A week ago we had a photoshoot with Eve. Having a photoshoot outside was nothing new to us, but having a photoshoot outside with Eve was! We went to a park in Utrecht (the Netherlands) where, we knew, there were some amazing looking trees.
The trees in the park looked old and most of them had holes in them, which provides the perfect places for owls to hide and blend in. Owls are known for being the masters of disguise. Some owls, like Eve, have feathers of a pattern that looks very similar to bark. Others, like snowy owls, are nearly invisible when they are surrounded by snow, because of the beautiful white and black patterns on their feathers. Owls use their camouflage skills to protect themselves from predators and hide from their prey, allowing them to more easily catch food.
At first we thought the trees were dead, because besides the beauty we saw, they also looked kinda sad and broken in some way. After a little research we discovered that they weren’t necessarily dead, tree holes naturally form in the trunk or branch of a tree. These are predominantly found in old trees, whether living or not! Tree holes can be caused by many reasons. For instance when an injury to the tree creates an opening through the bark and exposes the heartwood. Sometimes animals further develop the hollows using their beak, teeth or claws.
It was a good day for an outside photoshoot. It was a rainy day, it was not as if huge drops of water were falling out of the sky, it was more of a raw drizzing rain. There weren’t a lot of people outside and we used umbrellas to keep Eve (and ourselfs) dry. The main reason we didn’t want Eve to get all wet, is because she likes to open her wings, make herself look poofy and fluffy and then bathes herself. Which looks pretty cute and silly, because she really enjoys water. But it wasn’t the look we were going for. We wanted a beautiful, magical look for this photoshoot. However in the last photos you can see she was pretty soaked!
When we all got wet and cold, we decided to head back home. Eve did great, she loved the attention and she was a good model. We were proud of her!
Owner: Beau van Stiphout
Model: Eve
Photographer: Norma Jesse / Owiwi
Writer: Beau van Stiphout / Owiwi