Getting Close

[Ron Kruger]

You'll have to take my word for it, because I haven't posted any pix for a few reasons, but I've been a professional outdoor photographer for over 30 years, selling my work to outdoor magazines. I've sold well over 1,000 images, including a few covers. This doesn't pay very well, and because of that there has never been a time when I could afford $18,000 to $22,000 for a really long F2.8 lens, so I have compensated by getting close enough to fill frame with a 200mm, and at times, even a 55mm. To do this, I have relied on almost 50 years of hunting and fishing experience.
The reason I'm starting this thread is to give something back to this site, because even though I've only been around here for about a week, I've found it very informative and friendly, and I'm sure the majority of you can't afford to pay more for a lens than for your car as well. Besides, even if you shoot lenses longer than 200mm, which it appears many of you do, getting close is still very important.
The best ways to do this differs, depending upon species. Just as with hunting, especially bow hunting, the more you know about the particular species, the better you are able to get close without being detected, so if you have questions, be species specific. There are a lot of tricks to it.
A lifelong interest in hunting (I'm actually something of an expert and have also worked as a hunting and fishing guide) has given me a wealth of experience and insights about getting close that I realize I probably couldn't have achieved by photography alone.
Though I also like to photograph backyard birds and such, what I'm talking about is animals and birds in the wilds. That's the part that is really fun and challenging. In fact, I rarely hunt any more and enjoy capturing them on a sensor more than for the table.

[Loupey]

Good points, Ron.

If I may speak for a few others, I think many of us live in somewhat urbanized communities where access to anything other than metro-parks is the norm. Large target species are virtually non-existent or extremely wary due to being harassed or shot at, especially the mammals. And if something like a bald eagle nests in the area - forget about it, entire sections are roped off for any and all approaches.

What's left over are the small birds and rodents (woodchucks, muskrats, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks), the latter of which don't make particularly pretty subjects most of the time

I am curious how you would approach the smaller flighty birds such as the creepers, wrens, snipes, woodcocks, and the like which are few and far between. My general approach doesn't work so well for many of these.

[Ron Kruger]

Dear Loupey,
Even if you live in Manhattan, real woods are never that far away, such as in New Jersey, or north of the city. You may have to drive an hour or so, but a photo safari is not a bad way to spend the day. The good thing is you can take a camera into many reserves and wildlife area close to metropolitan areas were hunting is not allowed.
As far as metropolitan mammals are concerned, they usually aren’t as skittish as they are in the wilds, because they are around people most of the time. In the city, they may be harder to find, and you often find them in the most unusual places, but once you find them, they are easier to photograph than their wilderness cousins. I’ve done both. There may not be any in downtown areas, but they are quite common in the suburbs. If you know a place that supports woodchucks, muskrats and skunks, it will support the larger mammals as well. You just can’t walk up on them, any more than you can simply walk up on them in the wilds. You’ve got to hunt them, and I’ll talk about that more if anyone is interested.
I’ve taken good, close shots of various snipe and plover species by putting my PokeBoat (a kind of a cross between a kayak and a canoe that is made for duck hunting) into various bodies of water and slowly moving along the banks during fall. All animals and birds are much less afraid of something in the water than on the land, because they don’t normally expect predators to come from the water. The low profile of a PokeBoat looks to them like a floating log.
Fall is the best time, because these are migratory birds and as the water levels lower during the fall, it exposes the banks and a lot of insects, small mollusks and worms snipe and other shore birds like to eat. This is a great way, also, to get pix of herons, egret and a host of other birds, deer that come down to drink, racoons and on and on. I have a city lake near me that has served as a sort of wildlife photo studio, all taken from my PokeBoat. I have gotten to within a dozen feet of greenback herons, blue herons and even cormorants.
A lot of people like to just walk around and take pictures, but that doesn’t work for really wild species. For deer, coyotes and other really wild creatures that live in populated areas, you’ve got to scout them to figure out where they are bedding and where they are feeding and then set up somewhere along their trials and wait, often for long hours. You’ve got to get off the beaten paths and walkways. Most people don’t do that, so a surprising population of wild animals can often be found in just an few acres of woods scattered among populated areas.
The best natural blind is a fallen tree, and if it still has some leaves on it, all the better. Climb into it and sit still. Most mammals will travel closely to brush piles and fallen trees, because they feel secure next to it, and they don’t often even look into them. If they do, the tangle of branches and such breaks up your outline. Wear full camouflage, including a face mask and gloves and don’t move any more than is absolutely necessary. Pay attention to the direction of the wind (in your face, instead of to your back) because deer and coyotes rely on their sense of smell to detect danger much more than on their eyes.
While I’m sitting waiting for deer and turkey or such, I often get pictures of other birds and animals. Wren are found in the cities, and sometimes come to feeders, but they prefer the woods, where they are quite common. I see them often, and I hear them all the time. Most of the shots I have of them were taken just after I climbed into a blind (fallen tree). Once I’m settled, they often come and land on nearby branches to scold me. They’ll call and call, them move a branch or two closer and call some more. I have pictures of wrens that fill frame with a 200mm, which means the little loudmouths were within a few feet. Still, you’ve got to be careful not to move much, and extremely slowly when you do. Whenever I’m on the ground, I try to sit in a way that keeps the camera only a few inches from my face at all times, so that when something comes along, I don’t have to move much to look through the viewfinder.
Woodcocks are possibly the toughest subject of all, and I don’t have a good shot of them. I have a few, but none of them are very good. For one thing, they are, again, migratory, so in most areas, they only move through during the spring or fall, inhabiting low lying and swampy areas where they can find worms in soft ground. But what makes them so tough to photograph is they are nocturnal, moving only at night. During the day, they are so well camouflaged, they won’t move unless you’re about to step on them, and because they blend so well with their environment, they are extremely difficult to spot, and even if you do spot one and get a shot, it is difficult to make out the bird’s outline in photos because there is no contrast.

[scott-devon]

You make some very interesting points Ron. I notice you recommend wearing full camouflage. Would you say it is more useful than a portable blind?

[Ron Kruger]

Im not a fan of portable blinds, unless you have a place where you can leave it for at least a couple of weeks to let deer and other animals get used to it. The woods is like their living room, and just as you will notice that someone has added a piece of furnature, they'll notice a portable blind and avoid that area for some time. A fallen tree, on the other hand, is like your old, comfortable couch, and they take the safety of it for granted.
Another thing is scent. There are some very expensive portable blinds made with a charcol lining that cut down or eliminate scent, but most of them retain a lot of human scent just from errecting them and using them. This scent lingers for days.
Scent is, by far, the most important consideration, and where I set up each time is totally dictated by the wind direction, so I like to stay moble. With a portable, you're at the mercy of the wind currents, so if you use one, be sure to set it on the side of the trail to which the wind most often blows. Around here, that is on the east or north-east sides, because the wind most often blows from the west or south-west.
The good thing about them is you can use a tripod and move around in them without detection. Be sure, however, to set up your camera so that the lens is a little distance from the opening, back in shadow, because the slightest movement of the camera can catch their eye. I'm not sure why, but they seem to notice the minor movements (and maybe some glint) of a camera protruding from a blind more than if you are just sitting against a big tree in the open.
That is, by the way, another way to set up in the woods. If you can't find a suitable fallen tree or brush pile, you can fool them by sitting against a large tree. This is the most common way people hunt turkeys as well. Don't try to hide behind it. Sit in front, facing the trail, preferrably in shadow. If you are fully camoflaged and don't move, they won't see you against a tree that is wider than your sholders. Deer are color blind, so they see contrasts.
When sitting against a tree, don't move or bat an eye unless you are sure a deer can't see you. The rule is, if you can see their eye, they can see you. Wait until their head goes behind a tree and raise your camera quickly, before their eye exits the other side.
One more thing: if you suddenly see a deer and can see its eye, don't continue to look directly at it or make eye contact. Look slightly off to the side and keep track of it with periferal vision.

[paulnj]

Awesome post Ron!

[mn shutterbug]

Interesting. A pokeboat may be a wiser investment than another lens. It may be just the ticket for loons next spring.