I’m just back from a short, but very interesting photo trip to Lappland – the northern parts of Finnland. The purpose of this trip was to photograph the Great Grey Owls and also try one Snowy Owl who was seen in the area. All images bellow were taken within 29 hours, so it was very intense. I was especially happy with one of the two Great Grey Owls I photographed who was very active and also relaxed to me.
The interesting thing about these owls was that they are not fed with dead (or alive) mice, or “baited” to attract them to a specific spot. In this way I got a lot of natural hunting behavior, but of course it was more difficult to predict where the owls were flying to catch their prey. For me as a wildlife photographer this was very challenging and funny, but sometimes frustrating when the owl caught a mouse with great background, but not in the place I was located.
Thanks to Jari Peltomäki / Antti Peuna in Finnature for helping me with the owls. If you also want to photograph these owls you should contact Finnature, as they are guiding photographers to these owls a few more days / weeks (before they move away).
| #1 Great Great Owl looking for prey. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1600 sec, f/6,3 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #2 Great Great Owl ready for the dive. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1600 sec, f/6,3 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #3 Slow-motion Great Grey Owl. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/50 sec, f/11 and ISO 320. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #4 Great Grey Owl at sunrise. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #5 Diving Great Grey Owl. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1000 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #6 Great Grey Owl – just missing the mouse. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1000 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #7 Great Grey Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #8 Great Grey Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #9 Great Grey Owl in flight, uncropped. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #10 Panned Great Grey Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/60 sec, f/11 and ISO 200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #11 Panned Great Grey Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/50 sec, f/11 and ISO 320. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #12 Panned Great Grey Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/50 sec, f/11 and ISO 320. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #13 Great Grey Owl. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/1600 sec, f/6,3 and ISO 3200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #14 Great Grey Owl. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/400 sec, f/5,6 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #15 Great Grey Ow. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0 + 1,4x Teleconverter, 1/13 sec, f/9,0 and ISO 200. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #16 Snowy Owl in flight. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/2500 sec, f/8,0 and ISO 1250. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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| #17 Panned Cadillac at sunrise. Nikon D3S with 600/4.0, 1/50 sec, f/7,1 and ISO 2000. Copyright © Ole Jørgen Liodden / Naturfokus. CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION, BUY A PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THE IMAGE. |
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Written by photo guide: Ole Jørgen Liodden
This post is also available in: Norwegian Bokmål
Tags: Cadillac, Finland, Great Grey Owl, Lappland, Naturfokus, Ole Jørgen Liodden, Snowy Owl, Wildlife photography
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 20th, 2012 at 10:30
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Spectacular shots. Great grey owls are amazing birds, aren’t they? I love that it’s completely natural too, for both the birds’ sake and the photography. Looks like an intense but very productive trip. I’m jealous! Fantastic work.