I'm not sure why this happens so frequently, but many of my favorite animal pictures are captured after I thought my photo shoot was over.

Many times, I'll observe an animal at an exhibit in the Brookfield Zoo--waiting for the animal to assume a particular pose or behave in an interesting way for a good photograph. This waiting game can take quite a while. It's not unusual for me to observe an animal for 30 or 45 minutes before some photo opportunities present themselves.

Other times, I give up after a while. A good percentage of the time, the animal will suddenly begin doing something worthy of a photograph at the exact time that my camera/lens was packed! I watch the animal as I remove the camera/lens from the tripod, place the camera in the pack, fold up the tripod, zipper up the bag, etc. Many times, I have to put everything back in place to capture a few images. Fortunately, I have a lot of experience with my tripod and can get everything up and ready to go in about 15 seconds!

This experience is not limited to animals in captivity. The most memorable experience with a wild animal was when I captured some photographs of a burrowing owl in Marco Island, Florida. I knew that these owls burrow in yards in the residential areas of Marco Island, so I drove 45 minutes to Marco Island in hope of photographing the owls. When I arrived, I could see mounds in lawns throughout the neighborhoods--which I assumed housed the owls. Yet, I never saw an owl!

Finally, I decided to observe one of the largest and more promising looking mounds for a while. I secured my camera and large telephoto lens to my tripod and composed an image from a very low vantage point. The best way to achieve a clean background is by using a wide aperture and selecting a vantage point where the background is a good distance from the subject. By getting low, I avoided having more ground placed in the frame--which is closer to the subject than the distant field. Also, getting low makes this very small bird look more imposing. He stands at less than 12 inches tall!

Now, all I needed was an owl! Since I already invested 90 minutes into a round trip drive and another 20 minutes into finding a promising mound, I figured that I would allow 30 minutes for an owl to appear. After 30 minutes, I finally gave up. I assumed that the owls had abandoned the burrow--or that they were resting and might not appear for several more hours. So, I packed everything up and walked back to my car--which was parked relatively close to the mound.

As soon as I placed my bag back in the car, I heard noises coming from the mound area. Seconds later, the tiny burrowing owl appeared!

While behind the car, I quietly got all my gear back in place. Then, I slowly worked my way toward the owl. I thought he would probably duck back into the burrow as soon as I got close enough for some shots. Instead, he let me get very close--and put on a good show for about 20 minutes of shooting.

Burrowing owlBurrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) near the intersection of San Marco Road and Gulfstream Street in Marco Island, Florida on January 22, 2012