A few weeks ago my friend Richard and I made an early start to try and photograph Mountain Hares. As the name suggests they live at high altitudes so the weather plays a big part in the success of a trip. We wanted shots of them in their white, winter coats. So trying to find a day when the conditions would be good enough wasn't as easy as you would think. The main problem being low cloud, then the strong winds and snow. Richard had been several times before but this was my first visit.
After a good walk to the hills through patches of snow and having to cross a waterfall, we split up and slowly combed the area. You would expect that they would be easy to spot with their white coats against the heather and grass, but they tend to hide in hollows and behind rocks. I flushed several that I hadn't even seen as I walked up the hillside. I quickly realised I needed to change my plan of attack, I had to try and spot them from a greater distance. After a while I did find one sitting out in the open, It was too far away to get a decent photograph so I would have to stalk it. I started to crawl towards it, getting a few shots as I got closer. Eventually after crawling what must have been 50 metres I was at a range for full frame shots. Over the next few hours I used the same technique to photograph a few more and came home pleased with the results. Hopefully I will be able to get back to them soon.
After a good walk to the hills through patches of snow and having to cross a waterfall, we split up and slowly combed the area. You would expect that they would be easy to spot with their white coats against the heather and grass, but they tend to hide in hollows and behind rocks. I flushed several that I hadn't even seen as I walked up the hillside. I quickly realised I needed to change my plan of attack, I had to try and spot them from a greater distance. After a while I did find one sitting out in the open, It was too far away to get a decent photograph so I would have to stalk it. I started to crawl towards it, getting a few shots as I got closer. Eventually after crawling what must have been 50 metres I was at a range for full frame shots. Over the next few hours I used the same technique to photograph a few more and came home pleased with the results. Hopefully I will be able to get back to them soon.
4 comments:
Great to see your images steve.Bit of a challenge trying trying to get them within range,but if it was easy,we'd take things for granted,would,t we.
Been up there myself and its not easy!
Fantastic images. Worth all the effort you made.
Regards,
Roos
Great shots Steve and well worth the effort needed to capture them. What was your lens set-up once you were close enough? All best, Tim
Thanks for the comments. Yes Paul, hard work up there. Tim, most were with the 500mm with 1.4x. A few were without the converter.
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