Bird Photo Competition 1 2018
Results
Winning Photo

Owls are always a popular photographic subject and Snowy Owls have a particular attraction due to their striking plumage. To capture the most natural portrait of any animal, the best starting point is their natural habitat. In many cases, though, that's also the most challenging location, due to the lack of control over where, when, or even if your subject will appear. As this photo shows, though, the results can be more than worth the effort. For me, there are two key factors that make this image stand out: the fact that the photographer made the additional effort to go out during a snowfall, and the timing of the shot just after take-off, with a great pose and head angle.

Thank you very much for the prize to my picture! I am Marco Poggioni, from Italy. The shot was taken in Quebec, Canada in February. The weather was really cold, about -20 Celsius, and the snow was falling. Snowy Owls seem not to take care of the weather, and go catching mice or other little animals all time. I managed to take the picture with a dark background (a forest of firs) so as to bring out the owl and the falling snow. I took the photograph with a Nikon D4 paired up with a Sigma 150-600 Sport lens at 600mm.