Camera Trap

I finally got out my new toy the other day.  Well, not new new, just the first outing for me.  It was a camera trap, given to me by my friend and colleague, Ivan Carter.  These are very cool gizmos: you set it up in a likely spot (by a game trail or near a water hole), switch it on and leave it.  You come back the next day and see what you’ve got.

The camera emits an infrared beam; the idea is that an animal comes wandering along and through the beam, which triggers the camera to take a photo.  It can also take photos at night, using an infrared flash.  This is invisible, so doesn’t disturb the animal and scare it away.  The resulting pictures are very grainy black and white, which lends them a nicely cloak-and-dagger feel.

It took me a couple of attempts before I captured anything apart from my own furrowed brow as I tried to figure out how the thing works.  But finally it all came together.

I chose a water hole in front of camp and pretty soon got a whole stream of baboon bottoms as they (baboons, not bottoms.  Or rather baboons and their bottoms…) made their way to water.  I even got a shot of a baboon running towards the camera.  The next image was pretty much black – I figured out that the baboon was playing with the camera and I ended up with a close up of it’s stomach.  The next shots were all askew, said baboon having messed up my carefully arranged composition.

Next morning I checked the camera – and found a fun sequence of elephants coming to drink.  One female was clearly suspicious of the setup; the camera gives a short flash as the beam is disturbed, triggering the infrared flash and taking the photo.  She must have seen this and come to investigate.  In the first image you can see her, broadside on, drinking.  Next she has come right up to the camera and all you can make out is the fore legs and trunk.  In the 3^rd shot, she has backed up, but is still staring at the camera in a very alert posture.  I had set the camera to take photos at 30-second intervals, so there is a bit of a gap, but you can still clearly see the progression.

So, here they are.  I will keep playing and post more photos as and when I get them.  Enjoy!