From Joshua N Wiley

Haunting.

My signature shot as a wildlife photographer is of Snowy Owl in a fir tree lined up with the rising full moon. It’s been one of my most popular images. So I try not to miss any opportunity to line up birds with the moon. Especially owls. It’s become a bit of a personal project for me.

While in Alligator River last Friday night, I spotted a Great Horned Owl perching from a dead tree after nightfall. Then I saw the first quarter moon. Then I put two and two together.

The owl was actually too close for the shot to work at f/11, because the owl basically covered the entire half moon. But at f/4, the moon swelled a little bit in bokeh, and the owl fit inside its out-of-focus glow.

8/29/25

Nikon Z9, 600 mm, 600 mm, f/4, ISO 2000, 1/100 second.

Dare County, North Carolina