While photographing barn owls, Dutch photographer Hannie Heere captured a cute image of a newborn barn owl running across grass.
Hannie Heere is 64 years old and resides in the Dutch city of Dordrecht. Although she has always enjoyed photography, she did not begin to take it seriously until her children became adults and moved out.
She began taking courses and seminars in 2016 with a strong concentration on nature and animal photography.
Heere was out shooting on May 28 when she spotted a little, confident owlet chick nearby. It was covered in white down, which is replaced by adult feathers as the owl matures and gains the ability to fly.
The barn owlets begin flapping their wings at seven weeks, make brief flights around the nest at eight weeks, and are proficient fliers by ten weeks, at which point they resemble adult barn owls.
Before learning to fly, however, juvenile owls strengthen their muscles, and it appears that this particular baby owl chose to do it by running.
“I was on the ground,” Heere explains to Shutterbulky. “This baby bird had not yet learned to fly and was fearless. I took the photo from approximately 5 to 6 meters away.”
She captured the image with a Canon 5D Mark IV Camera and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens at f/8, 1/1000 sec., and ISO 200.
Since Heere put this image online, it got relatively viral and has been widely reproduced on social networks and as memes.
“I was quite astonished [by the photo’s popularity],” recalls Heere. She adds that while photography has been a passion up until now, she would love to be able to turn her nature photos into a source of income.
On Facebook, you may view examples of Heere’s work and connect with her.
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