Day's Beginning

I was at the beginning of a journey as the inky blackness of the night slowly gave way to the dawn that was breaking on the eastern horizon. Now when I say I was at the beginning of a journey, I do not mean in an imaginary spacecraft which can travel at any desired speed, but in a more earthly mode of travel, that being my truck. I had to be back in town by 10am, so with time of the essence and not able to get to far from home, I grabbed a coffee to go, as I gave thought to a idea that I have had in my mind for sometime. As I travel the backroads in my quest for photos, I sometimes see owls in the early breaking dawn that are perched on utility poles, fenceposts, and other likely perches, looking for their next meal.
I thought it would be kinda cool if I could shoot the breaking dawn with a Snowy Owl in my photo. I had in mind to fire a handheld flash that would illuminate the owl as he took flight in what would be a time exposure of the breaking dawn. Wouldn't you know it, I missed my opportunity by at the most 5 minutes, as the sun broke the horizon. In that time I found this male Snowy Owl that I have been keeping a eye on over the last few weeks. Although some individuals may wander in winter, many establish and defend hunting territories for periods of two or three months. I have watched this Snowy long enough to have mapped out his territory, and I am patiently waiting for snow to come so that I may shoot photos of this Snowy in that environment. So, finding this Snowy Owl with the sun partially breaking the horizon, I was satisfied with a photo of the Snowy as the rising sun illuminates him. I notice that he is becoming accustomed to my truck, as I am able to approach him much closer that I could several weeks ago. With the sun rapidly climbing into the morning sky, I moved on with hopes of a few more photos while the light continued to practice its magic on the landscape.
With the temperature dropping below the freezing mark as of late, I had fun with a small creek that I found, that had tiny patches of open water giving me images such as this one. There are a number of spring fed creeks that continue to flow throughout the winter, giving one the opportunity for images of this sort. With a look at my watch and realizing that I had run out of time, I pointed my truck for home. Meanwhile, I will be wearing my 'Think Snow' button.