Scottes
11th of September 2004 (Sat), 19:32
I was walking along the Hellcat Dune Loop at Parker River NWR today. I heard some rustling in the bushes near the boardwalk, so I stopped to listen and pinpoint the source. I saw a bit of furry something mostly obscured by a tree.
Initially I though "Fox!" because that would be cool.
It would also be highly unlikely.
But I was curious, and I tracked it by ear through the brush and bramble. I eventually saw it.
Them, actually. Two raccoons, little ones, jumped up onto the boardwalk about 30 feet in front of me.
They scampered, I scooted, and scooting must be marginally faster because I got a little closer to them. I took several shots, but afterwards I realized that I had been at ISO 200 the whole time.
Even still, I managed this with the 100-400 at 400mm, on a monopod, 1/10 shutter (yes, 1/10th):
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10469.jpg
They got off the boardwalk, and went through the woods again, allowing me to scoot even faster and set the camera to ISO 800. I got pretty close, and they got a tiny bit agitated - which consisted of adorable little clucking sounds - so I backed off a bit. And when I thought about rabies, I backed off a little more.
They proceeded to almost ignore me, so I moved closer as they puttered around a hole at the base of a tree. I couldn't get a shot through all the branches, so I kinda paced back and forth looking for an opening. One went up the side of a tree. The other went up a different tree.
The first one poked it's head around the tree, and I snapped:
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10474.jpg
I hate branches.
I also hate forgetting when I have a 500EX loaded. So I quickly turned that on, and when it whined up the other raccoon stuck it's head out to investigate:
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10475.jpg
I leaned back against the boardwalk railing and just watched them for a minute as they came down the trees and ambled off.
Amazingly, none of these shots are cropped. (Though I was at 400mm.)
Afterwards I thought about getting too close to them. For the most part they didn't seem to mind me - we walked together for 500 or 600 feet, and they stayed on or near the boardwalk the whole time. They could easily have gotten away. Which is what they might have been doing when they went up the trees, but they knew I was there when they came down and nothing really seemed to bother them. Besides, they're raccoons, and generally don't mind people.
I was in hunt mode, and while I was certainly aware, I hope I was aware enough. Next time I definitely will be - there's no need for me to scare an animal by getting too close. I'd say that I was pretty close when they were up the trees.
Initially I though "Fox!" because that would be cool.
It would also be highly unlikely.
But I was curious, and I tracked it by ear through the brush and bramble. I eventually saw it.
Them, actually. Two raccoons, little ones, jumped up onto the boardwalk about 30 feet in front of me.
They scampered, I scooted, and scooting must be marginally faster because I got a little closer to them. I took several shots, but afterwards I realized that I had been at ISO 200 the whole time.
Even still, I managed this with the 100-400 at 400mm, on a monopod, 1/10 shutter (yes, 1/10th):
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10469.jpg
They got off the boardwalk, and went through the woods again, allowing me to scoot even faster and set the camera to ISO 800. I got pretty close, and they got a tiny bit agitated - which consisted of adorable little clucking sounds - so I backed off a bit. And when I thought about rabies, I backed off a little more.
They proceeded to almost ignore me, so I moved closer as they puttered around a hole at the base of a tree. I couldn't get a shot through all the branches, so I kinda paced back and forth looking for an opening. One went up the side of a tree. The other went up a different tree.
The first one poked it's head around the tree, and I snapped:
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10474.jpg
I hate branches.
I also hate forgetting when I have a 500EX loaded. So I quickly turned that on, and when it whined up the other raccoon stuck it's head out to investigate:
http://www.itsanadventure.com/postimages/Raccoon_10475.jpg
I leaned back against the boardwalk railing and just watched them for a minute as they came down the trees and ambled off.
Amazingly, none of these shots are cropped. (Though I was at 400mm.)
Afterwards I thought about getting too close to them. For the most part they didn't seem to mind me - we walked together for 500 or 600 feet, and they stayed on or near the boardwalk the whole time. They could easily have gotten away. Which is what they might have been doing when they went up the trees, but they knew I was there when they came down and nothing really seemed to bother them. Besides, they're raccoons, and generally don't mind people.
I was in hunt mode, and while I was certainly aware, I hope I was aware enough. Next time I definitely will be - there's no need for me to scare an animal by getting too close. I'd say that I was pretty close when they were up the trees.