©Meandering Passage - Earl Moore Photography
Barred Owl “Bob O” – Carolina Raptor Center, Huntersville, NC

This weekend was the “Fall PhotoWILD” event at the Carolina Raptor Center in Huntersville, NC.  On both Saturday and Sunday they close the center for the mornings to the general public and provide amateur and professional photographers, who have previously signed-up, access to 20 different raptors in unique settings each day.

This was my first attendance but will probably not be my last.  The number of photographers is limited and both days sold out quickly.  There were eagles, hawks, owls, falcons, kestrels, kites and buzzards to photograph — truly beautiful creatures.

©Meandering Passage - Earl Moore Photography
Harris Hawk “Scout” – Carolina Raptor Center, Huntersville, NC

It’s true this isn’t nearly as challenging as trying to photograph these wonderful birds in the the wild, but it’s nice in it provides an opportunity to view and photograph them up close without wire or cages.  For a challenge they also have a flight portion each day to test your skills in photographing some of the raptors in flight — I was found wanting and ended up with a lot of interesting brownish blurs. :-)

Most of the raptors at the center have been injured and brought to the center for care. The raptor center nurses them back to health, releases them if they can, or provides a permanent home if they can no longer survive in the wild.

A good organization and a good photographic experience.

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Monte Stevens
12 years ago

What an awesome idea for helping photographers and raising a bit of money for the rapture centers. My friend, Mike, has been involved in our local rapture center in the past so I’ve been able to spend some up-close and personal time with these birds. And, what an experience that is. Glad you signed up and gave it a whirl even if some images were on the blurry side. It’s called practice. :-)

ken bello
12 years ago

I would have jumped on this event in a heartbeat!!!. My bird photography sucks but this is a great opportunity to improve. Very nice shot, Earl.

Tom Dills
12 years ago

The Raptor Center is about 2 miles from my house! I wasn’t home this weekend, but shout the next time you are over that way. The whole park there at Latta Plantation has some great places for shooting, especially in the fall. I’ve never done the PhotoWild event but a lot of my local photographer friends were probably there.

Paul Maxim
Paul Maxim
12 years ago

You’re certainly not wrong about the difficulty of bird photography, Earl. I was very interested in it for a while a few years back, but the ratio of failed attempts to successful ones is amazingly high. Especially for birds in flight. It’s kind of like playing a video game – you have to be quick (and steady).

The owl shot is very good. Those eyes just bore right through you.

NR | ExP
12 years ago

What a cool event and a great idea! Birding in the wild will definitely test your patience, skills and gear as a photographer. These are very good shots Earl, regardless whether they were staged or not.