Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Eagle Owl


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Eagle Owl

Something special today!!! :-) Sunday I headed out to take some photographs ( hoping to find some angels ) at 2 places in London: Canary Wharf and Greenwich. It was a good day and I had lots of wonderful opportunities for photos. THIS photo you see here is the favourite of them all and I was SO glad that I had picked this day to go out with my camera!

In Greenwich they had a display of Elizabethan falconry. There was a small tent set up where you could view the birds. Later on they did a demonstration of the birds flying. The tent was great because you were standing very close to the birds. The kestrels and falcons were awesome but this guy was by far the best! He is an Eagle Owl. It's huge! I will post another pic soon with a shot of his whole body so you can see just how large he is. There was me thinking owls were small!!!

Great isn't he? Such eyes! Really wonderful and magnificent creature. He was sitting there doing the head turning thing that owls do. He was like a king his orange eyes gleaming as he sat there, great talons gripping his perch, and looked back at us with serenity and superiority.

It stayed for a long time in dream like wonder at this amazing bird. I looked into his eyes and tried to imagine his dreams of sky and hunting. All the while I was there, of course, I was shooting pics like a maniac. And of course, I had a big smile on my face. I was happy that I got to see him and happy that I can share him with you now. I hope this pic gives you a smile too.

Martin - 2005

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's a beautiful photo. The owl looks so majestic. One thing, I would have bumped up the sharpness on the owl's eyes.

Angelsiiighs said...

Greaaat photo.... I suddenly miss my Dad... Wonder why... :)

Martin said...

Alicia Thanks for the visit and comment :-)

Thanks for the suggestion. I have paintshop that I use for resizing the image and so on, but I don't know how to do anything else with it so would not be able to bump up the sharpness on the eyes. I guess I should learn that stuff. I do want to... but so many things to do and so very little time :-D

Angel Glad you like the Owl... sorry you miss your dad :-)

Best Wishes
- Martin

Anonymous said...

Lovely photo, sounds like a great day :)

Just Me said...

Martin, he's so magnificent! The photo just jumps off the screen at you.

Martin said...

Ronny Thank you! It was a very good day that I enjoyed a lot.... and got lots of good photos :-)

Just Me Glad you like him! He has great eyes doesn't he? I like the colour!

Best Wishes
- Martin

. : A : . said...

Yes, they are indeed very fascinating creatures. Well captured!

Acrix said...

Waoh, orange color eye! thIS for sure a very special creature:P I saw an owl be4 in the zoo this year and it;s nothing like this :P

Martin said...

:A: thanks! I was standing there for a long time very fascinated!

Acrix The eyes are really great, huh? So great orange colour. I like his eyes a lot. I have seen owls before too but never like this one. And the cool thing was that we got to stand so close and watch him.

Best Wishes
- Martin

Cristina said...

Beautiful! And since my mind is so focused on that these days: very Harry-Potter-like :P

Martin said...

Cristina He is, isn't he? :-) Not sure he is a good owl for Harry as the thing is bloody huge! If it landed on his arm it would surely over balance him :-D lol

Harry Potter... only a few days now :-D

Jennie Thanks Jenn :-) I'm really pleased with the way it came out and also really happy to be there at the moment with my camera!!!

- Best Wishes
Martin

Borya said...

best to bridge the waiting for the new hp. brilliant photo, such intruguing eyes. orange was my fav colour when i was a child.

mermaid said...

I first thought of the sharp, fiery stare, ready to burn through me, but then I also saw it as the last eye before darkness, the setting sun, that melting orb that sees everything before she sleeps...

Great pic!

Luz said...

Amazing photo! I'd love to capture such a photo myself.

Martin said...

Borya The eyes are so great!

Jennie I think he is judging you! I think he is saying, "Jennie! Go and read the new Harry Potter book!"

Mermaid Wow, really beautiful words. Wonderful, thanks :-)


Luz Thank you! I'm very happy and lucky to have been able to get that shot! I'm sure life will show you something just as amazing! ALWAYS carry your camera! :-D

Wendy said...

What a beautiful picture Martin! Owls are so distinguished and wise looking...and those eyes! Great job! I was out birdwatching last week and saw a gorgeous American Kestrel...no pictures but a good watch thru the binoculars.

Martin said...

Wemdy Thank you :-)

Owls are great birds. They had lots of kestrel along with the owl when I took this photo. I was so taken with the owl that I never photographed any of the other birds!

I'm sure it was good to see the kestrel with the binoculars! Happy Birdwatching :-)

jmhouse said...

Great shot! Before I read the text I spent a few seconds wondering how in the world you got that close to an owl. I love owls (and herons) and am always happy to see them. They look so old and wise. Anyway, again, really cool shot.
Best, John

Martin said...

JMHOUSE: Thank you! It was great to get SO close to an owl and for me to have my camera with me that day to get a shot of him was a double bonus :-)

Best Wishes
- Martin