I returned home from my annual two week trip to Pennsylvania Elk
Country to record the elk rut after the morning photo shoot on Friday
September 27th. According to reliable sources the rut continued
full-bore for awhile after that, but has now tapered off quite a bit.
Since returning home I have been working with the local wildlife each
day, but things have been slow. With that being said, I have captured a
few usable images over a period of time.
I see
raccoons occasionally, but usually it is not under the most photogenic
conditions. I was set up near an old barn one morning and kept hearing a
"chirring" noise so I slowly turned around to see two young raccoons
peering at me from a hole in the side of the barn. I had the 300mm f2.8
attached to the 5D MK III and it was the right combination for the
encounter as the light was still very poor and the combination of fast
lens and good high ISO capability contributed to a successful capture.
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| Young Raccoons: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 300mm f 2.8 IS L-ISO 3200 1/160 sec. f 2.8 |
On another occassion I captured a fox squirrel as me
passed by my stand. When I was young it was very rare to see these
large squirrels, but although not as common as the gray squirrel I do
see them frequently.
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| Fox Squirrel: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 500mm f 4.0 IS L-ISO 1000 1/250 sec. f 4.5 |
It is always a thrill to see Eastern Wild Turkey
Gobblers. These are extremely shy birds that are usually seen only at a
distance. I will digress for a moment to say that I recently got a
600mm F 4.0 L IS lens of the same version as my 500mm and 300mm. All of
these have now been replaced with a II version that is lighter, but the
price of a new 600mm is beyond my budget so I settled for a used one
that is in excellent condition with no signs of wear. This was an ideal
lens to use to capture a group of mature gobblers when I was fortunate
enough to spot them at a distance in the woods.
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| Distant Gobblers: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS L-ISO 1000 1/200 sec. f 4.5 |
The lens also worked quite well when I caught a
mature gobbler running across a meadow one evening. In this case I used
a high ISO so that I could use a high shutter speed in hopes of
stopping the action.
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| Running Gobbler: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS L-ISO 1600 1/1000 sec. f 4.5 |
The lens also worked well to capture a distant
whitetail buck late one evening. This was another situation ideally
suited for the low-light capability of the 5D MK III. Even with using
the 600mm the image is substantially cropped to get the composition that
I desired.
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| Late Evening Whitetail: Canon 5D MK III-Canon 600mm f 4.0 IS L-ISO 3200 1/180 sec. f 4.0 |
This has been an unusual fall for me as I have seen
very few rack bucks since coming back from elk country. Most of the
bucks seen so far are the spikes and three points that are still
traveling with their family groups. Ordinarily I have photographed
several rack bucks by this time, but with the local photography not
being as good as expected and the buck photography being ruined in
Shenandoah National Park because of the"CWD" study, which has caused
most of the mature bucks to be collared, and the government shutdown
which has closed the park to all for the time being, there has been no
chance for any outstanding encounters.
Originally published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
