PHOTOGRPAHY OF GREAT HORNED OWLS in the snow.

 Digital Photography Jan 2026. 

1. Get into place. 
Stay still. Owls have superb hearing. 
 

2. Set the shutter. 
Use a fast shutter speed to freeze any movement, even when the owl has landed.
Set it to 1/1000 sec, aperture to f/6.3 in Manual mode. To allow for variations in light levels, set the ISO to Auto.

3. Focusing modes.

While animal racking with eye detection is the standard focusing mode if you have it, consider other modes. For example, using a wide, thin focus target box for the owl in flight and a single focus point for when it is stationary on a post.

4. Let it snow. 
Snowing heavily may interfere with focus tracking, use manual focusing and a lens hood.

5. Shoot in a burst.
owl flying or swooping down to attack prey, fast burst mode.

 

PHOTO OF THE GREAT HORN OWL STANDING ON A POST
1/1000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1600. Shot with a canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM lens.
Image has a lovely depth of field effect to the snowing background.