Wanted to share my personal favorite frames of 2016 with a short story behind each frame. Happy new year everyone.
Bald Eagle: This is one of my favorite eagle frames because of the eagle's wing position and the dark ambience. A reminder of the dark, gloomy and very short winter days in BC.
Belted KF: Kingfishers are very difficult to approach in the wild without a blind so rather than trying to get too close, I attempted to work with the surroundings to create this composition. I was fortunate that the Kingfisher chose good looking perch which almost looks like a setup but it is wild
Peregrine Falcon: The image below shows an immature falcon stooping in a high-speed chase of its siblings. With its wings folded, Peregrines can reach speeds in excess of 200 mph
Cooper's hawk: While The master of in-flight maneuvers is perhaps the Cooper's hawk. The image below shows a Cooper's hawk flying between branches. These birds can fly at full speed through dense branches and small openings. They reshape their feathers and body in flight so they can pass through extremely tight spaces, allowing them to negotiate the dense canopy without needing to break their cover. I usually like cleaner backgrounds without much distraction but I broke my rules for this shot because it shows a particular behavior for the Cooper's hawk.
American Kestrel: This frame was shot from a vehicle and it almost looks like the Kestrel was doing ballet. These small raptors are very quick and can catch insects/other small birds in flight.
Short-Eared Owl: During the last few days of 2016, I had a rare opportunity to photograph one of my favorite species. The Shore-eared owl. I was fortunate to witness some action in relatively good (but low) light, a few frames from this shoot made it to my favorites' list.
