From the series Barn Owl Studies. 

Print size 30” x 20” on 34” x 24” paper
Edition of 12
Archival pigments on cotton paper

My fascination with birds of prey began eight years ago. There have been nesting owls on my family's land in the United Kingdom as far as I can remember. I have heard them calling to each other at night.

One evening at dusk, walking back from the firs, a barn owl flew straight towards me. I felt a breeze from the vast wing span on my forehead as it floated above, nearly grazing me, enormous and intense; a white apparition in the diminishing light.

I stood there astonished, thinking of this mysterious creature with a reverence for their mastery and confidence, about a life I will never comprehend - mystical, terrifying, bloody and splendid.

I interpreted this chance encounter as an invitation to understand these birds on a deeper level.

Since 1999, Beth Moon’s work has appeared in more than eighty solo and group exhibitions worldwide, receiving critical acclaim in major fine art publications internationally.

Follow Beth on Instagram @bethmoonphotography.