Park Privileges
Lemoine Point Conservation Area is a perfect spot for capturing wildlife pics
Istarted my hobby of photography in my native Austria quite early; I was curious to learn how my Agfa Box camera worked, which was given to me when I was about 12. Whenever possible, I’d save a few schillings to buy a roll of film and take the camera along on my hiking trips.
I also got involved in a photo club at the local trade school, where I learned darkroom work, and developing black-and-white films among other techniques. I found it very interesting.
I’ve owned quite few cameras over the years but my hobby really took off with the introduction of digital photography. By allowing the elimination of bad shots, digital photography is very cost efficient.
After moving here to Kingston 12 years ago, my wife and I discovered Lemoine Point Conservation Area, just within the city limits. Relatively small, Lemoine Point Conservation Area is
136 hectares of forest and I am always amazed at the multitude of wildlife present within its boundaries.
In the beginning, we used our daily walks for exercise and discovered that this park was alive with a large variety of wildlife, from white-tailed deer, coyotes and snapping turtles to red-tailed hawks, ospreys and a multitude of rodents, songbirds, owls and waterfowl.
Being interested in wildlife photography, Lemoine became the impetus for taking lots of images—practically a daily harvest of photos. I find wildlife photography very challenging, especially birds as they require you to keep your senses sharp and alert, giving you only a scant second to snap a great picture.
While most of the wildlife remains “wild,” some, especially the deer, became somewhat urbanized, meaning that they have lost some fear of humans but not entirely. The deer are still
wild animals though, and will move quickly into the bush if surprised.
This young buck (above right) reacted quickly as I surprised him on the trail, but I was ready as I am very well aware what trails they frequent. Within a few seconds, the buck disappeared among the trees, just far enough to be out of sight.
As usual, my wife walks with me and serves as a “feeding station” for birds, especially in winter when the birds depend more on humans to feed them seeds—all the better for capturing great pics!