Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

19th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Eyes&Claw

A miracle, On that night [Friday 11/June/2021], 4am, a Spotted Eagle Owl sat above my bedroom and hooted away, I could have got a photo but I refuse to light up those beautiful eyes, I studied for an exam that morning till 7am and drove to work. Got to the exam office early, was drawn from my vehicle by a Harrier hawk, a shot that has been eluding me for a while now, which sat about 3 metres from my car, I got my camera, opened my door to see it take off, and as I often say to myself the best moments I don't capture, it flew off toward a palm tree... In the Palm was this Owl who dispatched the Harrier Hawk and owned the morning, the sounds of the battle were penetrating, I got tail shots of the Harrier [Poor shots] and scurried to the palm tree to capture this moment of light, a miracle, a gift, and reading too much into it as a gift because I won't flash them in the dark! This is a personal shot to me due to the backstory, one that I’d even be hard-pressed to believe, thus making it my favourite shot.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 06.2021
Date Uploaded: 11.2021
Photo Location: Kariega, South Africa
Camera: DSC-RX10M4
Copyright: © David Rishworth