Why I Photograph Wildlife from the Van
If you want to photograph wildlife, you already own one of the best hides in the world. It is your vehicle. I learned that again on Highway 395 in December 2025, when a short-eared owl let me shoot it from the van window for a good long while. The same owl had already flown off once when I stepped outside, so I have a fresh reminder of why staying put matters.
Road tripping Highway 395, I took a side road to Twin Lakes. Along the way, birds. Lots and lots of birds, but nothing of note. However, on the way back, after the coldest swim of my life, an owl sat upon a fence post.
Pulling out my Tamron 150-500mm lens, I spent an hour locking eyes with this owl.
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Here is what happened. On the drive back from Twin Lakes toward Travertine Hot Springs, I spotted the owl on a post beside a farm field. I grabbed my Tamron 150-500, shut the van door, and stepped out. It flew away almost immediately. A person on foot looks like a threat to a wild animal. A parked vehicle looks like part of the landscape, and animals along a highway see cars all day.
We drove a little way down the road and found the owl on another post. This time I did not open the door. I photographed out the window, from about 50 to 80 feet away, with the lens at 500 millimeters. The owl kept hunting, watching the field, blinking, and staring back at us. It never seemed bothered. That is the whole trick. The vehicle does the work, and the animal gets to decide how it feels.
That idea is the rule I try to follow. Let the animal decide. If it flies off, I do not chase it, and I do not push closer for the sake of a frame. A photograph is never worth stressing an animal that is trying to eat, rest, or raise its young. If my presence changes what it is doing, I have gone too far, and the right move is to back off, not to press on.
A few practical habits help. Pull fully off the road, well away from traffic, and turn on your hazard lights if the shoulder is narrow. Keep your movements slow and quiet. Consider turning off the engine once you have stopped, since it cuts vibration and noise. Keep your camera and lens ready before you stop, because the best moments rarely wait. That is part of why I swapped lenses so quickly when I first saw the owl.
Long glass helps more than anything else. At 500 millimeters, I could keep a respectful distance and still fill the frame with those yellow eyes. I would rather have a long lens and a bit of cropping than walk toward an animal. I did crop the final image slightly, just enough to place the eyes above the center line, and the detail held up beautifully.
Check the local rules, too. Some places limit stopping along roads, and some wildlife areas have their own seasonal closures. A quick look at the land manager's website before a trip can save you a ticket and protect the animals you came to see. Bring patience, because wildlife runs on its own schedule.
There is something I love about this way of working. Kristin and Chestnut were in the van the whole time, and we watched a wild owl go about its evening. No one was in a hurry. When the light faded and the owl finally looked straight at me, I felt lucky to be watching from a distance.
That patience is baked into the print. Owl Eyes is available in seven sizes, on paper, metal, or canvas, starting at $26.95, and it ships in about 5 to 10 days.
Go check out all the prints by Dalton Johnson.
About the Author
Dalton Johnson is a photographer, writer, and filmmaker who tells stories about real people pushing themselves in the outdoors, from the High Sierra to the far reaches of every continent. He has shot and written for brands, tourism boards, and editorial outlets, including Nike, Patagonia, Four Seasons, PBS, GoPro, and Ford, with more than 160 campaigns and hundreds of published articles to his name. Off assignment, he bikepacks, trail runs, swims open water, chases big waves, and rock climbs.
