Fox

Another 4x4 with photographers drives up.

These jokers pull between us and the foxes. We were off the edge of the road, across from the fox den shooting in good light. Now, we have a vehicle between us and the fox den, with a big chrome bumper glaring light onto the den. From my viewpoint I have a hood between myself and where the foxes used to be.

"Am I in your way yet?"

That is what the driver hollered to me as he pulled in front of me.

The foxes had disappeared into the various den entrances, not to be seen again that morning.

Set up on another fox den on another morning. Waiting from 4 am until about 8 when they started to get active. Lighting is soft and directional from the front, being modulated a bit by high cloud cover in the East. Once again I am looking directly into the eyes of young red foxes. Once again using the truck window as my 'blind' while photographing these little guys from an angle that gets me looking right into their faces with a background that recedes into nothing. Perfect for a 600 and excellent for anything from a 300 on up.

Then some numnuts pulls up on the same side of the road, facing me, about 30 feet away. This has the negative effect of boxing in the foxes as now they have two large objects on either side of their den. They disappear into various den entrances immediately.

After about fifteen minutes, another truck approaches. This one sees us set up on the fox den, which is very visible on the edge of the dirt road. This one pulls about thirty feet behind me and does a u-turn, driving over one of the alternate dens these fox pups use, in the process. Then he pulls right behind me, within five feet. (by later measurements) Then the idiot proceeds to yell out his window, "Seen any Foxes this morning?" I turn on the radio & get out POST EXPOSURE, by Ctein, for some reading as I decide to wait for the idiot to leave.

About fifteen minutes later, no fox pups having come back out of the dens, this idiot drives off.

The joker in the pickup truck in front of me is still there. Leaning out his window. Waving his hand back & forth trying to shade his eyes as his lens waves back & forth, scaring animals into the the next State. Me trying mental telepathy telling him to get a major attack of the runs & drive away.

No Luck. He stays, making noise, moving around and being a general shmuck. The foxes are by now in the dens napping, playing poker or whatever they do. I continue to hope he will decide to give it up & go find a better densite. After all, he is shooting into the shadow side of their faces when they do come up. I have the lighting angle for front lighting.

We are sitting there when an idiot shows up. No kidding. I am sure I saw a membership card for 'idiots international, charter member' reflected in his windshield. This fool pulls up beside me, on the opposite shoulder of the road, between me and the fox den. He runs over the side of the den with his left front tire as he looks directly into the den openings. Then he backs up about eight feet and sits there for ten minutes, leaning out the window like a dog in the wind.

That wasn't enough. He backs up and then pulls directly in front of me. Now he is between my position and the noisemaker in the pickup truck. I sit watching this fool while listening to his radio at the same time. It is all I can do to keep from sneaking out of my vehicle on the passenger side, taking advantage of his broken right side mirror, and flattening both of the tires on that side of his vehicle.

Meanwhile, this photographic fool is leaning out the window doing a contortionist act that is guaranteed to scare anything seeing it. No foxes, no grebes on the water behind the fox den, and no sign of mental alertness of any type from this jerk. And his taste in music is far from mine.

A bit more of Ctein and a bit of plotting to gather deer mouse droppings to throw on fools who screw up my shooting.

Finally the idiot gets tired of waiting for the foxes he has nearly run over to show their face, and he drives off.

The pickup is still there, facing me, boxing in the fox den. The guy is still leaning in and out of his window making enough motion to be picked up on a seismograph.

Mama fox is sitting on the edge of the road about a hundred yards behind me, where she has been for the past hour, watching the display of stupidity and rudeness. She is laying down, occasionally raising her head to look. I have been watching her in the rear view mirror for the past hour as the 'wildlife photographers' have been doing their imitation of the three stooges. I often know when the pups will come out on various dens I have scouted by watching for mom coming in with food by the routes she normally takes.

This morning, nothing moves.

About 10:30 I have had enough & leave.

None of the other 12 densites I have scouted show any sign of activity. The light is harsh. The grebes are far from the edge of the water. Even the avocets are too far away. At another fox den with five pups I find a CO2 cartridge. The kind used in pellet pistols. At this den I see no foxes and won't for another three weeks. Maybe the person who left the cartridge alongside the road has been shooting at them?

I don't know what most would do when others more than intrude on your photographic efforts. When they directly interfere, knowingly or unknowingly. I still don't know how to respond, so I typically do nothing. Sitting and hoping the idiots disappear. Most of the time with a wildlife setup, these jokers don't have the patience to wait. They soon leave. I never find them there before sunrise and never see them stay late. They get a few images, bother everyone, and leave for wherever it is they feed and rut when not bothering the rest of us.

May they be bit on the privates by a black widow spider!

Set up on a dew covered dragonfly in a meadow. I am waiting for sunrise to give me the light on the dewdrops. All is positioned so I will have the subject lit by the first sunlight over the ridgetop with the background in shadow. I am soaking from the waist down, waiting, having passed countless dragonflies while looking for one in the right position. With the right background.

Up walks another fool with a camera.

"Taken Pitchers?"

Then the fool walks around in front of me... bends over and touches the dragonfly, knocking off all the dew.

"Hope I didn't mess up your pitcher."

I picked up my tripod without using it as a suppository on this idiot, picked up my camera bag and walked away, not paying attention to what the jerk was saying. I am in a National Park. This idiot is wearing a park ranger shirt, hat and patch. He is carrying a Nikon F5 and small backpack. And a pistol in a holster on his belt.

No, I didn't get a photograph, nor did I say a word. Planning on acting deaf & dumb if the fool was stupid enough to try & talk, I walked off, away from where I had parked my vehicle. I watched as the fool stepped on the grass the dragonfly was still sitting on, clumsy in the extreme. I don't know what this jerk wanted nor do I care. I didn't get the photograph that morning and am, frankly, surprised anyone else was stupid enough to walk a hundred yards out in a dew covered meadow to see what I was doing with a tripod.

Ana Nuevo State Park in California is known for its Elephant Seals. People take the nature walk and photograph them. The walks are led by park employees, both full time and seasonal. A lot of nature photographers, from pro's to amateurs, go on these walks and photograph the seals. Few have problems and none expect to have them.

Unless you are one of the lucky few.

Walk up to the start of the Ranger led tour carrying a 400mm f/2.8, F3's and a monopod, along with a small backpack loaded with extra film. No, not me. A friend who is an excellent nature photographer.

He is greeted by a ranger in need of a haircut and a moustache trim. And an attitude adjustment.

"No professional photographers are allowed on the tours".

"What"???

"You heard me, that lens means you are a professional photographer. You can't come on the tour".

From there it went downhill, with my friend not taking the tour. Not getting any images of the Elephant Seals. Not photographing from a public place, on a public tour, not enjoying the parks his taxes have helped paid for.

All because of one park employee. One specific park employee who uses his badge & authority to keep anyone else who looks 'professional' from taking photographs of "his" seals. One park employee who spends hours photographing the seals on his own. Using the job to get closer to the animals than the tourists will, while keeping out 'the competition'.

My friend came back later when this idiot was off the job. He got some Elephant Seal images in spite of the fool. He also, from time to time, mails a nasty postcard to the sponsors of the ads where this now "internationally famous nature photographer' is prominently featured. It does nothing. But, he feels better about it.

Rudeness and stupidity are not the same thing. Deliberately interfering with anothers setup or photography may not deserve the death penalty, but certainly it deserves forced viewing of all the Elian Gonzales TV coverage ever filmed. Stupidity is its own reward. There isn't much we can do about that. But rudeness and deliberately interfering with anothers photographs, whether the photographer is an amateur or professional, is inexcusable.

Nature photography isn't easy in the best of circumstances. Those who consistently get excellent results WORK to get them. It doesn't happen by accident. It takes effort as well as talent. One puts in the hours, days and weeks getting images. Whether for personal satisfaction or professional sales doesn't matter. Getting good results takes effort.

Deliberately interfering is the mark of a jackass. In some circumstances this will lead to an altercation that will make road rage look tame. I have learned to walk away, it is less trouble.

When it is a park ranger or worker, it is worse. These people should know better. I have no problem with them photographing, but when they keep others out to better their own take, they should be fired. Plain and simple.

I don't know how one stops others from interfering with their setups in the wild. Whether on wildlife refuges or in the parks, it is still public land & we all use it. We also all interfere on occasion by mistake, one I have done and most I know have done. For that we are sorry & try not to repeat the mistake. But to see someone set up and go and interfere is more than rudeness. It is also selfish.

These are the same people who will go out with a David Muench book in hand and try to recreate his photograph, proudly showing all who will look, what they have done. Taking the credit while in reality they are uninspired thieves.

Locations that are heavily visited, such as Ding Darling, draw crowds. With fifteen photographers working or trying to work, the same Great Blue Heron, people get in each others way. It happens. But in an area where there are three photographers on 100000 acres of wildlife habitat, finding one person set up and rushing over to take advantage is a good way to get hurt. Find your own damn amimals to photograph. It isn't that hard. But, some will continue to do it. One of these days one of these idiots will get shot or disappear. Tires will be flattened or a vehicle vandalized. It has happened and will again.

Wildlife and nature photography is a solitary avocation. We generally work alone or with one or two trusted friends. Many of us plan ahead on our lighting, backgrounds and locations. We watch the animals and locations through the season. We work to get what we want. We tolerate fools & try to educate them. We do welcome those who are genuinely interested in learning and help them where we can. We don't need the selfish, thoughtless and rude photographers. They give us all a bad name.

If you are out in the field and see another photographer set up, wait before going over and saying hi. Wait for the unmistakeable signs that they are done with what they are doing, or until they signal it is OK to approach. Then do so respecting their space and their efforts. You might get invited to a great setup on a nice rattlesnake or fox den. No matter what, you still have to take your own photos. By respecting the other photographers you will more easily make friends and find more animals and locations than you thought possible. Everyone who really does this in the wild rather than with caged and managed animals knows how hard it really is. They know the excellent images take time, effort and talent, and most respect that. They respect the photographer who will put in the work needed for good results.

And all of still harbor dark thoughts of what we would like to do to the jerks, whether we actually follow up or not.

ALERT: Utah has had two deaths in the past few weeks due to Hantavirus, with more cases already discovered and more expected. We currently have cases of what health authorities believe is Plague, near Saint George, Utah. If you are traveling in the areas this year, know the basic precautions and follow them. If you start coming down with anything resembling the symptoms of Hantavirus or Plague, get to a doctor immediately and let them know where you have been. In all probability it is just the flu or whatever. But, that is what the two who died from Hantavirus thought. Be safe & don't take stupid chances. Your photographs aren't worth dying for.