Barn Owl Hunting — Night Flight in Silent Mode
214.00 £
A barn owl in hunting flight in a UK barn — the owl at full wingspread in the glide phase just before prey strike, the facial disc’s satellite-dish geometry fully visible, photographed in complete darkness with infrared-triggered flash.
Description
Barn owl night hunting photography in controlled conditions requires an infrared trigger system that fires the flash at the precise moment the owl crosses the beam — the owl’s hunting flight in complete darkness provides no opportunity for manual-trigger photography. This image was made in a traditional English oak barn with an established barn owl pair, the flash triggered by an infrared beam positioned at the height of the owl’s typical hunting glide over the barn floor. The owl is captured in the glide phase at approximately 40cm above the concrete floor — the full 90cm wingspan spread in the flight position, the facial disc in its forward-facing scanning orientation, and the feathered feet beginning to drop for the strike. Shot at 1/15,000 second (flash duration limited), the individual feathers of the flight surface are resolved. The barn interior is in complete darkness, the image existing only in the flash exposure.
