Wezre
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 p.62 #20 · Official Nikon 400/2.8S image thread + some discussions | |
OwlsEyes wrote:
I realize that I am fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph bobcats, but I think it's important to know that this is not a slam dunk, nor is it easy. Photographing this species requires a bit of preparation and a commitment to long periods of waiting. I often pass up the opportunity to fill my bucket with many species in order to focus on one.
I live more than two hours away from where I can reliably find bobcats, often spend the night camping, and then need to spend a few hours driving to see if they are prowling about. When I find one, it is not like I can drive up next to it, walk up to it, or place the animal in good light. During most of my bobcat shoots, the light is contrasty and the grasses and fur produce harsh shadows. In addition, I want to do everything I can to let the bobcat do its thing and not impact its hunt. During this time of year, females are either pregnant or feeding the babies,... I would be crushed if my actions interfered with the animal's capacity to find food or feed its young.
The bobcat pictured here was a four hour effort. I saw her hunting, I watched her catch prey, and I watched her continue to hunt. Once she had paws on the rodent burrows, I moved in but not too close. She was hunkered down, and I could see her ears poking up through the grasses. I sat with her for about 70 minutes... we did nothing together, as she waited for movement from below. As the sun began to settle, she gave up on that hunt and moved on. I let her determine the direction and pace of movement and walked in parallel with her about 50 yards from me. When she decided to hunt again, I settled down and let her do her thing. When a bobcat is focused and does not feel threatened, they let their guard down. At one point, she walked within the minimum focus of my lens. She was aware of my presence and I just stayed put as she worked her way to another hunting opportunity. When the light began to fade, I slowly backed away and left her to her life and pursuit.
Animals should not be impacted by us. Obviously the Heisenberg Principle is an apt metaphor for our influence as photographers, as our mere presence does influence the animals we photograph, but it should be all of our goals to be watchers and not interferers...
Stepping off the soapbox now  ...Show more →
Some really nice photos and the description of your field craft was really interesting to read. Thanks for taking such care with this beautiful animal.
In another post you mentioned how difficult it can be posting in the Nature & Wildlife forum here. There are a lot of tremendous photographers that post there, but sometimes people go overboard with their adoration of photographers they really like. A couple of months back, a post won the Featured Thread voting with photos that had absolutely terrible post-processing. Way over sharpened, overly saturated, clear masking halos around the subjects, etc. But they won because so many people here think of them as a great photographer and completely overlooked the quality of the photos. As you said, I've had more luck posting in the lens-specific threads here. I'm also a member at BCG but haven't posted my work there yet.
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