have to use two cards. There should be a setting on your camera so it makes two copies of each image, one RAW and one jpeg, and they would both be on the same card.
But that might slow down the writing speed of your card ever so slightly (you’d barely notice it, if at all). Another option would be to shoot only in RAW but continue to process in jpeg until you get the hang of processing in RAW. RAW files are quickly and easily converted into jpegs.
Thx! Good not to be totally committed and lose shots! 🙂
Oh my! 😍 Beautiful. This is going to sound crazy but I really don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of a barn owl in flight! Every photo has been of them statuesque. They are so beautiful with a touch of ‘alien’ about that face. I’ll have to check your other photos of them. I did a follow-up of your recent postings yesterday a.m….really love that ‘Avocet Sandwich’ (Kudos to EC for the title suggestion) and do like that camper. Nice to have all the comforts one needs while doing what one loves to do.
“They are so beautiful with a touch of ‘alien’ about that face”
I’ve never heard it said quite that way but I think it’s perfect for Barn Owls, Kathy. Between you and EC I’m getting a lot of descriptive phrases that I can steal for future posts! 🙂
Spectacular, Ron! Simply spectacular!
Thanks very much, Diane.