For this post I want to wind you back to the summer and a short morning session when I tried to photograph some stoats. It had been four years since I last tried to photograph these mini predators and a session with them was long overdue. I love photographing stoats but they are very tricky to photograph, partly due to the fact that they move so quickly and rarely pause which is further compounded by the rocky terrain where I photograph them.
It's really a case of now you see a stoat and an instant later you don't as it disappears behind a boulder. A real game of hide and seek between the stoats and photographer.
For photographing the stoats you have a very small window of opportunity of around 2 to 3 weeks, as the easiest time is generally when the young are just fully grown and about to disperse away from the adults. At these times the adults will leave the young playing in a group while they go off hunting. However, trying to predict exactly when that 'photography window' will occur is difficult to predict with certainty and the vagaries of the British climate can have a direct impact on the optimum time to visit. Unfortunately not only was my visit this year mis-timed, but it also coincided with a morning of poor light and frequent heavy showers. Ideally you need good light and fast shutter speeds are normally the order of the day with these very fast animals. This particular morning was going to need high ISO and a wide open lens to try and make the most of the poor light available. The sun only made a brief and very temporary appearance.
It took me about an hour of searching to find the stoats and when I found them it was two adults actively hunting. During the morning I only caught one brief glimpse of one of the kits and they stayed underground in one of the temporary dens throughout the session. The adults were moving fast and covering a lot of ground in their search for prey along the foreshore. They certainly kept me busy as I tried to get ahead of them and let them come to and past me as they rapidly weaved their way through the large boulders.
It was a slight frustrating morning as I would get a glimpse of a stoat and it would then disappear behind a rock just as I manage to get the camera trained on it. Every photograph was hard won and I was pleased to get a few. Such a real pleasure to be in the company of these beautiful animals for about an hour and watch them go about their lives.
Eventually the two adult stoats went to ground as the weather deteriorated and I decided to bring the session to a close. Hopefully I can catch up with them again next summer with an improvement in my timing and the light.
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4 comments:
Your pictures are delightful, I would love to see stoats but you have brought them to me - thanks for sharing. It looks like a coastal location judging by the seaweed and algea around the rocks, I didn't know they would live in that kind of environment and assumed they were woodland dwellers. Glad you are back with your wonderful photography, good luck with your business venture.
Fascinating account with some quite intimate captures. Lovely shots as usual Rich.
Hello again, Rich! Congratulations! 10 years is a long time blogging, I know as I'm just a couple of months behind you. I can understand completely the need to have a break and come back fresh. You certainly have a winner in these stoat images although all your images are fantastic. My favourite here is the last one.
I too loved your account of taking your images and can completely appreciate (in blogging terms not as a photographer) how exciting it is when you only get a few captures which makes them very special indeed. It was a red squirrel in my garden that brought me back blogging. Like you with your stoat, I feel very privileged to see and have the opportunity to grab some photos of it. I can only image the quality of photos you could capture if it were visiting your garden.
Congratulations again on 10 years of sharing outstanding photographs and your accounts of your sightings. Wishing you all my very best wishes for 2017 with success in your new business and many more exciting photographic adventures :-D
Hello again, Rich! Congratulations! 10 years is a long time blogging, I know as I'm just a couple of months behind you. I can understand completely the need to have a break and come back fresh. You certainly have a winner in these stoat images although all your images are fantastic. My favourite here is the last one.
I too loved your account of taking your images and can completely appreciate (in blogging terms not as a photographer) how exciting it is when you only get a few captures which makes them very special indeed. It was a red squirrel in my garden that brought me back blogging. Like you with your stoat, I feel very privileged to see and have the opportunity to grab some photos of it. I can only image the quality of photos you could capture if it were visiting your garden.
Congratulations again on 10 years of sharing outstanding photographs and your accounts of your sightings. Wishing you all my very best wishes for 2017 with success in your new business and many more exciting photographic adventures :-D
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