Joe Norton recently referred a couple of friends to my winter owl photography workshops. Nearly four years after his January 2023 trip, he is still sending friends my way. That means a great deal to me. Thank you, Joe!
His referral sent me back to the testimonial he wrote after his workshop, and to a few photographs I made during his trip that I had saved for black-and-white treatment.
This Snowy Owl was one of them. The scene had very little colour, and its nictitating membrane covered its eyes at the instant of exposure. What held my attention was the sweep of the wings, the fanned tail and the intricate dark markings on those white feathers.
I had always intended to return to this frame. In this black-and-white version, I also removed some vegetation sticking out of the snow. I like how parts of the owl almost disappear, while the dark feather markings hold everything together.
For the exposure, I started with f/4 for the depth of field I wanted and 1/5,000 second to stop the action. I then metered off the white snow and adjusted the ISO until the meter read +1⅔ stops. That gave me ISO 5,000, with the snow properly exposed as white. This image was made at 600mm.
White birds against snow can fool a camera’s meter. Knowing where to place that white is something I teach in the field, along with watching the bird and being ready before the action starts.
This passage from Joe’s testimonial brought back good memories:
“He spent all his time with us locating Owls, coaching us, helping us with our equipment and camera settings”
— Joe Norton, USA
January 23–27, 2023 Winter Owl Workshop
Joe’s full account describes his experience far better than I could. Please take a moment to read his testimonial and see the Snowy Owl photographs he made during our week together.
The owls’ welfare comes first on every trip. We don’t bait, feed, call or flush them for photographs. We spend our days finding birds, watching their behaviour and working with the opportunities they give us.
I still have availability in February 2027 for my Winter Owl Photography Workshops. If you have been thinking about joining me, I would love to spend a week helping you make your own Snowy Owl photographs.