[Leica] a couple new ones

[telyt at earthlink.net (Douglas Herr)]

Dan Post <dpost@triad.rr.com> wrote:

> Wonderful shots- I bet that will be one of the few times anyone will ever
> again sneak up on that turkey; those little guys get skittish really fast! I
> am amazed that wildlife photogs can seemingly go into a stealth mode and get
> shots I can only dream about.

Dan, I find that stealth mode doesn't work very well.  The animals know the territory much better than I do, they can see when something isn't right, and their lives depend on detecting stealthy predators.  When I go into stealth mode they see a predator.  What works better for me is to spend a few hours with them, learn enough of their body language to tell when they are nervous or relaxed, and find some way to tell them I'm not a threat.  Eventually I become part of the scenery.  Good thing the 280 APO has a good close focus limit :-)

> One question- here in NC we call chipmunks ground squirrels--- do the
> California version have the big fluffy tails or are their tails short and
> small like chipmunks? Just curious.

Lots of variation among chipmunks, ground squirrels and tree squirrels.  Try www.enature.com to ID yours.

Doug Herr
Birdman of Sacramento
http://www.wildlightphoto.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Doug Herr" <telyt@earthlink.net>
To: <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Friday, May 28, 2004 8:40 AM
Subject: [Leica] a couple new ones


> California Ground Squirrel, also known as Beechy Ground Squirel, munching
on
> the seed pods of the California Poppy:
>
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/mammals/cgsq01.jpg
>
> and a Wild Turkey (trust me on this one):
>
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com/birds/witu12.jpg
>
> Technical stuff: Leicaflex SL, 280mm f/4 APO-Telyt-R, Kodachrome 64.
> Shoulder stock used with Turkey, shoulder stock and monopod used with
> squirrel.  All comments welcomed.
>
> Doug Herr
> Birdman of Sacramento
> http://www.wildlightphoto.com
>