Ever locked eyes with a wild owlet? Louise Norris did – and luckily had her Canon digicam paired with a 100-500mm telephoto lens able to seize the encounter.
Her picture, A Gazing Owlet, gained the Birds class on the LCE Photographer of the Year competitors. Shooting with the Canon EOS R6 Mark II – a digicam recognized for its close to top-tier specs – and a protracted telephoto lens – a sort of lens typically thought of heavy – Norris operated handheld.
What makes the picture so compelling is the direct eye contact between the owlet and the lens. The composition makes use of softly blurred foreground leaves to create a pure frame-within-frame, whereas the owlet’s lighter tones stand out fantastically in opposition to the darkish, inexperienced backdrop.
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‘A Gazing Owlet’
A Gazing Owlet by Louise Norris
Winner of the Birds class
Tech information
Gear: Canon EOS R6 Mk II + 100-500mm lens
Exposure: 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 10,000
Norris says, “Looking vertically between the gaps in the leaves, handheld at 1/50s due to the lack of light, waiting for this delightful 4-weekold little owl owlet to look down and make eye contact. Moment made by the rim light catching on the owlet fluff!”
Winner of the Birds class
Norris’ A Gazing Owlet gained the highest prize within the Birds class on the LCE Photographer of the Year competitors. At the reside ceremony at The Photography & Video Show 2026, it confronted robust competitors, together with Heron in Flight by Michelle Jackson and Company of Gannets by Frank Urban.
Sophia Spurgin’s Fish Eyes was awarded the competitors’s total winner and earned her the LCE Photographer of the Year title.
To uncover extra profitable pictures, go to the LCE Photographer of the Year website.
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