Expanded vision due to Photography

[tom_hill1]

Hi all,

 

I just got back from a vacation to my childhood home in Western New

York and was amazed by the large numbers of animals I never remember

seeing when growing up. Six male turkey's on the side of the road.

20-30 raptors soaring through the air. Whitetail deer what seemed like

everywhere. And, that's just on my travels on I-90.

 

My question is: are the wildlife making a huge come-back or am I just

more vigilant? I suspect that since I've been actively inolved with

nature photography, I no longer dismiss natural phenomenons as I drive

by them. I notice them a lot more often. Has anyone else notice this

in their years of nature photography?

[matthew_smith1]

There's no question that since I've become intrested in nature photography and plants I've noticed much more- and some very beautiful plants in very unusual places. For instance, I saw a somewhat rare green varient of sessile trillium just along the path on the C & O canal. I saw an orchid- a cranefly orchid- growing underneith a picknic table on UNC's campus!

 

However, I can't say there's any kind of rebirth. I think the plants are going faster than you can spot them- from picking and habitat erosion and threats from invading species.

 

Matt

[robert_krasznai]

Yes, I have experienced the same thing.I lived in Colorado for 31 years and I have never seen raptors until five years ago when I became interested in nature photography. Now, I see and photograph hawks and bald eagles (during the winter) all the time. These creatures are everywhere and I see them because of photography.

[bob_ternes]

Tom...indeed your photographic "vision" has contributed to your increased awareness of the wildlife that abounds in our country. Here in Ohio, just down the road on I-90, I am also seeing and noticing more animals than I used to. I have a good reference point also, I grew up on the same farm where I currently live. As a young child it was a rarity to see a whitetail deer, and if you saw one, you talked about it for weeks. My father has also made these same observations and he has no interest in photography. The same could be said for turkeys and eagles. Now we see deer on a daily basis, sometimes in groups as large as 10-15. It is often stated that there are more whitetail deer in the US than there were when the first settlers arrived, and I believe it.

 

 

I believe the increased wildlife we see comes about as the result of several factors. Professional game management by state agencies regarding bag limits and seasons to increase or decrease herd sizes to match carrying capacity of the land. The abandonment of marginal cropland to revert to a natural status, hence more cover and habitat. Reintroduction of species into areas where they may not reestablish themselves naturally. Abundant food due to high yield farming practices that increase per acre yields of crops. Example: a 2 bushel decrease in soybean yield due to deer damage is a lot easier to accept if you are getting 55 bushels per acre than in my Grandfathers day when yields were maxed out at 20-25 bushels. High yield farming also leads to the abandonment of the above mentioned marginal cropland as it is not economically feasible to farm low productivity land.

 

 

Also, I believe that wildlife in general, have become much better adapted at living in the proximity of humans, if the needs of food and habitat are present. Some of the areas here in Ohio with the largest per square mile deer populations are in urban and semi-urban areas.

 

 

I do agree with you about your expanded vision due to photography. I also find myself noticing things that may not have caught my eye 20 years ago. Although I can`t say for certain exactly why, it seems that sunsets, sunrises, old majestic trees, wildlife, flowers, gentle summer rains and even my crops, have all gotten more beautiful in these later years. Or is that just a natural appreciation for all life revealing itself as I grow older?

[chris_knight1]

My vision of the world has absolutely been exapnded due to photography. I can always remember having an intense love of nature and the wilderness, but it was as if I was seeing everything through a wide angle lens. I was seeing it all, but missing most of the minute details. Focusing my attention through a lens, furthering my photography, forced me to focus my attention on a specific portion of that imense landscape (unless of course I was taking an immense landscape photo :) I'll never forget getting my first macro lens and looking at the world in 1:1 magnification. I never realized such detail in the world existed.

 

Same for wildlife. I knew the world was full of wildlife, but until I started photographing it, I didn't really KNOW. Now, like you, I see it everywhere, and am amazed at how much more I see in the world (though I was probably a safer driver back then, not being distracted all the time!). It is perhaps the greatest benefit of my photography: seeing so much more to the world. And it always gets better, as I realize how much more there is to see...

[kferris575]

I have lived in Manhattan (NYC) for the better part of the last twenty years. In the last six-seven years I have been seeing red tailed hawks, black crowned night herons, great egrets, and owls in Central Park. Although these birds were occasionally seen in the park in the past, now they are quite common. This past February I saw an osprey in Central Park right off Fifth Avenue. Starting a few years ago, loons began to appear in the Central Park resevoir.

 

About six months ago, the parks department had caught a coyote in Central Park that had made its way down from the Catskills and through the Bronx. About three years ago, there was a black bear captured on a golf course in the Bronx.

 

I tend to believe the increase in sightings is due in some part to a rebounding of some species (for a variety of reasons). I have been into photography for over twelve years, and I beleive it has made me more aware of the natural world. However, I think the increases in visable wildlife many be predominately due to other forces. Remember: The Bald Eagle was near extinction in the recent past and it is now doing quite well.

 

Kevin Ferris

[durocshark]

I find that not only am I more aware of the living things around me, but I'm constantly looking for the "best" photographic angle everywhere I go!

 

Driving down the freeway, I see possible photos constantly. Even just concrete walls.. heehee