Wildlife Photography across the Water: The 3 Amigos

Thursday 9 September 2010

The 3 Amigos

I mentioned last week that we have had 3 Raccoons visiting our garden, I nicknamed them 'the 3 amigos', I had decided that i would like some shots of them and for the last week i have been avidly pursuing them, It hasn't gone to plan and when i am in the hide they are nowhere to be seen and when i look through my back door they are there for the world to see, Very frustrating, I have seen them at 8.15,9.15 and 12.15 so no real set pattern and i have spent up to 4 hours in the hide without a peep, Not a fox,opossum or Raccoon, Its been the graveyard shift, last night i had decided that i would stay in and watch a movie, but kept getting that nagging feeling that if i didn't go out they would be dancing around the garden and it would more than annoy me, So there was nothing for it, I would just have to grin and bear it, If i wasn't there i wouldn't get them and so i would be in for the long haul, Luckily for me i struck lucky and at 8.15pm a little head popped around the tree and went to the food i had put down, I waited a couple of minutes hoping that the others would turn up but in the end i took a couple of shots, The 'coon' wasn't bothered by the flashguns but looked straight at me as it heard the quiet mode shutter on the D3s, I was using the 200-400 with a 1.4x on so their hearing is very acute, Another 'coon' arrived and started to feed and i waited again hoping the light coloured one would turn up and i could get all 3 together, It didn't happen, I am sure it wasn't far away and maybe the flashguns spooked it but i did manage a few shots of the two of them before one left shortly followed by the other, So some persistence has started to pay off and i hope it continues, They really are great looking creatures and as cute as a button-and cute sells

Heres a 100% crop of the above, that 200-400 combo sure is sharp

I have a couple of things to change lighting why, The background is a bit bright so i will turn that down a stop,but overall things are now looking up

Dave

1 comment:

Anonymous9 September 2010 at 16:02
Fantastic shots Dave. You must be very pleased. Just waiting to see them in a magazine soon!!
Jo
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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.