Backlighting: Short-eared Owls

With a patchy sky that varied through the afternoon from clear through partial cloud to blanket cover the light levels varied continuously due to a brisk easterly wind.

Working in rough grass fields I selected a section of stone wall where I faced west to capture images of Short-eared Owls hunting into the wind,

 The light variation dramatically effected the images and I liked what I saw when the birds long flight feathers were highlighted while leaving the head and the body unaffected and look at the size of the owls shadow created on the gossamer covered grasses in the image below.

By the time these images were taken the light levels were reduced as the sun sun descended towards a cloudy horizion  I was beginning to feel the wintry bit of that cold easterly wind so it was time to head on home to a nice log fire and a glass of something warming