I spent three weeks at Amherst Island, Ontario, in January of 2014 hoping to catch a snowy owl in flight. The snowy owl is one of my favorite birds. It’s also elusive, therefore hard to spot. Fortunately, I did come across this majestic female perched on a fence post. She was still for over an hour as she waited for her next prey; I waited as long as she, for she was my next subject.

Suddenly it happened; she lifted off, flying sideways to catch a vole, and I was able to capture her just as her eyes focused on me.

I am very proud to say that this photograph, which I titled ‘Arctic Ghost’, won this year’s Outdoor Photographer Birds in Flightassignment.