I was up early and on the trails by 7:00 Saturday morning for a short 3-mile lumber that would put me over my 25-mile goal for the week and have me home in time for coffee, a giant homemade breakfast burrito, and to see most of the first Premier League match this morning; joyously watching Arsenal lose out on all three points and draw against Brighton.
I was happy to hit my goal and to see Arsenal drop two points, but I was even happier with a shot I got today.
I have been lumbering with my eyes skyward most of the summer in search of an owl, and I have had THREE previous encounters with one. Two were during “runs,” and I had no camera with me, and another time, it was too dark in the woods and too far away for a shot.
Then today, with about .75 miles to go in my lumber, I came to a trail intersection and was just about to opt to link up with Wildwood Pathway and more available light from the rising sun for shooting when I decided to stick with my original plan and head down Nature’s Way Loop due to it being less traveled, making for more chances to see wildlife, even if the sun was barely creeping into the woods.
I was about 25 yards down the trail when I saw an owl swoop in front of me and land on a branch to my left.
“HOLE-EEE SHIT!!! THE OWL!!!!” I whispered to myself.
I stood staring at it for a moment and then raised my camera up to get a shot or two. The woods were so dark I had to keep dropping my shutter speed, trying not to breathe, elbows locked, and firing off some shots.
I was unsure of how the photos came out, but happy to at least have something to work with. Still, I crept down the trail, keeping eye contact with the owl, and found an even better vantage point.
The owl didn’t make a lot of movements, so I continued to keep dropping my shutter speed until I was at an unbelievable (for wildlife) 1/40th of a second. (For what it’s worth, the intro deer photo was at 1/25! That VR is sick!!)
I took a few more shots and then quickly peeped the files and I was STOKED!!
“This is it!! I got it!” I said out loud, and then, I kid you not, I pumped my fist like I just scored a freaking goal (NERD!!).
Then I just stood for a few moments and watched as the owl bobbed its head and looked down the trail a few times before I waved goodbye and said thank you. (I would soon see that it was looking at a deer crossing the trail about 30 feet away. I got no shot).
It took me most of the summer, but I finally got my shot, and I couldn’t be happier.
The crazy thing about this is the setup I was using; a crop sensor Nikon z50 with a Nikkor Z DX 50-250 f/3.5-6.3 VR lens fully zoomed and at f/6.3. And my shutter speed was at an unbelievable 1/40! And even then, my Auto ISO was at 3200. This setup is hardly marketed as a wildlife kit, but somehow, I keep having luck with it. And it comes in at just 2 pounds!
I finished off the lumber with spring in my step, anxious to get home and peep the RAW files in Lightroom.
Once home, I was happy that everything was in focus, with no motion blur, but the image was still way too dark. Thankfully, I’ve been doing this for a minute, and with my normal adjustments, and using some noise reduction, I got the image you see above. What a great way to end the summer!
Is it perfect? Surely not.
Do I love it? YES!! And I’m sure glad I stuck to my planned loop. I guess sometimes you do have to make your own luck.
Later.