The past couple of months we’ve been exploring our own backyard and getting outdoors as much as possible. 

One morning as we were enjoying a coffee on our back deck, a Barred Owl appeared from the depths of the forrest and perched on a tree very close by! 

Of course we weren’t expecting that, and decided to run into the house to get the camera! And of course my battery was almost dead, and the memory card was nearly full...I may have cursed a little in my mind at this point as we actually teach other photographers on our workshops to “always be prepared!” 

Has this happened to you before? Have you missed the shot because your camera was turned off, or you had the wrong settings dialled in, or no memory card or dead battery? I think you’ll always remember the one that got away...and it’ll haunt you! 

After switching my battery and memory card, I came back outside and now the Barred owl started slowly venturing in to the forest. However we were lucky enough to follow him throughout the forest with our long lenses.  

The light was perfect as it was early morning and the sun was starting to awaken our surroundings. He found a cluster of trees and stayed within the same area for about 15 minutes. It was almost as like he was posing and playing for us.

It was a special moment to witness and even more awakening than our coffee!