Ghost Owls (aka snowy owls)

[NorthernFocus]

There are various "ghost" references used to describe snowy owls. Ghost owls, ghosts of the north, arctic ghosts among others. When there's snow on the ground and overcast skies they're really difficult to see and when it's snowing, well forget about it. Oh, yeah, they also fly in complete silence and are pretty darn fast. Below are a few shots that demonstrate how well their camo works.

Due to the low contrast they're extremely difficult to keep in the viewfinder and camera AF even struggles. That combined with how fast they move resulted in a pretty poor hit ratio on BIF shots.

These were edited on a non-calibrated laptop so colors/WB may be off a bit. Recommend viewing in the light box.

1) One of the easier ways to shoot snowies i.e.on the ground where they sit to look for rodents. They sit on any slight rise or on fence posts, hay bales, etc. The harder the wind blows the lower they get.
Nikon D810, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/500s f5.6 ISO400



2) This one shot in blowing snow is a little more heavily spotted. They get lighter with age.
Nikon D810, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200s f5.6 ISO200



3) I call this the dracula look. Similar to eagles they are mainly worried about other snowy owls attacking them. Consequently the are constantly "checking six" both when on the ground and in flight.
Nikon D500, Nikkor AFS 80-400mm@220mm, 1/1600s f5.6 ISO800



4) They fly REALLY low to the ground when stalking prey. Note the frost/snow/ice on the leg and breast feathers. This was shot in freezing rain. What looks like pixelation in the FG/below the bird is the texture of the crust of ice forming on the snow.
Nikon D500, Nikkor AFS 80-400mm@330mm, 1/1600s f5.6 ISO800

[Sailorstu]

Absolutely fantastic shots Dan. We have snowies around here near Ottawa over the winter but I have never seen shots with such clean backgrounds as these. I wasn't aware they go down onto the ground when the wind is blowing. Great job.

[Shadowman]

Nicely styled.

[ScoutR]

OMG these are amazing. I love them all but the third one, peeking over his wing is special. The last one too, oh heck they are all Awesome. Am I allowed to say WOW!!!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for commenting, folks.

Stu, the BGs on these particular shots were not too difficult with a wide aperture and under the weather conditions. When the weather cleared up it took a lot more effort/attention to get a clean BG(e.g. no big red barns).

Wendy, the shots with the bird looking back/to the side are some of my favorites as well.

[Manfred M]

Nice series of images Dan. Natural light, high key shots at their best.

I imagine you are back in warm and sunny South Carolina now? I'm glad you managed to get some decent shots in spite of the lovely winter weather that Eastern Ontario threw at you. The snow cover is the lowest I have seen in quite some time now, but I guess that might help the owls, as there is less cover for their prey.

I was out shooting with some nature photographers on Saturday; one of them lives in Embrun, which is about 10 miles from where you were shooting. He had not heard of any snowy owl sightings in that area and was planning to check out some sightings south of where I live, some 40 - 50 miles to the west. Your guide seems to have kept his discovery secret.

[amyfromindy]

What amazing shots, the Dracula shot is phenomenal! I've been engrossed with Snowy Owls over the past month since they have migrated into Indiana due to this year's irruption. It's like seeing a Polar Bear in Hawaii. LOL E-bird app along Audubon Society App has shared the exact coordinates of Snowys sited in the area and two were 15 minutes from my home! I visited them many times but unfortunately they have not been seen in a couple weeks. We still have 2 spotted every day at the International Airport. It's been a blessing as a photographer and nature lover to have photographed these beautiful angels in my own backyard!
(Not sure if I added my image correctly)

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Wow! Fantastic!
These birds appears to be almost invisibles in snowy scenery and, besides that, they fly in complete silence (they have a natural "stealth technology").
I saw snow only once in my life. I was in Connecticut and the temperature was about 28ºF and I can't wonder what you did to get these so amazing pictures.
Congratulations and thank you for share these photos with us.
Antonio.
P.S. - Please tell us the photo gear that you used and the respective EXIF data of photos.

[tbob]

Well done. Despite the low success rate you came away with some great images.

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Manfred, yes I drove back to Montreal after shooting on Friday then flew back south early Saturday morning. Yes I'm sure the guide keeps his locations secret. I'm surprised he didn't make us all wear winter camo while in the field. Not to hide from the owls...

Antonio I added the EXIF to each shot in the OP.

[joebranko]

Beautifully captured!

[skitterbug]

Dan - these are simply - very lovely! I can't imagine the patience you had to capture these! The eyes are startling. I don't have a favorite out of these because they are equally beautiful and I can see them framed and arranged for viewing!

[Wavelength]

Just Amazing; for me even to hear about such amazing creatures living in ice-lands is surprising, not to mention about seeing such well captured images.... really really great!!!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the additional comments, all. These white on white shots are the ones I like best from the trip. But several non-photographers have told me that look more like paintings than photos. That they don't look real. Not sure what it is. Maybe because the only color in the image is the eyes? But what the heck, I like them. Guess I'll get busy processing some of the images from the sunny days