The Moment After the Click | a 7 Image Story

Aug 2, 2020 | 7 Image Stories, AF 80-400mm f4.5-5.6D ED VR, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 ED VR II, AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, AF-S TC 2.0 E III Tele-converter, American Alligator, Bighorn Sheep, Bison, Cooper's Hawk, Loon, Nature, Nikon 1 V1, Nikon D200, Nikon D300, Nikon D3x, Raccoon, The Moment After the Click, White-tailed Deer

The Moment After the Click | a 7 Image Story  When capturing wildlife images even with a pleasant background in nice light, it’s sometimes hard to know which images will be the best.  The camera may be set for perfect exposure, but perfect focus may be much harder.  Wildlife moves.  What’s in focus one moment might not be in focus the next moment.  Even in focus, their eyes might blink or wings might flutter unexpectedly.  Several images are routinely required to get a few keepers.  Clicks!   Finally, you know you have an image or two that will tell the story.  And, hopefully, you have not disturbed the wildlife.  Now what?  It’s time to retreat and review those images.  Finally, you’ve calmed down.  The calm after the quest; the moment after the click.  Each of these images has its own back story on my journey.

White-tailed Deer   The White-tailed Deer was walking through the woods of northern Michigan on an early spring day in late afternoon.  As it walked, it would stop to look around.  It spotted me even though I was using my vehicle as a bind.  Then, it stood for a very long time looking at me while continually scouting the area.  With all the light brown background, it was hard to know if any of my clicks were good.  The trees and branches would move due to the wind.  Either a branch was in the way or the deer blinked or suddenly moved.  Finally, it stopped, looked, and Clicks!  The deer then turned a walked away.  After looking at the images in post processing, I realized only the last couple of clicks were keepers.

Common Loon   At Ox Bow Bend near the Grand Tetons, clear early morning light, calm winds, and the flat waters of the Snake River helped make this image special.  The long 400mm lens also helped.  Even though, I had to wait quite a while for this Loon to swim closer to me as I waited at river’s edge.  The river was quiet as the Loon made its way up river towards me.  Although I was partially hidden behind a mound of dirt, it probably knew I was there.  It did not seem to mind and almost seemed to give me a few poses. Clicks!  After the clicks, I just sat there and watched as the Loon swam peaceful by.

American Bison   Late April in Yellowstone NP is time for babies; American Bison babies.  In this field, several Bison gave birth this afternoon.  This baby Bison, called a Red Dog, is only a few minutes old while taking its first tentative steps.  Mom attend to her baby and cleans it until it walks reasonably well.  Clicks!   Even though this was a long telephoto shoot on a windy day, this image turned out okay in post.

Raccoon   This Raccoon image, captured at Everglades NP, is clearly the nicest raccoon image I have ever captured.  Wild Everglade raccoons greeted our air boat as we docked on a remote island.  These guys roamed around an old native American house site which is still regularly visited.  They kept their distance but clearly were not afraid of us.  On several occasions, they stopped which gave us an opportunity to captured several images.  Clicks!  The easy to carry Nikon 1 V1 and the 70-300mm lens allowed me to capture a nice image while not disturbing the raccoons.  The raccoons watched as we boarded the air boat to depart.

Young Bighorn Sheep   This young Bighorn Sheep came up behind me on a ridge while I was trying to capture a few images of a large ram just over the next hill in the Badlands NP.  Young Bighorn Sheep are called lambs.  This guy seemed too big to be called a lamb.  Like most kids, he was curious.  Today, he seemed to be curious about me.  He kept edging his way closer and closer to me.  As he came closer, I was able to capture a few nice images.  Clicks!  He blocked my way back off the cliff for about a half hour.  He just stood there.  The cliff was a couple hundred feet down on all sides so I had to wait and enjoy the view of sunrise over the Badlands.  Finally, he retreated.

Cooper’s Hawk   Sometimes you go to the image, sometimes the image comes to you, and sometimes the image just happens.  Such was the case with this immature Cooper’s Hawk image.   Also, with the leaves off the trees, it’s a bit easier to see wildlife.  My walkabout along one of my favorite paths had been uneventful, which is often the case during the late fall months before winter really comes to northern Illinois.  The trail winds around a small stream with many small hills up the banks.  As I came up a hill, just within sight over the top of the hill, sat the immature Cooper’s Hawk.  I quickly knelt down on one knee, out of the hawk’s sight.  The trail parallels the stream and the tree where the hawk was perched.  So, I made ready the camera and proceeded slowly along the trail.  When the hawk noticed me, I stopped and backed away.  Clicks!.  Luckily, the light was nice.  The hawk didn’t move.  It had to be accustomed  to people walking the trail.  I’m glad to not have disturbed it.  Although the Cooper’s Hawk is smaller than the Red-tailed Hawk, their sleek build and smooth plumage give them a more refined look.

American Alligator   Meet the American Alligator up close and personal; eyeball to eyeball at Everglades NP.  American Alligators are black; all black.  Yes, I was close, but not too close, lying on my belly to capture this image.  The 70-300mm set at 70mm is still 189mm after the Nikon 1 V1 crop factor.  Yes, that’s still close.  Clicks!  After several clicks, I noticed several gators beginning to move toward me.  Although gators generally move rather slowly, they can really move out fast.  They were gathering on three sides around me.  Time to go look at my images later in post.

Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category The Moment After the Click.

Click any image below for a slide show.