Camera Traps; I’m sure if you watch the BBC’s Springwatch program, or any recent wildlife program you will have a good idea what they are. On TV it’s a box that a presenter or wildlife cameraman straps to a tree, goes to bed then returns the next morning to find it full of wonderful images. Well my experience suggests it’s not quite like that!

Why is in not that easy, well it is highly probable program in question will place multiples of these traps in areas where researchers taken days possibly weeks trying to predict they are most likely to get the images they are after. For me and most “home based” amateur photographers multiple traps and a team of researchers are nothing more than a dream! The reality for me (and possibly most of you reading this) is one camera trap and no research team because that’s what is affordable/justifiable. Given this to be the case there is a need to make the most of the investment in this piece of kit. As with most things to get the best performance out of a Camera Trap you will need to be familiar with it and how it works, and be aware what it will and will not do. My first suggestion is put some batteries into the camera-trap and put it out in your garden to see how it performs, you may only photograph the neighbours cat on a midnight patrol but you will get some experience of using and placing the Camera Trap to best advantage. The first time I did this I found out two things, firstly that the default sensitivity of the motion detector (PIR – Passive Infra-Red in my case) is way too high in the winter months, secondly that I have frogs in the garden even though the nearest stream/pond is quite a fair way off.

Now the devices it’s self, well these devices range from not too expensive to very expensive. My advice is to work out what you need (not want) then shop around, there can be some good deals to be had on Ebay, but be sure know how much these things are retail before you enter into a bidding war. Consider the resolution you need, does the camera support infra-red for low-light/night photography. Do you need video? What is the trigger time (time from tripping the sensor to taking the image), cheaper devices can have trigger times in excess of two seconds, an animal can move a fair distance in that time. Does the camera have a backup battery set, or the ability to be powered from an external battery pack. There are lot’s of options to consider, but watch the price when adding anything more than the essentials,  you may find that adding just one more thing to the specification can make a big difference to the price you may expect to pay.

My Tips:

1. Know your camera how it works and how it reacts (use the garden test until you are really comfortable using it).

2. Research your target animal, this is one of the best things you can do you improve your chances of getting the images you want. If you know something of how your chosen animal behaves, what times of day it is active, and it’s preferred habitat you are half way there.

3. Research your location before you pace your camera trap, pre-visit the site/sites beforehand and look for signs that the animal you are after is there, take a notebook a good map and or/GPS, mark the location of animal signs and possible camera trap locations.

4. Pick locations away from well trodden paths; your chosen animal is more likely to show up, and you camera stands a better chance of still being there when you go to retrieve it.

5. When going out on a field trip load it with new or fully charged batteries, then put a spare set in your bag. There is nothing worse than getting to the trap site and realising you actually forgot to put batteries in your camera trap. Also take a spare memory card, you may have forgotten to put one in, or the one in the camera could fail.

6. When placing your camera trap, don’t break any laws such as trespass, and if you are working in a habitat that supports an endangered or at risk species take care not to disrupt it’s habitat or environment.

7. When placing you camera face it across the target area for side on shots or pointing down the trail for head/tail (you don’t know which way the animal will be travelling) shots.

8. Take into account the size of your quarry when placing your camera, if it’s fairly small ground dwelling then site it low down. If you are not sure then mounting the camera-trap between 30 and 60cm off of the ground is a fairly safe bet.

9. Beware of the direction of the sun at sunrise and sunset, a lot of animals are most active during these periods, and the last thing you want is that perfect shot being ruined by rays from the rising or setting sun shining directly into you camera. I always try to place my camera facing either north or south to avoid this issue (this is where a compass comes in handy).

10. Before mounting the camera-trap into position do some final checks; make sure it’s turned on. Check the time and date is set correctly if you are going to time stamp your images. Format the memory card to ensure you can store ans many images as possible, and that it is OK. Check the battery status of the camera.

11. Security lock the casing closed if your model supporters this, then lock it into position where at all possible, I tend to use a bicycle cable lock as well as the straps to mount my camera trap.

12. Scent! To most animals we humans must seem incredibly smelly, and human scent is the last thing you need on your equipment so:

• Keep your camera outside if at all possible so not to pick up household smells; not the garage or shed as those places are often full of other odour’s that can cling to your camera.

• If you keep the camera-trap indoors, as soon you have a plan to use the camera-trap leave it outside to de-sent the camera (a week or two should do the job, especially if it rains).

• Carry the camera to site on the outside of your kit-bag, this will stop it picking up new scents from sandwiches and waterproof clothing, it will also allow the wind and the trail more time to de-scent your equipment.

• Once at the chosen location keep you handling of the camera-trap to a minimum.

13. Use local vegetation to increase your camera-trap’s camouflage, if it’s less visible to animals it’s less visible to thieves.

14. Make a note of the grid reference and make notes as to where the camera-trap has been placed, the human memory is a wonderful thing but it’s not infallible! If you have another camera with you take a snap of the camera-trap in place as a reminder.

Thats about it for this  the first post on the new site, I hope you found it both useful and informative.