Camera Labs

Slightly off topic since this is a video but thought some here might be interested in this link about Rocky Mountain Elk.

Video by Scott McKinley Productions, Produced for Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for Ad campaign. Licensed music by Kenny G.. This short video won Grand Prize - Best of Show at International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula Montana. The majority was shot on location in Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and The National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BUOQ_yPW_0s

cool video X

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
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Timor deer apparently. I hadn't thought to check until you asked .

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a shot.



Something will eat them sooner or later. We saw this water buffalo walk past a 2.5m dragon but he wasn't hungry unfortunately. The trip has to go down as one of the highlights of the year I spent backpacking.

Nice video X

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Finally had a bit of sun this morning and the temp was up to 13 below when I got up so decided to head out to see what I could find... came across these 3 munching, sleeping and... doing what all deer do...

The first pic shows how I had seen it at about 40 meters away... to my surprise it didnt react much to my approach at all and I managed to get to within 40 meters of it, I had started my approach from about 200 meters, before I settled in for the next hour.



He continued to feed totally ignoring me once I was settled in... notice the 2 resting in the backround.



After about 15 minutes I repositioned myself for a bit of a better line of sight angle through all the brush and as I did so it turned its head away and rose its tail... I thought to myself damn... spooked him...



A split second later I realized however by the look on lits face that that wasnt its intension at all



Shortly after that it settled in for a rest with the other 2. I was happy to get the shot with the closed eyes below but as always I was hoping for a bit more... it would have been awesome to get a shot with its head down and sleeping so I waited another 45 minutes or so but with no luck..

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
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Great shots! I actually just wondered, do you have some kind of hide built in there or you just lie there in the ground waiting?

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I have several hides around the area pierovera... didnt use one for the pics above though... I actually used a snow drift as a wall which I crawled along out of sight of the deer. Every time they flinched or thought something was up Id stop til they relaxed. It took me about 20 minutes to move 200 meters or so behind the drift to get the shots. Lots of time I find that the natural terrain of the land allows for a stealthy approach if one takes the time to search it out... Even a ditch beside a road acts as a great block to move unobserved to get closer to wildlife.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
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Well.....

As you can see we are still deep in snow here and its cloudy as usual... You may remember me saying throughout the last few months that we never seem to get sun any more up here this winter. Heard on the radio the other day that besides getting over 3 times the average snow-pack this year we have also recieved 47% less sunlight this winter than in an average winter. Yup its been one heck of a winter and its not over yet. Last year we had no snow a month ago and we just got more here this weekend with no temps above zero yet at all so no melt at all yet either.

And the deer are getting thinner and thinner and we are seeing more dead by the day... not from cars but from getting caught up in the barbwire fences or tripping over them when they are trying to jump them. These fences are so easy for them to jump on a normal year but this year they are definately taking their toll. Add to that the late winter and large run-off expected in the spring and biologists here say we will see a high mortality rate this spring due to pneumonia. All that being said and although it is sad to see them struggling it is all for the best. Saskatchewan`s deer population has exploded over the past few years and is effecting other populations in negative ways. A high mortality rate this winter and spring will hopefully reduce the populations which in turn should lead to a healthier ecosystem all around.



On a side note... after being layed up for most of last year due to the accident and not doing any extended photography tours at all, and taking into account the long winter which will hopefully be behind me soon, its nice to be planning my first extended remote photography eco-tour in just over a year. I`ve recieved the invitation for the first week in June... now I just need to plan out my end of it and make the time for it

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Good luck with your trip, have fun!

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Yesterday I got up and took a walk around the yard. I knew we have had a hard winter to date and I knew the deer would suffer and there would be a high mortality rate but Im also a firm believer in nature and I try not to interfere in any way no matter how sad I may feel it is at times. I've had 3 deer on my yard almost the entire winter but I have never fed them as I don't want them to get used to receiving food from humans but I wasn't expecting to find one dead either. It had obviously starved as it was curled up in a ball with no wounds or broken bones and it seemed to have died while sleeping.

With this in my mind I went out yesterday to see if I could capture their plight first hand and just how hard it is for them with all the snow this this year. Keep in mind last year at this time I was already cutting the grass....

The first one I came across seemed well enough off and comfortably resting and I didn't seem to bother it at all...





Even though I seen plenty of deer yesterday, light, heavy brush and fear of spooking them made it difficult for any decent shots. Then I came across this one and for me it shows their struggle perfectly.. this is how I first seen it and shows how deep they are having to dig to get to food...



I tried to get its attention without spooking it to show it standing in the hole upright and it cooperated perfectly... as can be seen that is a lot of digging in deep snow for a few morsels. I ended up watching this one for almost an hour and during that time it did a lot more digging than chewing.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Great story and great shots, nice job
I believe it is a correct decision to let the deer alone and not feeding them or anything because you can help keep the natural balance in the environment, that I believe is a great problem that we as humanity have, always trying to help but without understanding the situation entirely. Also think about it, the deer that survive are the strongest and most resistant to the environment, therefore providing the species in the future, I mean their offspring, a better chance to survive a future long winter. Basically that's the principle of evolution.

Nature might be cruel, but it's got to do whatever it has got to do.

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
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