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Frosty Owl
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Frosty Owl



Photo taken at Lindsey Farms in Quay County, NM

Photo taken at Lindsey Farms in Quay County, NM
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upload_dateJul, 2018

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921

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Awards

Zenith Award
Legendary Award
2020 Choice Award
Top Shot Award
Winner in I am one with my surroundings Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Beautiful Owls Photo Contest
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Peer Award
herbafittheoherbots@gmail.com gilbertatkin 831John scottbowman melissawolf CarolinesPhotoGallery SusanUrsuliak +61
Superb Composition
Sbissell rizwilliams chencc karenmstovallrice jenreber ericpardo joysta +16
Outstanding Creativity
panisanemuel gntherstrobl loloblanchard Sathyaprabha jordanmakenzi summerwright watcher +10
Absolute Masterpiece
sebastianhderdmann Rebeccapeedin shannonmurphy_7792 Gimmeashot DonnaTurner dlr85 cometolifephotography +9
Top Choice
briiiiannamorgan LollyB3 petiteanna renebastien dougspitzer arjunrandhir tiagocosta +8
Magnificent Capture
Steve-n-Ning LucyCMorr tashapaige14 eelcovanroden JayneBug grandmaof7 ThirdFacePhotography +6
All Star
jleosadauskas pamm16
Virtuoso
DianeVGarneau

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Magical Worlds Photo ContestTop 30 rank
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Earth Day Every Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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Picturing Other Species Photo ContestTop 10 rank
photographyawards2019Top 10 rank
photographyawards2019Top 10 rank week 2
photographyawards2019Top 30 rank week 1
Animals In The Wild Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Animals In The Wild Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Celebrating Earth Day Photo Contest 2019Top 10 rank
Celebrating Earth Day Photo Contest 2019Top 10 rank week 1
Winter Wildlife Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Winter Wildlife Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
We Love The Winter Photo ContestTop 10 rank
We Love The Winter Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Looks Mysterious Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Looks Mysterious Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Halloween Photo Contest 2018Top 30 rank
Halloween Photo Contest 2018Top 30 rank week 1
Beautiful Owls Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Travel Photography ProjectTop 10 rank
Travel Photography ProjectTop 10 rank week 1
Beautiful Owls Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 5Top 20 rank
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 5Top 10 rank week 1

Categories

10 Comments | Report
Julia_137
 
Julia_137 August 02, 2018
Great picture ! Come and check out a few of mine sometime 😃😄
wood2018
 
wood2018 September 17, 2018
Great eye
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots January 31, 2019
Beautiful capture. Congrats!
JayneBug Platinum
 
JayneBug January 31, 2019
Beautiful! Congratulations on your award winning image and capture. Well done!
sterretje
 
sterretje January 31, 2019
Wonderful....Congratulations!!!
Maustincpt PRO
 
Maustincpt January 31, 2019
Congratulations on your winning photo! Magnificent capture!
eelcovanroden PRO+
 
eelcovanroden January 31, 2019
An amazing beauty, congratulations!
thejerd Ultimate
 
thejerd January 31, 2019
Thank you all so much!! I truly appreciate your support!!
DonnaTurner
 
DonnaTurner February 01, 2019
So well hidden, and you still caught the image amazingly! Congrats!
sumanchakravarthi
 
sumanchakravarthi September 15, 2020
FIRSTLY...CONGRATS MY FRIEND...YOUR PHOTOGRAPH IS BEAUTIFUL...GOOD ENVIRONMENT :) LOVE IT

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#bird #birds #birding #BIRD WATCHING #owl #Great Horned Owl #grady #Grady NM #nm #New Mexico #high plains #clovis #Clovis NM #forrest #Forrest NM #wildlife #winter #tree #birds of prey #bird of prey #nature #neature
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Behind The Lens

Location
This photo was taken in a remote area in Quay County, New Mexico near the western edge of the Llano Estacado mesa.
Time
My wife and I spotted this owl on Christmas Eve in a cedar grove near my parents house on the family ranch. A hard freeze that night coated all of the trees with a thick frost, so on Christmas morning I went out in search of my owl friend. I headed back to the area where we had seen him the evening before. I was minutes away from giving up the search when, around 9 o'clock, I caught a glimpse of his huge yellow eyes. I was less than 30 feet away from him when I stumbled upon him, so I quickly snapped a few shots and stepped back to give him some space.
Lighting
It was a cloudy morning, but there was just enough light to capture the owl as he stared at me.
Equipment
My wife had been into birding for quite some time, so I wanted to get her a beginner camera with a good enough zoom to capture birds. I didn't know anything about photography at the time, but I did quite a bit of research and found what I thought was the best option our budget. It was a Nikon Coolpix B700. I took this photo with that camera about a year after purchasing it for her.
Inspiration
I never thought I would miss home the way that I now do. I miss the wide open spaces of the high plains, the plateaus and mesas of the Llano Estacado, and the wide range of wildlife that roams the countryside. My wife introduced me to birding a few years back, so every time I go back home, I try to photograph the different species of birds that live in the area. I especially enjoy capturing photos of birds of prey, so I can't even explain how excited I was to see this owl.
Editing
This image didn't take much post-processing. I sharpened the image slightly and brightened it up a bit.
In my camera bag
I am still a beginner and an amateur, but I generally carry a Sony RX10 Mark III bridge camera. It has a 1" sensor and zooms from 24mm to 600mm. When possible I bring a Slik tripod with a Manfrotto fluid head mount. I don't often take video, but the fluid head makes it easy to track wildlife (birds) for video and stills.
Feedback
It helps to have a camera with a long zoom and a tripod, so you can get in close to the birds, but you don't have to be an expert or have super expensive equipment. There are birding apps and guides that tell you what types of birds or wildlife live in your area and where to look to see them. Birds are active in the early morning, so get up early and go explore. Find a place where you can spot birds without disturbing them, stay there for a while, and be patient. While photographing birds, motion blur can be a problem, so use a high shutter speed. Even at high shutter speeds, a high percentage of your photos may experience some blur, so make sure to take plenty of photos.

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