Wildlife Photography across the Water: Woodchuck and tortoise

Thursday, 24 June 2010

Woodchuck and tortoise

Well it just goes to show that you shouldn't shout your mouth off, There was me saying that the deer had been performing for me in the first few sessions and then for the last two sessions i have only seen them at distance, I sat in the sauna (hide) the other night and had 2 deer come up from behind me, There was no way to get the tripod and camera into position without spooking them so i sat and watched, They were backlit and the sun was low and the light was golden, It really picked out the bugs in the air and i wished i could have gotten the shot, The next night i positioned my camera gear in that direction hoping for a repeat, The light didn't go golden and the deer didn't arrive, But a woodchuck did and i managed to grab a few images as he stood up to see what was going on, I had the 200-400 on with a 1.4x but wish i had the 600 with the 1.4x for a tighter shot, Its great to see him and get a new animal on file, they are just like a marmot and although i have seen quite a few since moving State-side its the first opportunity to shoot one, The new Manfrotto 055 Pro tripod arrived yesterday-Great service from Adorama so tonight i can have 2 systems working and cover both sides of the hide,Just before i left the hide i noticed the vegetation moving close by and focused to see what it was and it turned out to be a tortoise, Something you normally see as road kill so nice to see a live one, i was tempted to move it into the open and get some better shots but decided against it, I sat out on the patio this morning with a cappuccino and watched the first hummingbirds feed at the feeder, It returned a couple of times in the 10 mins i sat there so time to get the thinking cap on and hope to get some images of them soon, On a side note i went to the shooting range last night with a friend and shot a couple of 45's.It was the first time i have shot for over 30 years and i really enjoyed the experience, One of the 45's was a dirty harry type gun and a real canon to use, I kept thinking how cool it would be to get an image of the bullet leaving the gun

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.