Noppadol Paothong's Blog

After waiting a number of days for dense fogs to clear up, I decided to go check my favorite wetland area not too far from my house.  I was cruising around the area searching for waterfowls without much expectation, when I spotted a River Otter sitting on the ice.  However, before I could even pull my gear out of bag, it went underwater.

I’ve always dreamed of photographing River Otters in winter.  So, missing an opportunity to photograph a River Otter on the ice was very frustrating.  After kicking myself for not being prepared, I sat quietly inside my vehicle hoping to get a glimpse of it again.

Hours passed, and I finally spot not just one, but five River Otters.

I covered my car window in camouflage and sat quietly inside the vehicle.  The otters approached with caution but later presumed their daily activities.  After years of photographing wildlife, my gut told me that this was going to be once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My choice of lens was Canon 800mm f/5.6 IS and 1.4X teleconverter, which allowed me to get a lot closer than 600mm or 500mm.  Besides, 800mm lens is very sharp even when used with 1.4X teleconverter.  River Otters have high contrast with darker coat, so overcast light didn’t hurt.  I over-exposed by +1 ½ stop over a camera normal recommendation.

Several times the Otters came so close as it caught a fish underwater and brought to the ice to feed on.   The light wasn’t great, but it was a unique opportunity to capture a close-up of River Otters hunting, socializing, and playing in front of me all morning.

Actually it was a dream come true in the most unexpected bad weather.

Snow and cold weather bring some of the most unique wildlife photography opportunities, since most of wildlife have to concentrate their efforts on searching for food and enduring the severe weather.  As eager as I am to photograph them, I am very careful in approaching them during these harsh times.  I believe no image is worth putting wellbeing of my subjects in danger.

During the heavy snowstorm in early January, I located a spot in the field nearby my house where many birds feed on leftover gains.  I sat my photo blind across the area.  I didn’t have to wait long before more than 20 Northern Cardinals and a few dozens of various birds showed up.

The temperature was in minus with wind chill as low as -30F.  All birds puffed up their feathers to keep the heat inside, which made them to appear bigger than they actually are.  That’s why I always prefer photographing birds in early spring and winter.

When photographing something less than 18% gray especially snow, I overexpose by +1/2 to +1 depend on the subject.  For a Northern Cardinal, I normally give +3/4 exposure, so it won’t blow too much highlight of the bird’s bright red feathers.

I’ve wanted to photograph Mink ever since it had snuck up on me about 2 years ago.  It literally ran between my feet while I was sitting in my hiding spot.  Not only it was rare to spot a wild Mink, but also it was highly unlikely that this shy animal ran right towards me.

A funny thing is that it always seems to have a mischievous grin on its face.

So, one day when a biologist informed me a spot where a Mink had been regularly spotted, I was quite excited about the chance to photograph them.

Many times (or most of times) successful capturing of wildlife images depend on how much you know about the species.  So I did my research trying to learn about their eating habits, living environments, etc. as much as possible.

The American Mink (Neovison vison) is a North American member of the Mustelidae family found in Canada and most of the United States.  It is related to Weasels, and Otters.  Just like their cousin, Otters, Minks are particularly fond of crayfish and spend most of time in the water searching for food.

As with any other wildlife, it wasn’t easy to photograph a Mink.  It moved quite fast and constantly between water and land.  In addition, its small body was well blended with the environment, which made it difficult to keep track while looking through my camera viewfinder.

After spending some time watching how Mink moved around, I found a temporary burrow or a tunnel, where it would carry the food in and out.  So, I sat and waited.  As I predicted, the Mink immerged from its burrow with surprise expression of its face.   I only had few seconds to capture this before it retreated back inside.

With such a shy species like Mink, my choice of lens is a Canon 600mm with a 1..4X teleconverter.  I prefer ISO setting at 800, which gives me a shutter speed at 1/250 sec for the early morning light to stop any movement of the Mink.   If the light improves, I may change it to 400 ISO.  Most new digital cameras now have a good capability of high ISO.

When my art director at the Missouri Department of Conservation asked me several years ago if I ever have a chance to photograph black bears in Missouri, please do so.  I told myself, “what a one-in-a million chance that would be”

Black bears had been considered a rare or extirpated species in Missouri in the past.  However, due to the reintroduction in Arkansas years ago, sightings of black bears have become quite regular especially around the Ozark area.

About a month ago I was informed of a family of black bears in the southwest Missouri area.  According to the landowner, a sow weights between 300-350 pounds and her three yearlings have been wondering around in his property in the past year.  I was excited about the news, but I wasn’t that optimistic, considering that I’ve never seen one in Missouri and considering how shy black bears usually are.

I set up my photo blind in a place where the landowner spotted the bears often.  I’ve never photographed bears from a blind before (where there is nothing to block between the bear and me) – so it was quite frightening.

I could only imagine what would happen if the bear decided to “investigate” this plastic structure.

In short, for the following weeks I’ve spent much of my time photographing this bear family.

I have had few incidents that made me feel nervous.  For instance, one morning after feeding on a field of berry, the sow decided to come little too closer to my photo blind.

And of course, being a photographer, I was just focusing on capturing her images until I realized that her face was starting to fill my viewfinder.  You can imagine how frighting that moment must have been.

I grabbed my pepper spray and was getting ready to pick up my tripod to defend myself.  Fortunately, she decided to stop walking towards me and turned back to the woods with her cubs.

I’ve never dreamed of photographing a black bear in Missouri, let alone spending weeks with a family of bear.  The sow definitely weighted 350 pounds or more.  Having photographed big bears in the west and Canada, I know a 300-350 pounds bear is considered quite big and healthy.

So, yes, we have black bears in Missouri.

How many?  No one knows for sure, but black bear sightings are increasing every year.  Missouri Dept. of Conservation is planning to study black bears and hope to have a real estimate number soon.

I was informed by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist that there has been a large number of snakes found nearby a bluff at Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Puxico, Missouri.

Early morning we found and almost stepped on as many as 20 Cottonmouth on the bluff.

We made a calculated risk and approached them as close as possible, without being bitten by these deadly poisonous snakes.  I’d like to thank John Hartleb for informing me and assisting me in this photo shoot.

I heard from my friend that a large number of Snow Geese were flocking in Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Mound City, Missouri.

I got up 3AM and headed to the Refuge.  When I arrived, there were very few of Snow Geese.

However, later in the afternoon, a large number of Snow Geese flew back  to the Refuge because of the snow storm in the northern states.  According to a manager at the Refuge, there were as many as 1 million Snow Geese (I have no idea how he counts them.)  The geese filled the entire pond, and the frozen ice started to sink because of their weight.

I found this friendly (?) Roadrunner nearby Springfield, Missouri.

I set up a photo blind and spent hours inside the blind observing him and photographing.

It was amazing to watch him do a mating display and catch a prey right in front of me.

He got so used to my presence that he even poked his head inside of my blind to investigate me.

I spent 10 days photographing Bald Eagles along the Mississippi river.

When the temperature dropped to minus degree, Eagles became very active.  My guess is that when the weather is that cold, fish are mush less active and make it easy to prey on.

In one morning, I saw as many as 600 Bald Eagles flying and catching fish in the river.

After staying up 2 nights in a row, I was finally able to photograph a Monarch butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

I successfully photographed a Monarch going into a chrysalis stage early in the morning after patiently waiting all night.