Being alone whilst shooting?

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by melanopsin

One time at dusk I set up camp in remote area next to dirt road, see somebody walking down road toward me, I say "How's it going?", well, "somebody" dropped to all four and high-tailed it out of there. It was Bear.

I've been followed for several miles through woods at night by Wild Pigs -- that was strange. I think they thought an animal big as me must know where to find the best acorns!

Several times after a long session I've packed the gear turned to leave and seen headlamp reflections off numerous wild eyes, some with quite wide spacing! Quite an audience I'd attracted.

One discovery I've made while living in wilderness is the World is watching us a lot more than we watch it! The phrase "God is always watching" takes on whole new meaning!

Remind me not to go observing with you!

[spit]

here ya go, heres a product from my website that might come in handy- LOL

[Fricks]

I love shooting alone all by myself. I find it so much more funner.

[luciddreamer]

Being alone in the middle of nowhere is the best thing in the world. Nice to know the terrain though so that you don't trip and break your camera.

[Medic Mark]

Yes and No. Usually no.

Two stories:

One time I was at our dark sky observatory, alone. I was laying on the field on a tarp with a pair of binoculars listening to a dramatic audio book and watching for shooting stars. All of a sudden a massive beast lands on me. I look down and see this huge snout laying on my chest and eyes looking at me! I jumped up, "HOLY #&!@ing $%&*!!" you can imagine. It was the farmers dog from like 2 miles down the road. He was happily wagging his tail at the commotion. We ended up sharing some hot dogs and he stayed with me all night. I do worry about dangerous critters when I'm in the boondocks.

Another time I was downtown around 0300. I was bored. Hyper. I wanted to watch the barge traffic. While on the river front I saw a guy in a hospital gown from 200 yards away. Looked homeless. Looked a bit crazy. Whenever I would look away from him he would approach me. Whenever I would look at him he would angle away. When he got within 25 yards I repositioned under a street light, lifted my shirt over my concealed carry weapon so he could see it. He saw it as he got closer and went away.

I am almost always armed. I frequently open carry anymore. Just more comfortable as I usually wear tucked in polos. Be aware of your surroundings. Keep people at a distance as best as possible. If you're broadcasting you're a wealthy target you might as well broadcast that you're an armed target.

[A.S.I.G.N. Observatory]

I feel safer up in the mountains and out bush than I do in the suburbs. When I can't reach the big pig-knife, a Manfrotto tripod is a formidable hunk of heavy metal to break some bones and crack skulls....

[the jimmy]

Originally Posted by A.S.I.G.N. Observatory

I feel safer up in the mountains and out bush than I do in the suburbs. When I can't reach the big pig-knife, a Manfrotto tripod is a formidable hunk of heavy metal to break some bones and crack skulls....

Barry, just give them your look (like your avatar) that should do it. just kidding of course!

[A.S.I.G.N. Observatory]

Originally Posted by the jimmy

Barry, just give them your look (like your avatar) that should do it. just kidding of course!

Derek Zoolander has Blue Steel and Magnum, I have...."FULL METAL JACKET!"

[pkim1230]

i just dont want to run into skunks. those things can blind you for two days..

[LBaldwin]

First off I love shooting outside at night. I used to love doing time exposures by moonlight, streetlamp what ever. Knowing your terrain is critical. Visit during the day if you can, or at least dusk. If I am in Mtn Lion country (nearly all of CA is) then I try to ID deer trails first. I live very close the to the Santa Cruz mountains, and the big cats are some pretty decent size deer are abundant. Also this place is skunk central. Remember that Mtn. Lions attack from the back to the neck, and love the prey to run first. So keep noise makers and stay alert. No Ipods for me!! I want to be able to hear and see what ever is coming my way. I always have a flashlight (torch for you folks across the pond ) and a whistle too.

Do you know how to tell what bears are in your area? Black bears have scat about the size of your fist and contain berries and twigs etc. Grizzly scat is much bigger and often contains the remnants of Birkenstocks, bear mace and bear bells.. LOL

[Canajun]

Originally Posted by LBaldwin

Do you know how to tell what bears are in your area? Black bears have scat about the size of your fist and contain berries and twigs etc. Grizzly scat is much bigger and often contains the remnants of Birkenstocks, bear mace and bear bells.. LOL

Black bears = Fight, Brown bears = lay down on the ground, Grizzly = SOOL.

Very manly discussion. I wonder if any women are reading this.

[naddieuk]

As I am in Wales, UK, we don't have any dangerous creatures, other than dogs. However, what worries me about night time photography is seeing other people. I worry that they will want to steal my camera and so on. That is what has put me off taking astrophotos away from home.

Once or twice, there have been cars that have parked too close to me in the middle of no where. I just put the camera gear in the car.

[ArthurHH]

I prefer photo walks on my own, but since my health has gotten a little worse than it should be for someone my age Her Indoors who must be OBEYED has started making sure her or one of my mates tag along. She has also started to put my Ropes Harness and other climbing gear in odd places in case I am tempted to sneak of and do one of my inaccesable location shoots.

I have never worried about the mugging aspect except when in some poorer overseas countries where the gear represented a significant value and was indicative of being a visitor with probably as much cash in his pocket as they made in a month.

[archer1960]

Originally Posted by A.S.I.G.N. Observatory

I feel safer up in the mountains and out bush than I do in the suburbs. When I can't reach the big pig-knife, a Manfrotto tripod is a formidable hunk of heavy metal to break some bones and crack skulls....

A counterweight bar would make a decent club as well...

[A.S.I.G.N. Observatory]

Originally Posted by archer1960

A counterweight bar would make a decent club as well...

OOH yeah baby!