Awesome Owl Photos
Great photography is often about being in the right place at the right time. Recently a photographer captured some amazing owl photos on the north shore of Lake Superior. Tom Samuelson and a friend were in the right place this time.
Did you ever wonder how some people continually get awesome photographs? Some people are extremely talented, others are very lucky and most have great equipment in order to take phenomenal photos. There are however some photographers who do things to increase their odds of getting a great photo.
Not every masterpiece is taken because of good luck or chance; some photos are staged. I’ve heard of photographers who lure loons with fish or bait animals with food to get a picture. According to photographer Michael Furtman in an article in Northern Wilds someone recently used a mouse to get photos of an owl.
"One well-known bird photographer and author from the Twin Cities risked the safety of these owls by luring them with mice across busy Scenic Highway 61 so he and his cohorts could get flight shots. A well-known West Coast bird photographer and owl author repeatedly chased after these birds when they were trying to hunt, cutting off their efforts to sustain themselves, all to get his flight shot. And dozesn-and I do mean dozens-of photographers pressured these birds, approaching far too near, despite the fact they were lugging 500 and 600 millimeter lenses and could have easily taken beautiful shots from a respectable distance."
It’s something we should all think about when we’re out photographing wildlife. Are we disturbing the wildlife? According to Furtman, "If you keep it from feeding itself or its young, you’ve not only violated its space, you may be causing harm. If you disturb a resting animal or bird so that it leaves the safe place they’ve chosen, you’ve gotten too close. If you acclimate it so that it associates people as a source of food, you’re risking its future." I’m guilty of it and that I am sure of.
I’ll keep that in my mind the next time I am tempted to run into the woods after wolves or crawl into the swamp towards a moose. Maybe I won’t get that perfect shot but at least I’ll know I respected the animal’s space and safety. I’ll also know that not every unbelievable photo is truly believable.
