My First Experience with a Field Camera

Recently I was asked what motivated me to start using field cameras, and that’s a great question! Field cameras are relatively easy to use; they are motion-activated, have Night Vision, are waterproof/weatherproof, and the resolution is fabulous. You can observe and photograph the wildlife in your backyard. It takes patience, but it is so exciting and downright fun!

Several years ago, right after Halloween, I began noticing that something was eating my pumpkins. But what? I moved a majority of the small pumpkins and gourds to the same location, thinking that I would see the animal. Nothing, I saw nothing, but the munching continued! So I decided to try a camera. What camera? I decided on a field camera and bought a simple one on Amazon, and after much trial and error, I finally positioned the camera correctly. Then a secret world opened up to me.

My little pumpkin eaters were speedy and very messy. They knawed a hole straight through to the center of the pumpkin and then began pulling the seeds out.

I reasoned that the animals were small, so I needed to position the camera close enough to the feed site so the camera would detect motion and take a picture. If the camera was placed too high or too far away, then there would be no picture. Ultimately I mounted the camera very low and directly across from the flat rock.

After the field camera was in place and tested, I waited approximately a week. I was so anxious I couldn’t wait any longer. Then I pulled the memory card to view the results.  

Early grouping in December 2011.
By February 2012, I moved the larger pumpkins to the site and began adding apples and bird seed as well.

Immediately after adding the bird seed it was like neon signs were pointing the way to my backyard because I was feeding a large number of beautiful birds, but somehow I just knew that there was another elusive animal.

Note: The birdseed also attracted small opportunistic little furry rodents that I wasn’t as happy to see! Yep, rats, mice, and a vole.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I had my picture. My pumpkin-eating night visitor was a gray ground squirrel.

Even though my first field camera did not have the features and capabilities of my current cameras, I think my pictures were thrilling and beautiful! 

Note: The camera had a date and time stamp, but I did not have the time stamp set correctly.

So there you have it. My first adventure with one field camera involved family members and was a blast! It did require patience and a lot of trial and error for correct placement, but ultimately it was so rewarding!

7 thoughts on “My First Experience with a Field Camera”

  1. Nice post. I was checking constantly this weblog and I am inspired! Extremely helpful info specifically the ultimate phase 🙂 I care for such information much. I was looking for this particular info for a long time. Thanks and best of luck.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top