The Food Chain

As a nature and wildlife photographer I spend countless hours outside photographing and studying nature. Besides knowing all the technical stuff to make your camera work and give you a proper exposure, knowing your subject's behavior is extremely important. This allows you to know when something is going to happen that will make for a much more dramatic shot. When you first start photographing wildlife, you are happy to just get a nice exposure with sharp detail on your subject while it is in a static pose. Soon that is not good enough and you want some dramatic action. This is where knowing the animals behavior will allow you to anticipate the shot and capture some great action. The great thing about digital is you can take as many photos as possible and just delete what you do not need. In the films days this was a very expensive endeavor to make so many exposures to just get one or two of the peak action captures.

I have been fortunate to witness some amazing scenes while spending all those hours in the field. What has always fascinated me is the cycle of life, and where everything fits on the food chain. In fact one of my favorite quotes is "I am glad I am very high up on the food chain" My first foray into the food chain started in high school when I learned to scuba dive. Making my first dive in the ocean made it crystal clear that I was nowhere near the top of the food chain, and once I entered the water there were many things way bigger than me that could eat me.

My next sense of where I fit in on the food chain was backpacking in the back country of Yellowstone National Park and being in Grizzly Bear country. No bear spray back then. You wore a couple cow bells and talked out loud so they could hear you coming.

A good reminder of my place on the food chain occurred when I captured this 9-10 foot alligator chomping on a Horseshoe Crab. I had been squatting down at the water's edge in Ding Darling NWR to photograph some birds close by. Suddenly he came to the surface about 25-30 feet in front of me and started chomping away. Being the good photographer, I didn't flinch and kept shooting until my buffer was full and then shot some more. The gator finally spit out the crab and slid below the surface. I was eagerly checking my camera to see if I got any good shots. Suddenly several of those National Geographic shows popped into my head and started playing back. You know, the ones where the gators charge out of the water and grab the unsuspecting animal at the edge that was there to drink. They drag them under and start the death roll while ripping them apart. At that point I was back pedaling and got back up on the road ASAP.

It is not always pretty, and in reality it is often gory and bloody when you watch all creatures struggle to survive and pass along their genes to the next generation. But it is fascinating to see how they overcome much adversity to survive and thrive. But one mistake, or lax moment, can make them just another link on the food chain for a creature that is higher than them. I have come uncomfortably close a few times to being a link on that chain, but hopefully I will be around to document some of the action for a while longer.

Scott

The Edwardsville Watershed Nature Preserve

Most nature photographers have favorite places they go to photograph at on a regular basis. Mine happens to be the Edwardsville Watershed Nature Preserve. This is a 47acre site that once was the city's sewage lagoon. Formally closed in 1986 due to a new facility being built, the property sat until 1990 when John and Kay Kendall had the vision to turn it into a nature center. With help from the city, many organizations, and private citizens, The Edwardsville Watershed Nature Preserve was built. It is an amazing piece of property that contains woodlands, wetlands, and wildflower prairies'. A mile long trail winds around the property with a nice elevated concrete walkway in the wetland area. This allows for great access for people to see the habitat up close, and it makes a great base for a photographer's tripod.

I am currently serving on the board of directors as the Vice-President. This is a really great place to practice the art of nature photography. I mostly due macro photography here since there is a diverse amount of subjects to photograph. Insects of all types and wildflowers are my main target, but there are plenty of other creatures that you will cross paths with.

Early mornings and late afternoons would be a good time to find me down there. I love to get eye to eye with my subjects, so you may find me in some unusual positions or places in an attempt to capture the best image possible.  I have friends that also enjoy photography so sometimes we will have a a herd or tripods working. If you are interested in coming down to the center and want some advice or help with your photography, drop me a line.

One day I decided I wanted to capture Barn Swallows in flight. Trying to track and photograph these little flying jets was impossible. Then I noticed one on the deck railing and another making high speed passes to harrass it. I focused on the stationary bird and froze the action with a 1/2000 second shutter speed. The background is the lake.

You can find and photograph an amazing spectrum of subjects if you look close enough. Here is the link to the Nature Center's website

http://www.watershednaturecenter.com/

Have a great weekend,

Scott

Spring is Coming!

It is suppose to be near 70 degrees today. While not the beautiful sunny spring day we all want and love, it has not been this warm here for quite some time now. So I will gladly take the warmth, even if it is a little gloomy looking. The best thing about the warmer temperatures is the things it triggers in nature to start the change into spring. I know it's a little early, but as a photographer spring is a great time to get outside and get some great shots.

Usually the American Robins will start showing up in force. Now you will see them occasionally throughout the winter as they are year-round residents here. But usually in March they start showing up in large numbers feeding on the worms and bugs emerging from your yard. Males and females look quite a bit alike, but females tend to be more gray and dull colored such as this female in the photo above is.

The Crocus flowers are pushing through now and will bloom very soon. This will start the explosion of color to follow with all the later flowers such as these daffodils' in the these two photos. This is a great time to start on your macro photography skills. This is the type of photography that you can do in your own yard. 
All you need is your camera with a macro or good close focusing lens, a tripod, cable release, and some patience. Getting down low to the same level of the subject you are shooting is critical to creating that good composition. Use a shallow DOF to create that soft out of focus background that makes these types of photos look so good.

Of couse this then brings out all the insects!  As a lover of macro photography, this is a good thing. So I am hoping for a continued warm up to kick spring into high gear. It also triggers the instincits in me to get out and start searching for new subjects to photograph.