My winter of 2014/2015

[Bobobird]

Have not been posting much - bird busy. Hope all are well...

I spent the last winter almost exclusively on snowy owls. A total of 31 trips involving almost 7000km+ of driving. Had to be towed out of the snow on one occasion and managed to extract myself on another. While walking the fields there were numerous slips into knee or thigh high snow. The only main deterrent was heavy snowstorms or if there were real life things to be done. Totally overcast skies were the norm otherwise it could easily have been 50 or more drives. hehe

Weather - it was always below zero and on one particular day winds were in the 100kmh region and feel-like temperatures at about -65c. Most times winds averaged around 50kmh and temperatures of between -25c to -35c. Most days were pretty overcast making it hard to get good contrast on the white birds. The large open snow covered fields that they preferred were an exposure nightmare. There were some nice clear blue sky days which more than made up for the disappointing ones. Many times they would be standing on tall utility poles, though easier I am not a fan of butt shots so just waited and waited until they took off to get some flight shots.

Time of day - unlike most bird photographers I prefer the late afternoon just after the typical bird mid day siesta and more flight opportunities because they are looking for dinner before bed. In additon I prefer the strong light of sunsets instead of the pastel like dawn light. Birds are pretty active pre-dawn but did not relish long drives in the dark.

Gear - mostly the 1DX and sometimes the 5D3 or both. Lens choice depended on whether the area was walkable. If not, it was the 200-400 on a tripod otherwise the 400/f5.6 prime. Later switched to the new 100-400 Mk2 and what a difference having a zoom made.

Protection - from the experience of the previous winter it was essential to be fully protected or face the same hazards like frozen hands and feet. So it was usually ear muffs, a combination of a hoodie, a wool cap and a 3rd fur cap if needed. A balaclava for the face and that doubled up as another cap. Body was protected with 4 to 6 layers of thin thermal and thin fleece upper wear. If it got too hot I would just take off 1 or 2 of those. Insulated snow pants, freeze room rated socks, insulated boots. The most troublesome were the gloves. Finally got a pair of battery powered liner gloves and a windbreaker glove for the right hand for mobility reasons and a thick glove for the left hand. Did that help? Somewhat. Due to the extended periods out in the open it was often necessary to have a disposable hand warmer in the jacket pocket for the right hand when there was no action going on. No matter how well the boots are insulated the cold would eventually get through. A pair of electrically heated soles were used and toe warmers added as needed which solved that issue. Usually one down jacket but some days needed 2.

Energy - 2 very important items always in the car or in a small bag if walking around. A thermos of hot coffee and some food. Essential!

Enough of this self-pity - so what did you get???

Here are a couple of the ones I like though there are hundreds still to be processed. Probably will just sit on the hard disk and never be looked at again. Very brutal with deletions.

1. Welcome to my world sir.


2. One of the most difficult poses to get. This one is not great and hope next winter will be more fruitful.


3. Good evening sir.


4. The sun is blinding me (from the same sequence as #3).


5. Hunkered down against the winds on that 100kmh winds day.
I could see his talons actually sunk into the wood. Good thing was he allowed me to get closer.


6, A try at being different. Normally when there is a great sunset we will try to get some sort of silhouette shot. But I did not want that. After a couple of failures on previous days I came up with a setting that would get both the golden back and still show the bird. HDR might have worked but the wind and because they move all the time meant even if 3 quick shots could be pulled off the bird would not be exactly the same in all 3 shots.


Yawn! This photographer is getting boring to keep an eye on. He is'nt going to bug or feed me so might as well get some nap time.

[marlunn]

Bobo, Awesome, stunning and many other superlatives - now thats dedication and clearly it pays off. Thank you for sharing.

[Manfred M]

Now that's what I call a passion for photography! And of course the results speak for themselves!

Beautiful images of a gorgeous bird! And that's coming from someone who has a very limited interest in birds.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Mark. I appreciate your kind comments.

Thanks Manfred. Yes you do! The featherless variety comes to mind.

[JohnRostron]

Amazing shots. My favourite by far is #2 which just leaps out at me. There is something on the birds left underwing (right in the pic) which could be cloned out.

John

[ST1]

Excellent series and accompanying explanation of your dedication to capture these images, well done Bobo

[Mike Buckley]

Great narrative and photos!

Do you ever use flash?

[Krawuntzel]

just ..........
Erwin

[Bobobird]

Thanks John. Will take another look to see what it is. Normally I like to show the environment. No much a fan of deliberately mushed backgrounds that seem the rage.

Thanks Peter. The long explanation was not intended but winter shooting is a question that comes up very often. Decided to put it in for some who might might find use of it.

Thanks Mike - not for a long long time. Simple reason was 2 long time ago experiments that did not turn out right. One was a robin and he jumped the 2 times the flash went off. The other is, you won't believe this, was a butterfly. I could see it make a jittery movement when the flash fired. Since then I have never used flash on wildlife. There is always another day with better light. Old and retired has some benefits. hehe

[Wavelength]

What a great story!!! what a great great set of images!!!! i just don't have words.....
I am really surprised, why the bird always looks you-wards, as if showing off in front of you.... This is a billion dollar collection indeed .....

[Bobobird]

Thanks Nandakumar. Yes that is their thing most of the time. Defensive mechanism I suppose. I have lots of not looking at me but eye contact seems to be a thing with wildlife photography so...

[Kris V]

I'm not a fan of bird pictures, but this series is stunning. I won't even venture outside when it's below freezing!
My favorite of this set is the last one - great timing!

[Rob Ekins]

All great but #5 is a cracker..
The horizon behind you as a catch light in the eyes is captivating.

[Shadowman]

I could never imagine having to slog through the knee deep snow carrying a lot of equipment. This past winter we experienced enough snow fall where I had to do so just getting to and from work.

Nicely captured series, a lot of good variation on the theme.

[Brownbear]

Hi Bobo,

Thanks for sharing... All absolutely gorgeous, and as always your images are a true inspiration.

My favourites are #3, and #5 (so special that I almost feel like choosing this one as a favourite over the inflight)... Just FYI I can see blue fringing/line/halo something along the right hand side of the owl and wingtips of #4.

I think you should make a photo book of your stunning collection of owl images and offer it for sale...

[vaez]

What a great story!!! what a great great set of images!!!! i just don't have words.....
I am really surprised, why the bird always looks you-wards, as if showing off in front of you.... This is a billion dollar collection indeed .....

hi and i agree with Nandakumar
thanks for share us

[AlwaysOnAuto]

THANK you for sharing your dedication with us all.
I always thought owls were nocturnal. This set is really very nice.
I would never endure what you went through to get these shots. My blood isn't thick enough.
Wow, just wow.

[terrib]

Beautiful, beautiful shots! I love hearing about your exploits. Makes me not seem so crazy! These are all wonderful but I especially like #5. Thanks for sharing with us.

[bnnrcn]

Excellent shots, thanks for sharing

[Polar01]

Bobo I can not say that I hate you, so I will just say I extremely dislike you, the reason is, those shots are just stunning and as another person from Ontario I have some idea of some of the conditions you shot in. As you did over 7000 km of travel, 31 trips, snow up to your ...., and temperatures that most would instead of going out instead turn up the heat in the house, you did very well my friend very well indeed.
I myself was looking for some gloves, it was late in the season when I found these, looked interesting so I just thought that I would pass along a link to them.

http://www.theheatcompany.com/en/gloves/heat-3-smart

Cheers: Allan
Again just stunning shots.