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Nikon D810, Nikon 300mm f2.8
ISO 640, 1/1000s, F6.3, Tripod

Please click photo for higher resolution + the image appears a bit underexposed unless clicked.

A few years ago this Great Grey Owl settled into an area in the Adirondacks for a few weeks. I had seen and photographed Great Grey Owls a few times prior to this but decided to take a ride up on a weekday to check it out. I went up one afternoon and waited until he became active hoping to catch him in flight.  It was getting late on a very cold day in early March when shadows from some large pine trees were beginning to cast a shadow over the hillside where he began to hunt a couple of hours after my arrival.  The owl was flying and hunting back and forth and went into the shadow area and the next thing I knew he flew directly at me and landed on this still well lit fence post directly in front of me, no more than 5 feet away. It was much closer than the minimum focus on my lens !! He settled down for a moment and I slowly took one step at a time backwards while trying not to make eye contact with him until I was just far enough back to fit him in. I proceeded to take several shots when he looked directly down the barrel of the lens with a stare that was almost unnerving. Fortunately I caught that moment in this image.