Seasons Greetings

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) - California

In November, I was in Los Angeles, California visiting with a good friend and was inviting to a "coursing" event.  I went along to photograph the dogs which were pure breed greyhounds.  I'll post a note about this shortly. 

The coursing event was an all day affair and was run on a property some 150 mile north west of LA.  The dogs and hunters covered a lot of ground on what I would call arid land; there was a lot of dirt and a heck of a lot of dust.  The day was warm and temperatures hovered around the 90 degree F mark.  As the day progressed I would troll after the dogs photographing the events as they transpired. 

What really excited me was when I observed this Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) in his/her burrow with only its head protruding.  I waited outside the burrow for about an hour lying in the dust and dirt with my camera at the ready.  Eventually, the owl became curious, came out of the burrow and "pranced about" in front of my camera for about 30 minutes or so.  It was rare treat and one I thoroughly enjoyed.  At one stage the owl was so close to me that my 70-200 f2.8 lens would not focus!

To make things even better, all this happened relaytively late in the afternoon approaching "golden hour" when the environment is lit by a beautful golden glow.

ABOVE:  Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) stands in front of burrow.

Polar Bear Cub & Mother Marching in Time

Recently when in the Arctic, I came across these two polar bears - mother and 2nd year cub making their way across the snow.

I watched them for some time and became transfixed by the symmetry of their walking.  It reminded my of two soldiers maintaining the same distance from one another and "walking in time". 

They continued to walk like this for sometime and appeared to showed no apprehension towards my presence - although I am quite sure they new exactly where I was at any particular time.

LEFT:  Polar bear mother and 2nd year cub make their way accross the snow in Canada.

Photographing the Defining Moment

Many attributes make a good photograph - technically prowess, composition, background and even to a certain extent the subject itself.  Whilst these factors are very important, what makes an image move up a level of excellence is when the photographer captures a defining moment. 

For instance, when I photographed this sea otter in California, I shot several images of the otter doing its thing, however, only one photograph captured the defining moment -  which was the act of the otter with mouth open about to bite into the clam. 

ABOVE:  California Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) feeding on clam shell.

On this day, I lay on the front of a small landing craft-type platform, almost at sea level and waited.  The otter dived and came to the surface several times with clams.  Observing the otter's diving patterns enabled me to roughly know where the animal would surface.  It's all about patience and playing the waiting game .  I was rewarded for my patience with this photograph when the otter surfaced.

Next time your out and about shooting wildlife, instead of merrily clicking away taking several dozen images of more or less the same image - wait and search for that particular moment that makes your subject unique - then depress the shutter!  The time and effort in waiting will be more than compensated for when you obtain a better than average photograph.

Photographing Emotive Situations - Polar Bears

Cute and Cuddly

For the most part people want to see photographs of animals that are pretty and show the animals at their best.  The image of a koala comes to mind.  We have all seen photographs of this adorable furry animal sitting calmly in the tree.  Likewise, many of us have seen beautiful images of polar bears and other apex predators such as tigers and lions.  If it has fur, big eyes and is cute and cuddly, then it's often loved and adored by the masses. 

But, everything on planet Earth must eat, and unlike you and me (for the most part) who calmly purchase pre-packaged food and products from the supermarket or convenience store; most apex predators don't have this luxury.  They must skillfully hunt and kill what they wish to eat - or die! 

Often this spectacle of animal behaviour is not pretty.  People watching from the sideline often barack for the small gazelle that is running blindly away from the pursuing lion, giving little thought that the lion must kill and feed on the gazelle if its life, and the lives of its cubs are to continue.

Image Left:  1st year polar bear cub checks out photographer.

 Capturing the Images

Photographing such an event, whether it be a feeding frenzy underwater or a wolf killing and eating a elk, is always psychologically disturbing;  the often cute and fuzzy image of an animal is transposed into an animal killing another to survive. 

Image Left: 1st year baby cub makes its way through snow drift following mother.

It’s at this time that you must concentrate on acquiring the images with a steady hand and remove all emotion from the equation.  Often photographers become so caught up in the moment emotionally that they cannot function as photographers; their images are blurry due to camera shake, poorly composed and often lack technical prowess.  It takes considerable experience to turn off your emotions and capture the moment, but once you have mastered this skill, it becomes possible to photograph some amazing and spectacular events that are just as important as those cute and cuddly moments.

Why Am I Writing This?

So why I am writing this?  Since posting the images in the thread below and syndicating the images  worldwide, I have been sent several e-mails stating how unnecessary it is to photograph such animal behaviour.  I am hoping this thread will explain the reasoning.

Click the appropiate file in the U-Tube player to see a short video.