Luck, Patience and a Bit of Sneeze
As a nature photographer, you need more than just talent, knowledge and perseverance. Sometimes, what you need most is sheer luck.
Photographing owls – especially little owls – had long been a secret wish. But little owls are notoriously uncooperative. If you see them at all, it’s usually as they fly away… after spotting you first.
The Pear Tree and the Baby Owls
A farmer friend across the country did get lucky. A pair of little owls had nested for years in the pear tree on his property. He’d tell me wonderful stories about the baby owlets: how they curiously explored the world with wide eyes, nearly falling off the branches when startled by a bumblebee. And when they did fall, they’d climb right back up again. He described their clumsy flight practice, preparing to become real owls.
Then one day, he decided to share his luck and invited me to stay for a full week(!) in a cottage on his farm, so I could photograph them to my heart’s content.
The Longest Retreat
And so I did. Every morning and evening, I sat patiently in a tiny hide. During the golden hours, the light was perfect and the owls were supposed to be active. But in between, hours crawled by. The farmer was busy mowing the fields, something this city girl couldn’t exactly help with.
At least I had the baby owls to keep me entertained. That was the plan.
But… nothing happened. Days passed. No owlets. Just silence. The adult owls dropped by now and then, holding up juicy mice, trying to lure their chicks out, just like I was trying to lure them into my frame. Nothing worked.
On one of the final days, a tiny head peeked out from the nest box… and sneezed. That afternoon, we rushed to a local owl rescue center. The little ones were ill; a respiratory infection! That’s why they never came out. (They all recovered in the end.)
Moral of the Story?
As a nature photographer, you can have all the patience in the world. But without a bit of luck, you may still end up with nothing, except a good story.
Luckily, I did get a second chance. No more week-long solitary retreats for me, but one good day turned out to be enough.
More owl photography
