chad_h Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 Thank you all for giving me some feedback on mountain lion and bobcat photography. I've concluded that I can't do it in person. I was thinking as much but would still like to try photographing them with a photo trap. Thanks Greg S. for the link you posted. I've emailed Michael for some info. Has anyone tried trap photography? I have a Canon EOS 1V with a feature for it. Works pretty good from what I could test. I'm not planning on buying a few of these bodies though. Has anyone tried adaption a Canon AE-1 for trap photography. I've got two of them and have cheap access to others (and lenses). I also have a repair technician that might help. So what I need now is info on how to build trigger sensors, etc. (infrared I'm guessing). Can someone post info or links to web sites? I'ld like build things myself to keep the cost down. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 "Thanks Greg S. for the link you posted." You're more than welcome Chad. Keep us posted on how things go. If they replay that episode of Oregon Field Guide, I'll tape it for you. They had a 10 min documentory of Michael in the woods setting up his equipment. I was very impressed with the work he puts into his setups. BTW, If you ever get an itch to photograph big cats in the tropics, go to Chan Chich in Belize. They have jaguars, pumas, ocelots, and the rest in true profusion. I have seen a mountain lion exactly once in my life (and I have spent years solo hiking areas which are thick with them = Cuyamaca State Park near San Diego) and that was at Chan Chich Lodge on the last morning of a 1 week stay. The cat was 80 ft away and walking towards me. For once, rather than remain quiet, I shuffled my feet a bit to let the cat know I was there. It non-chalantly did a U-turn and slowly ambled away as it searched for breakfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg s Posted February 27, 2003 Share Posted February 27, 2003 "Bobcats are a lot easier, since they are generally not hard to call with a predator call." This was posted on your original thread. It got me to thinking that if a person had a tape/CD of such a call which was connected to a timer setup to play the call for 5-10 mins at 3am in the near vicinity of your soon-to-be camera trap, then the odds of getting a photo of a nighttime bobcat might go up a bit. Just a thought. Note: There are some baiting issues/controversies with this approach, but I think if it were done in reasonable moderation, it probably wouldn't upset the balance of nature too much. Anyway, I make my living engineering solutions and this one occured to me while driving home for lunch. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_hansen Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Chad, If you are not handy with making or building a trigger check into using a "Trail Timer Plus 500. I purchased mine from Cabellas and it can be adapted to most SLR cameras. It uses an infrared beam. I have been very happy with it so far as a truggering devoce. Ch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan_woolnough Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Hello Chad, A number of years ago, i wanted to photograph a fox which visited my parents garden. I had an electrical cable release for my camera, and i removed the release button to reveal the two wires, and attatched them to two small sheets of plywood hinged on one side {like a pressure pad}. Before it got dark, i placed the pressure pad on the regular route the fox walked along, attatched the other end of the cable to the cameras autowinder, with a wide angle lens and flash gun, and placed it on the tripod. I carefully focused the camera in the direction of the pressure plate, turned the camera on and went to bed. The next morning i noticed that some frames had been exposed, and was disappointed when i developed the film and discovered that i had photographed the neighbours cat. This was a simple and cheap method of trap photography, but i guess it would only work on animals with regular routes{although it did not work in my case}. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry_harrington Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Try www.trailmaster.com and www.michaelnicknichols.com which both have info. I have been photographing otters here in the UK with nikon F90s and trailmaster trips and Nikon ML3s as well. The trailmaster is good as you can set it to come on at different times of the day, very good if you find that you are getting lots of photos of a speices you are not interested in photographing. Once you find out which tracks, tree or rock your mountain lion is using its just a matter of setting everything up. I like the more modern cameras as the auto fill flash can change with the light conditions. A good biologist is a help as they can teach you what to look for and where to look for it. I have seen a video camera in a peli case with a window put in for the lens, which seemed a good idea. I use plastic bags which work OK Good luck Harry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m._huber Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 So long as you will be trying trap photography, one other attraction is the cat's natural curiosity. They investigate new or unusual objects. (You would be surprised how often "cats" tag along out of sight when humans are walking in isolated areas just out of curiosity. Their presence is only known by tracks.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry_harrington Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 I have used scent to lure mink to look into my camera and used otter spraint to do the same with otters. Might work with mountain lions. Harry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m._huber Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 I'm unfamiliar with mink scent, but most scent used for general trapping is vile beyond description. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safarishots Posted March 3, 2003 Share Posted March 3, 2003 Does anyone have plans for modifying Nikon cable releases for use with a Trailmaster? I'm also not sure which release to buy. I'm using a Nikon D1H. -Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ralf_grunewald Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Hi Jon, I have used a homemade IR-Light trap with both my Nikon F8008s (in Europe ist the F801s) and my F100. For doing so I took the old cable release (MC 12 B) that goes with the F8008s and only has two wires in it. You can simply cut it and solder a simple plug and a matching socket on the two end pieces. Now you can either continue using it as a cable release, you can add an extension cord with matching plug and socket in between (it works at least with 6 m of added extension) or add some other things such as a trailmaster. I also hooked it on the relais that is triggered by my IR-light trap. If you buy the MC 25 adapter for using the MC 12B cable release with your new Nikon SLRs (8 pole socket) you can also use the IR light trap or extension cord. It does work with my F100. So far I did not dare cutting the MC 30 cable release� Cheers, Ralf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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