Great Gray Owl - Newport, NH 03-08-17

The light was streaming thru the trees on the slight ridge the GGOW was hunting from, creating a difficult back lit-shadow situation.
I was on the bird as it took off as it had done so many times for us this day of my third visit, so one had to be on it constantly to capture it in its short flights.
I caught it many times in flight, but the lighting on the bird in this capture jumped out at me, the birds partially wings up, primaries (outer wing flight feathers) lit up by the sun, as well as a few of the taller field plants the bird was flying over.
The bird was flying just about level with my tripod mounted camera, set up low so I could shoot from a small field chair.
I can't think of another back lit photograph of mine where I captured it from the side, at a right angle to the sun. I think this makes for an interesting view of light and shadow.
What I love most about this image are the lit primaries that show off the brown hues of the wings; it turns out that the Great Gray Owl is not as gray as I thought.

Great Gray Owl
Newport, NH 03-08-17

Canon EOS 7D Mark II, EF500mm f-4L IS USM
ISO 640, f-4.5, 1-1250th Sec., (EFL) 800mm
Tripod Mounted, Cropped for Composition
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