It is now 3 years since the first 2 cameras arrived and we set off with great anticipation into the pines along the Goulburn flats to try and get some photos of deer for the website. In no time we had found good deer sign (seeing as you can't hunt there) and walked back into the bush far enough so that passers by would not see the flash go off.

We first set up a DeerCam and to this day I still believe that it is one of the easiest cameras to use, although not popular any more being a film camera. We found a tree on the edge of the track and placed the camera back in the branches to give it some degree of protection in case someone walked by. We were able to get some very good day time photos of kangaroos, but at night they were all washed out due to a small branch above the camera reflecting the flash back into the lens.

Next we set up the digital over what looked to be the perfect trail. There was a trail leading up a sharp rise, the deer then had to step over a fallen tree and then the trail forked and headed on to the grassy flats where they fed at night. We thought this ideal as it funneled deer coming from feeding and they would have to slow down to step over the fallen tree before disappearing down into the gully. We got some very clear photos of the log and nothing else...no animals at all. We started to suspect a swaying branch was causing us grief until a faint set of eyes was noticed in one of the night photos. On inspection we discovered another trail about 30 metres beyond the first one that looked like a deer highway. It was decided that the sensor was being triggered by animals walking the second trail and photos were being taken of our fallen tree. We then decided that the camera worked better with a backdrop, something like a tree or large dense foliage like a blackberry to stop unwanted photos of nothing. The camera would only work if something walked between it and the backdrop...

The cameras were moved to a new location and a new set of problems were encountered. I normally put the camera up at about 1.2 metres from the ground and the DeerCam was setup over a very used trail. On inspection the ground in front of the camera had just about been turned to dust with  the amount of traffic...How many photos...none. The setup was on the side of a very shallow rise, but this was enough for Fallow deer to be able to walk under the sensor beam and not trigger a photo. We then put a stick behind the camera pointing it more to the ground but as luck would have it, woodcutters had come into the area to trim the low branches of the pines...hence, no deer.



Note the stick placed behind the camera:



Our last setup in the area was of 2 tracks converging into 1. There was sign that they were being used but due to the woodcutters, we weren't sure for how much longer. A good setup, we had the camera pointing directly to a tree opposite the track, but alas no photos.

This is just a few of the things we learned in the early years and although we did not get the amount of photos we expected, we did learn a lot. Early model cameras had longer trigger times and sometimes the subject would be nearly clear of the photo before the camera operated. We got around this by placing the camera at 45 degrees to trails so the animal was walking into the centre of the shot as it activated.

We also learned that animals are not as afraid of a flash as one might expect. I would assume that all animals are familiar with lightning and car lights in the bush and have adapted to and become accustomed to both. We have photos of a small Sambar stag that in a 3 shot sequence, walked right up to the Deercam and stood in front of it out of total curiosity. Another thing that stands out as I think back, is the amount of day time photos of deer at wallows. Having time and date on a camera is a valuable thing and it proves that not everything we are taught about animal behaviour is true.

The most amazing thing we did learn is that this is totally addictive...I was amazed at times just how far we would walk from the vehicle placing cameras. You would find a good spot, but the one over there looked just a little better...etc. Returning to retrieve the cameras or cards was done with great anticipation that we just might...might...have that pic of a lifetime that would always be talked about.

This is just a part of what we learned along the way and I hope that a few of these clues along with some basic common sense help anyone new to this whole new world.

But...the biggest lesson that we learned in all of the time we spent in the bush...

Turn the Bloody camera on before you walk away...

Nothing is more depressing than making yourself stay away from it for a week, only to return and find it still switched off...Yep it happened more than once.