Backlit

It’s “common knowledge” that when taking photographs the sun must/should be behind the camera, or at worst, off to the side, but never behind the subject. The only problem is that common knowledge can be very wrong at times.

Taking photographs with the sun behind the subject, called backlighting, of a flower, bird, leaf or person can produce extremely interesting and beautiful photos. A few examples –

You may or may not like backlit photographs, it’s a matter of taste and your aesthetic sense may not be the same as mine and that’s OK. But if you have a suitable camera try a few backlit photos, you may really like them.

More Short-eared Owls

After getting some pretty good photographs of short-eared owls, I went back to the grasslands that I’ve been calling Harrier Hill. The day had been sunny and bright, cool but not cold, with just a slight breeze and some clouds in the west.

Short-eared owls are considered an endangered species in Pennsylvania with but a handful of breeding sites – several on grassy reclaimed strip mines in the western part of the state and one at an urban airport in the southeast; there have been more of these owls nesting to the north in western New York. However, most breed far to the north, including on arctic tundra, and migrate as far south as central Mexico to winter in extensive grasslands.

Short-eared owls have wintered in the grasslands on Harrier Hill for at least 25 years. Although I’ve seen the species elsewhere, this is the most reliable, and my favorite, place to see them.

On this day the first short-eared owl made its appearance about 45 minutes before sundown –

It proceeded to put on quite a show circling around the car as it searched the field for meadow voles –

Three times it made a sharp, swift turn and dove on prey –

Twice it missed and emerged from the grass with empty talons …

... the third time it apparently caught something, and stayed on the ground mantling (hiding) its prey with its wings –

Vole, white-footed mouse, small bird? Any of those would be a suitable meal, but I couldn’t tell what the owl caught. Until it rose from the grass, taking flight with a vole in its talons –

After a few minutes it returned, made several more loops around the field during which it came within 75 feet of the car ...

… and headed over the ridge that lay to the south. Two other owls appeared high in the sky, also headed south, as the light dimmed.

Antiques

It was the spring of 1976 when I went into the garage of a house that was built in 1934 as a residence for the refuge keeper of one of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s wildlife refuges. Those tracts of thousands of acres were located on both state forests and state game lands and were surrounded by a single strand of heavy gauge wire to mark the boundaries. Within the refuges hunting was prohibited for most, or all, species of “game”. The refuges are long gone now, but some of the old wire can still be found in old trees along what had been the boundaries.

Fastened to one wall in the garage were some old posters –

The posters had been printed on lightweight poster board which was, in 1976, brittle and deteriorating, the ink on most had faded with age. I decided to photograph them before they fell apart or were torn down and thrown away. All but one were Game Commission posters, the other was a Department of Forests and Waters poster which was in much better condition. On each one were the letters “WPA”. These photos are digital copies of my old slides.

According to the National Park Service the WPA was a Depression-era federal program, the Works Progress Administration (1935-43), including the Federal Art Program that provided jobs to  unemployed artists, both men and women. The posters’ artwork was done by WPA artists and provided to the two state agencies.

Many millions of posters were printed, on 35,000 different themes. Since only a few thousand are known to still exist, originals in excellent condition have become collectors items, some commanding hefty prices. Others have been reproduced on paper and sheet metal.

These six posters piqued my interest: who put them up in the garage, how did they survive until 1976, how many others are tacked up in attics, garages or sheds, are these still in that particular garage?

Shorties

Is the third time a charm? Well it was on one winter day. After two earlier, failed, attempts to see and photograph short-eared owls we went back to Harrier Hill once again, the third time this winter.

As we drove up the hill toward our parking place a female harrier passed within 50 feet of our destination – a good omen perhaps? On the hill to the south the usual group of 10-12 juvenile ravens flew about, occasionally landing on the ground or on one of a line of fenceposts.

For over an hour we waited with only a couple of short glimpses of a harrier flying in the distance before it disappeared over the ridge before us. Short-eared owls are crepuscular, meaning they hunt at twilight, morning and evening. About 45 minutes before sunset four widely separated birds appeared. They flew buoyantly fairly close to the ground, resembling giant moths – short-eared owls !!!!

One bird flew past to our right, lower down the hill, with a fencerow and the valley in the background –

It went on behind us toward the field where the ravens flew. The next bird passed slowly to the left with a wooded hillside in the distance –

Another owl spent some time hunting in the field in front of us, flying slowly. Short-eared owls have long, broad wings and, beneath their feathers, a fairly small body. Although they usually fly rapidly, they can fly slowly and they’re very maneuverable.

When the birds sense prey they often bank sharply and suddenly drop almost straight down –

Gradually the four owls drifted over the ridge behind us and no others appeared. By then the light was fading, making photography difficult, and we decided to head back home, taking a road on the far side of the ridge to our front.

As we headed down that road a short-eared owl flew overhead, soon to be joined by another.

But they were at a distance and the light was, by then, terrible for photography so we went on our way.