Natural Owl Photography

Great Grey Owl

Great grey Owl Hunting - Naturally.. no bait, no calls. At this location, they have a guard that protects the birds and wild life! Amazing. We cannot even take a step off the path.

Sit and wait.

Previous to this shot, we waited more then 1 full hour,.. freezing cold, a good 15 km wind, and a coffee was 2.5 km walk away from this area of the park... along an icy trail!  In fact, we were on the trail for a good 3.5 hours before we had a good chance!  I was not dressed warm enough, so at this point I was starting to shiver!

I watched through my viewfinder for 99% of the time waiting for this chance. Sooo much fun!!

Making nature photography easy with baiting is pathetic., and lazy. Good shots are earned, along with respect. This bird was comfortable around people because it was not harassed.

Watching an owl hunt for food and make a kill is as much fun as watching a lion hunt and kill.. I have seen both. Truly real, and awesome.

raymond

 ray@raymondbarlow.com

...

Thanks to Bruce Kennedy for joining my group!

Great Grey Owl Tour

Special thanks to my friend and guest on this workshop - 
Bruce Kennedy

Notes from Bruce below.

...

Great Grey Owl, Quebec, along the St. Lawrence River.

A great place to photograph Great Grey Owls in a natural 

environment, where baiting is prohibited and all photographers are required to stay on designated trails. The owls hunt naturally in an undisturbed environment.

This particular owl moved from perch to perch and came 

quite close to the small group of photographers. Here I show it

 landing on a very slim branch in the snow. It is illustrative of how

 light the owl is, and what small perches it can use while listening 

for mice and voles under the snow

Excellent day of instruction and camaraderie
with Mitchell Brown and Raymond Barlow.
Best viewed in full screen.

Please feel free to share.

...

Thanks so much Bruce!

Please enjoy these cool shots by clicking on the first image.

...

Owl workshops.
ray@raymondbarlow.com

 

No Baiters allowed.

...

Imagine going to a place where baiters are not permitted!  A 
fellow patrolling this location, protecting the nature as things they 
should be.  A place where it is unacceptable to walk off the trails.

A place that people can visit with respect toward wildlife 
and birds, and not need tobe so concerned with confrontations
 involving those who selfishly and ignorantly disrespect.

What a superb experience.  We had 2 Great grey owls
 yesterday afternoon, up near Montreal. 3 hours of enjoyment with
 my friend of many emailing years (10) Chuck Kling, a fellow
 who has kept me informed regarding all the conservation issues 
in his area of Quebec.

Brilliant !!  Watching this bird hunt from perch to perch, 
carefully examining the area for any sign of

a possible meal.  Using it's facial disks to listen for any 
sort of rodent squeak!  I have never in

my life seen a bird hunt so aggressively... real nature
 is spectacular to witness.

Personally, photography of nature is not about getting
 the most likes, the most followers, the most "great shot!" 
comments, biggest chest, adulation, etc.  Enjoying

 the beauty of nature, then sharing the images with folks
 around the world to help gain a greater appreciation 
of our nature world.

So we can all strive toward conservation and appreciation
 of all birds, animals, and fauna.

This is absolutely not about me.  or my picture, or my ego,
 or a contest - biggest chest?? Never.

Having fun with my friends and workshop guests, teaching
 techniques, settings,approach and respect, and the most
 fun,  helping people understand the natural way of things.

Understanding your subject, and showing respect will always
 be the best advantage in the real world of nature photography.

Taking advantage, and virtual abuse is done selfishly 
with poor judgement (unreal lazy).  If you really want 
to be a hero, go play golf, go racing, play baseball, compete 
in a sport.  Tossing bait to a helpless animal doesn't make 
you special, it doesn't gain you respect, and does not make you special.

Only my opinions, hoping a few beginners understand some values, and etiquette.

Best regards, raymond.


...

September 2016 - Pictures!

A Batch 

of recent edits from the last

 month or so,... Hope you like them!

Thanks for looking!

raymondjbarlow@yahoo.ca 

...

A Rufous Treepie dances on my Head!

The Samsumg Phone Cam:

 Raymond Barlow and a rufous treepie!

During our most recent tour to visit over 11 wild tigers in India, 

we stopped once in a while for a quick coffee 

break, and a visit with some birds.

I am not into selfies, as I would much rather take 

photos of superb nature, but!...

This treepie, a very friendly species in India is looking 

for cracker hand outs (of which w had none!)

So, quick thinking, my cell cam, a movie, and a few 

snaps for a laugh!

Thanks to my friend and guest Peggy, in the

 back seat for participating on this tour, and 

modeling for this shot!

thanks for looking...

My next tour to the tigers...

Click here for info!

raymond

...

Raymond Barlow Tiger Stories!

June 2015 – Destination: Ranthambore National Park, India.

Well to start, I need to thank all of my guests – over 40 Photo Tour excursions around the world, and so many stories to tell!


Ranthambore National Park is one of India’s largest reserves as there are about 62 wild tigers, including a family of 5 animals that we visited during our photo tour in June 2015. Ranthambore National Park is located near Sawaimadhopur, Rajasthan.  A few days before this altercation described below, we did see all five tigers at this same location.  (Within 40 yards of our jeep!)  We saw the father of these cubs, who is named Star T28, (a 550 pound Male), and the mother Krishna T19, who was born in 2006 at this same location.

This battle took place on our last day of this photo tour.

During this fighting event, we had 3 siblings, with 2 sisters, and their brother involved in this play fight.  Normally, we would find these three tigers together, but on this last day of our tour, they somehow were separated. We arrived in the area and found the first sister on the right, about 500 meters from our jeep.  She decided to move towards what we call the “grass beach”, which is maintained by a herd of spotted deer.

As she moved towards us, the brother and second sister came out of the woods on our left, moving around the 1.5 km round pond, all the while they were making eye contact with the sister on our right.  We were able to select an open spot for our jeeps, and park our vehicle right and the meeting point!  I was getting nervous, as time was running out on us.  Our jeep had to be outside the gate by exactly 6 pm.

The tension was building.

I could see the anxiety in their eyes.  The 2 female tigers were preparing for a sparring match; we could sense the mood by watching their body language. Funny how the brother was much more interested in play, if fact I have other images of him chasing birds around before they finally did come together.  He did try to play as you will see below, with the sister coming from the right, but she quickly fended him off to create the fight scene with here dominant sister.

It was about 5:50 pm when this meet and greet happened!  The brother was involved for a few short seconds, and then the two sisters took over the incident.  A heated battle lasted maybe 5 seconds, the incredible roars still playback in my mind!  We all were looking for blood, they seemed so aggressive in this battle but none was found after the fight.  The intensity was incredible.

One thing I also find amazing, we had 16 safaris booked, 15 were complete, and successful as the wildlife here is wonderful, the photo opportunities amazing!   This fighting event happened on our very last trip out to see the tigers, and also, during the last 5 minutes of this last safari.  It took weeks for me to calm down after all this excitement!

Wild tigers wrestle and play fight much like any other cat species. They develop much needed defensive skills for future altercations while protecting their own territory. After this fight concluded, they all lay down, for a rest, licking their chops, and preparing for the next hunt!

The tour alone was spectacular.  I fired over 4,000 images of tigers alone, along with so many other images of deer, bears, and birds.  Much like a safari in Africa, there is always something cool to photograph around every corner.  After 5 tours to India alone, I am extremely confident about future successful programs.  Our guides and hotel services are superb. Food is amazing!!


The most recent tour was amazing, June 2016 my guests enjoyed 18 safaris, with tiger sightings on 15 of the 18 tours.  A very high success rate.  More images from that tour soon!

Here we have a few of the images, leading up to the fight.

Approaching from the right.

 Approaching from the left.

The 3 tigers get together.

The brother - Pacman decides to "Butt Out!"

 While the sisters Arrowhead and Lightening decide to "Duke it Out"

Nobody gets hurt, not even a scratch!  The three tigers lay down to rest within seconds!

For more information on my next tours to photograph wildlife, please email me here:

ray@raymondbarlow.com

Take good care!