After attempting some low-light shots with the newly purchased DSLR camera, I quickly realized it was nearly impossible to get any non-blurry photographs. Any attempt at an exposure with shutter speed slower than 1/30 s just didn’t work. I couldn’t keep the camera steady enough with my hands–cycling through the hills of Rock Creek Park with a backpack filled with gear and getting short of breath certainly didn’t help.

So I bought a portable Slik tripod and brought it on my bike/photo venture into Rock Creek Park on a Wednesday afternoon. I spotted some deer walking in the river which looked photo-worthy, so I ripped out the tripod and camera. By the time I pulled out all the gear and I figured out how to use the tripod, the skittish deer were long gone.

However, I did see this Barred Owl, which I chased around the park for a solid hour – not incredibly hard to follow as they make a rather identifiable screeching sound.

Audio Credit: stancourtney.com