In the Field

Arctic Hare in Willows. Cape Churchill, MB, Canada. October 26, 2004.

Arctic Hares are extremely abundant in the tundra around Churchill, Manitoba but you don't see them that frequently. There are two main reasons for this: picking out a snow-white hare on snow is difficult in itself and, to make matters worse, they tend to hide in willow thickets. For every hare you see you probably miss another 50!

This image presents an issue that I'm often asked about during seminars: do branches (or grasses or twigs) that overlap your subject "ruin the image"? If you asked a group of nature photographers this question I'm sure you'd hear a variety of answers. My answer is probably more evasive than it should be, but here it is: it depends on what you're trying to accomplish with the photo. With this image, I was trying to emphasize how the hare uses its environment to camouflage itself. It could be argued that the branches, including those overlapping its head, actually ADD to the goal of this image (pretty good rationalization, eh?). But the biggest take home lesson is this: to be successful in the field you have to quickly adapt to what is presented to you. If you go out with a single fixed goal in mind and are unwilling to adapt to the situation you're going to end up being frustrated a LOT (and probably miss a lot of quality images).

Behind the Camera

Arctic Hare in Willows. Cape Churchill, MB, Canada. October 26, 2004.

Digital Capture; Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 200.

Nikon D2H with with Nikon 200-400 mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR lens @ 380 mm (570 mm equivalent with digital conversion factor) supported on bean bag. VR turned to "On" and in "Normal" mode.

1/160s @ f10; +0.33 stop exposure compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Arctic Hare in Willows. Cape Churchill, MB, Canada. October 26, 2004.

Details to follow.

Conservation

Arctic Hare in Willows. Cape Churchill, MB, Canada. October 26, 2004.

Information to follow.