Who Cooks For You?

Originally published Sep. 8, 2012

Barred Owls often announce themselves with a familiar hooting call of “Who Cooks for You, Who Cooks for You?”  This time of year it seems they come out of hiding and can often be seen hanging around my neighborhood.  Last September, this one was directly in the back yard and it was quite comfortable being photographed, allowing me to get vertical and horizontal images in a variety of different compositions.  Anyone who has photographed a bird knows to be thankful if it sticks around for longer than a minute.

©2011 Lisa M. Bond Photography

Several things that work well in this image are first, the quality of light.  The daylight was indirect and soft at this point having passed over and behind the roofline of the house.  The rust color of the dead pine needles ties in nicely with the rust colored stripes in the owl’s coat.  The wave-like, flowing and repeating angles of some of the tree’s branches add rhythm to the image.  Would you agree?