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PHOTO OF THE DAY - The Magnificent Owl !!

...seconds after she was gone. I assure you it was a big one, with wonderful head, perky ears, clever stern eyes and a most beautiful multi-colored plumage pattern on her wings. And she looked right at me.

 

I aspire to make "a photo a day", to help me build a sort of diary. This would become it. A unique one! Wildlife capture at the nick of time.

You don't get to see the owl, but why?

 

► █░▓ FURTHER NOTES ARE ON WHY my son used to call me "Mr. Bean". Here is how I "photographed" this owl.

Biking over the dike in the sunset, looking left and right for the birds and attractive cast. Than I saw this big owl fly over from the bushes right towards me and land on this curved pole. No cars, no people around. Naturally, I stopped to make a snapshot. There was even a low traffic sign just at just the right spot to rest your camera on while shooting. But the bird was about 20 meters away and I had the 30mm prime lens attached. So, first I had to replace it with the kit zoom that goes all the way to 60mm (at f/5.6). Then the lens cap flew out of my hands and I couldn't find it in high grasses. Then the bicycle fell over the dike slope.

When I finally got all things back and properly in place, including the lens swap, the owl was gone. Not surprisingly.

Later on, I found out that the lens I swapped was not the 30mm but the 60mm prime. They look the same. At f/2.8 the ready-to-shoot prime was two stops faster than the kit zoom I fitted with that much fiddle. It was just the right lens for the occasion. So the owl had neatly offered herself, waited for a while until I made preparations. But I made a total mess out of it for no reason at all, so she flew away from the weird would-be wildlife photographer. She had patience, but it was all too much even for an owl.

 

Took place in the NATURE RESORT DE AVELINGEN.

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Uploaded on May 13, 2022
Taken on May 12, 2022