Title: Take Off
Location & Date: Sam Smith Park, Toronto | March, 2014
Camera Set-Up: Nikon D800 w/ Nikon 70-200 at 200mm and 1.4 teleconverter
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
Aperture: 6.3
ISO: 800
Note:
In the late winter of 2014, I was privileged to spend several weeks with what was essentially my first snowy owl, during an epic eruption year in Toronto, Ontario. I was lucky enough to take several images that have made various collections on this web site, but this shot is one that likely doesn’t receive enough profile. After watching the female owl dine on ducks for more than an hour, she eventually made her way to the edge of the small bay on Lake Ontario. I was laying flat on the ice to be close to eye level when she elected to take-off toward the setting sun and, remarkably, flew toward a group of mute swans, one of whom she managed to kill. This image demonstrates the wildness and beauty that can be had within the city limits (and on a street car line) of a major urban centre.
– Simon
