In August 2011, we were experiencing a drought in North Texas. We decided to put a birdbath in the yard so that the birds could drink water and cool off. As an unexpected consequence, we began having a family of owls visit our backyard nightly for about a month. Every night, just as it got dark, two owls would fly in and land somewhere in our backyard, and eventually they would make their way to the birdbath. We started sitting on our patio so that we could watch them. We would be very still and suddenly without making a sound, they would appear. Being a novice photographer, it was unbearable to think that I wouldn’t be able to capture a decent picture of these beautiful creatures. But every time I would move, even just to lift up my camera, they would fly off. After about a week of the birds watching us and us watching them, they became slightly more relaxed around us. I was even able to take a picture of them. But in the dark, at the distance I was taking the photo from, they just weren’t good enough. So I hatched a plan. I brought a flashlight out with me, and every night I began shining it on the owls. The first few times, they’d fly away, but eventually, they got used to it. I’m not sure if it was because the light was “blinding” them or they just were more comfortable with me, but I slowly started moving closer to them. So every evening, I would go outside, turn on the flashlight, move a little closer and take a few pictures.
One night, we noticed a third, smaller owl. We decided that the original two must have been its parents. Because he was younger and less fearful, I was able to get relatively close to him, even with the flashlight and the camera clicking away. If you would like to see the pictures that I got that night, please visit my Etsy Shop. There are three pictures listed, two full sized and one smaller. It is smaller because I cropped it from a different picture to show the owl’s gorgeous eyes.
Please look around the shop. I hope you enjoy all of my pictures.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GrannyShotIt
Granny Shot It 