I had a chance to practice with my early Christmas present, a new Nikon 200-500mm lens, f/5.6, last Saturday. My subject was a beautiful male Snowy Owl just north of our farm, who was very accommodating and great for practice. Because the owl is so white, and the sky was very light too, I was really working on getting a good exposure.
The owl wasn’t too keen on looking straight at me, so I have only one photo of him looking directly at me. In all the others, he’s looking ahead or looking away.
This photo is a little underexposed for my liking,
Because Snowy Owls are quite common in southern areas again this fall/winter, here are some tips from the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ohio and Kaufman Field Guides for observing or photographing Snowy Owls:
Prairie Birder 
Congrats on the new lens. Great shots of a beautiful male Snowy. Difficult exposure and you did a good job. Envious of the wide open spaces and many roads with sparse traffic where you can drive along looking for raptors. We had a Snowy just across the Tennessee/NC state line last year and hoping for another close bird to chase this winter. With temps predicted to be in the low 70’s for today, not feeling much like “winter bird” weather.
He’s really gorgeous. :)
Nice early Christmas gift for you, and some good images for us. I have yet to see a snowy owl in the wild. Haven’t had much snow yet here in northern Utah, but a fair amount predicted for Monday and Tuesday. Winter at last!
Those are some amazing shots. There’s been a sighting of a Snowy owl in my next of the woods. I hope to have some shots soon! I hope you are loving your new lens!
Fantastic!
Wonderful pics!
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