When I arrived at Yew View this week, the first thing I did was to head out to see if I could locate the owlets. With both now out in the trees, I was really hoping I would be able to see them together and to possibly squeeze in another spot of photography! It was pretty easy to locate one, who was sitting on a branch up above the wild flower meadow. I was able to position myself to get quite a clear view of it. The other owlet was a little higher up and more obscured by foliage. I kept returning to them throughout the day and, with showers breaking out, they often moved around, changing position to be protected from the rain.
Due to their sedentary nature when sat in trees, they are not a difficult bird to photograph…. they are like little statues! I took some shots as simple portraits to show how they are growing and developing, but I also wanted to take some more creative and artistic shots. They are incredible well camouflaged within the new foliage and I wanted to reflect their ability to blend in, within my shots. The light varied greatly and I had also had in my mind that I would like to do some black & white shots. The light filtering through varied leaves and the texture contrasts between the bark, branches and soft down of the owlets lent itself to a B&W image, I felt.
The images below reflect a varied approach to these beautiful subjects; some classic portraits and some more artistic impressions. As always, I welcome any feedback… positive and negative! 🙂
