Photo by Michael Siebold

This little one is a Flammulated Owl I saw on a hike in Death Valley last month. It’s also a perfect example of why I love my new landscape lenses. I found the little one on the back end of a 2 mile hike in 100+ degree heat in Golden Canyon. I had decided to take the hike for some landscape photography and to walk through some of the filming spots from Star Wars: A New Hope. Loved the hike and I think I got some nice shots from it, but on the way back I saw what I knew had to be an owl I’d never seen before sitting in the shadows on the canyon wall. Normally I would have had a 70-200 as my long landscape lens and to bring a wildlife lens along I would have had to lug an 8 lb behemoth with me. Since I moved tot he R5, I picked up a 100-500 for landscapes and while I love it for those, it’s also proved extremely useful as a hiking wildlife lens. There have been two or three once-in-a-long-time opportunities just like this one that I would have missed had I been limited to 200 mm. All that to say, it’s been a lot of fun to be that much more ready for those unexpected gifts.

  • DessertStorms
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    28 months ago

    Hey, no judgment here, sounds like you enjoy messing around with it, and it’s definitely a skill that takes practice! I just know that personally I don’t have the patience for that and would end up rage quitting in frustration lmao
    I do find it interesting that it didn’t figure out the cat like aspect of things, considering how similar they can look!

    Love that post! The orange and blue twin owls popped out at me the most, they look so cheeky 😂

    • anon6789OP
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      28 months ago

      There were so many owls in that room! I saw it on YouTube, but it was smaller and more intense feeling in person. It’s just surreal having that many eyes on you in a bathroom!

      • DessertStorms
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        28 months ago

        It looks incredible but I definitely couldn’t brave that in person myself, consider that an accomplishment lol