brandon Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 (edited) I just saw there's another Northern Hawk Owl thread so this should fit in well... On monday night I got a facebook chat message from a friend of mine, Scott Linstead. He said, “if you can make it to Quebec by 8am, we’re going to photograph a Hawk Owl”. I live in Windsor, Ontario and Quebec isn’t close at all. But how could I pass up an opportunity to shoot with a contributing photographer/writer for the Outdoor Photography Canada magazine? I didn’t pass it up and left Windsor around 8pm monday night. I got to the location around 7am and took the extra hour to get some sleep and take out my contacts to give my eyes a bit of a break before the shoot. 8am rolled around and Scott showed up. The owl was a bit tough to find at first but sure enough, it was there. We waited for one more guy to show up and then it was time to shoot. As I was pulling my tripod out of my car Scott told me I’d be better off to shoot handheld if I was going for flight shots, which I was. But I’m stubborn and shot the first 2hrs with my tripod and wimberley head. I should have listened to Scott because this owl was FAST and way too difficult to track using a tripod. So I decided I may as well take his advice since I travelled so far and shot the last 2 hours by hand. And WOW, what a difference. My 500 mm lens is quite heavy but once the action started I didn’t even notice it anymore. The owl was actively hunting the entire time we were there and provided us with more than enough opportunities to get the shots we all wanted. At noon we all parted ways and I started the long drive back to Windsor. The drive was fine until I hit the London area. Lot’s of snow was falling at a very high rate. It took me about 4hrs to get from London to Windsor (normally an hour and a half) but I made it safely and so did my photos…enjoy! Total Trip - 28 hrs. 22hrs driving - 4hrs shooting - 2hrs randomly napping at rest stops Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Northern Hawk Owl by bbroderick86, on Flickr Edited January 12, 2011 by brandon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitespinnerbait Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Awesome shots right there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FisherMike Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 AMAZING!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blairwelsh Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) *SMILES* Edited February 1, 2011 by SecretSpot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twocoda Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Grand Slam!!!! Very nice shooting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBW Posted January 13, 2011 Report Share Posted January 13, 2011 Amazing! In the first shot it looks like it’s about to say “I’m coming to get you!!!” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danc Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Your dedication paid off big time Brandon. I think that these are my favorite photos of yours ever. Congrats on a wonderful job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandon Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Thanks a lot guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spincast Posted January 16, 2011 Report Share Posted January 16, 2011 spectacular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whopper Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Wow, fascinating pictures Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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