BEHIND THE SCENES
TRAIL CAMERA CAPTURES
THE STORY OF 27
On February 27 of 2021, I joined Colorado Parks & Wildlife personnel on one of their many missions to examine, tag and collar a bighorn ram on the slopes above I-70 in East Vail. The exam was part of a long term study to monitor the health, habitat selection and migratory patterns of the Gore Range / Eagle’s Nest bighorn ram population. The collected data is currently being used in decision making processes about the protection and improvement of their meager winter habitat.
The ram was captured in a remotely monitored live trap then sedated within a couple hours. After the 30-minute medical check up was complete, he was fitted with a GPS collar and an ear tag with number 27. The ram was then brought out of sedation to rejoin his herd nearby.
Fast forward 2 years to early March of 2023, when I deployed a camera trap system in the same area in order to capture intimate views of these majestic animals in their native habitat. To my delight, on March 27, 2023, the ram with ear tag 27 came through the camera trap and posed perfectly for his portrait on a wintery day. It was a wonderful coincidence that the ram I documented 2 years earlier came back for another photo of himself under more favorable circumstances!
The short video below was taken with a cellular trail camera attached to the main high resolution camera rig. With the volume up, you can hear the main camera taking 22 photos after the ram trips an infrared beam set across the snow-laden trail.
- TWP
The image from the primary DSLR camera that was mounted slightly higher and to the left of the trail camera reveals the majesty and personality of this handsome ram in full detail.
ICEFALL
Every spring, frozen waterfalls along the north facing slopes of East Vail melt and crumble into fleeting sculptures. Akin to the concept of self-destructive art, this formation disappears within a matter of days. This vision of ice, water and light came to me over twenty years ago but I recently set out to capture it again. Length: 4min.