Sebastian 'Seabass' Kennerknecht's Blog

The may nature photography workshops were great fun so I wanted to schedule more for the summer. If you are looking for things to do, for your kids to do, or for you and your kids to do together these may be interesting to you! Both workshops are very limited in terms of number of participants since I want to ensure everyone gets the individualized attention they deserve. This also means though that they fill up really quickly.

July 20th-21st, 2012 – Taking Your Images to the Next Level

This workshop is designed to get you to make pictures not just take them. We will cover a range of topics and will stress the importance of making conscious decisions about what picture you are trying to achieve and changing your camera settings to get those results. This workshop is appropriate for people who know basic camera functions but are looking to improve their picture quality. Limited to 8 participants. Full Details

As always, feel free to message me back if neither of these workshops suits you and why. If I get enough of a response with common interests/needs that are different from the above I will try to arrange a workshop that fits those requests. Also, check back since I will be scheduling more workshops in the future (or email me to suggest a date).

I saw this idea on my good friend Jeff Swanson’s blog and decided it was so great, I was going to rip it off and copy it (so go ver their, read his blog and download his landscape wallpapers). I’ll try to do this a monthly thing but all of you who know me, know that that means it will more likely be every other month. Anyways, the point is that the picture below is free for download to be used as a wallpaper on a personal computer.

Here is the direct link from which you can download it: Wallpaper – Silhouetted Sandhill Cranes in Flight

Please only use it as a wallpaper for a personal computer. Otherwise, I can only use really really really really boring pictures, or I have to stop all together.

Just quick announcement. I started a meet-up group for nature photography. Just a place to announce get-togethers, workshops, exhibit openings, exhibit viewing, photo walks and lots of other fun activities for people that share an interest in wildlife, nature, animal, landscape or other related photography. Most of the meet-ups will be announced here as well but I in case you want direct messages, join — its free!

Juvenile California Condor male, Pinnacles National Monument, California

Our most Endangered Neighbor is the California Condor with less than 200 individuals in the wild (There are about 181 in captivity). Like the Sea Otter, the low California Condor numbers are due mainly to historical reasons. Many were shot since they were seen as threats to livestock (sadly not true as they are strict carrion eaters) and for museum specimens. Then, as for so many other bird species, came the problem of pesticides, specifically DDT. It caused their egg shells to be too thin, causing them to break.

Soaring juvenile California Condor, Big Sur, California

Though Condor numbers are on the rise the still face modern day threats:

• Poaching is still an issue (how is this possible?!?!)
• Habitat destruction
• Dying of lead poisoning due to eating hunter killed carrion that contains lead bullets

California Condor juvenile male flying, Pinnacles National Monument, California

Though these guys are not as cuddly and cute looking as our beloved otters, there are still people who are devoting their life to saving this amazing species. Mainly, the people from the Ventana Wildlife Society’s Condor Project are responsible for their increase in numbers by managing and conducting a few different projects.

• They collect thin-shelled, wild-laid eggs and replace them with viable captive-bred eggs
• They treat lead-poisoned birds
• They monitor the safety and health of each condor through radio telemetry

Replacing batteries on radio transmitter on California Condor, Big Sur, California

Monitoring California Condor at Release Site, Big Sur, California

California Condor release, Big Sur, California

They (here Lyla Hunt) also get to clean out the dead rats used as food for the California Condors in their holding pen, Big Sur, California - yummy!

Radio tracking California Condor, Big Sur, California

In fact, the wild flock in central California, aka along the Big Sur coast is a direct result of their dynamic efforts.

Now as always, there are plenty of little steps we can all take to help condors out. Trust me, if for no other reason than this one, you want these guys to survive to see one of them soar near you. Their impressive nine foot wing span is awe inspiring!

So here are the steps you and me should be taking!

• Adopt a Condor
• Immediately report poaching activities to the Department of Fish and Game at 1 888 DFG-CALTIP (888 334-2258)
• Hunt with non-lead bullets
• Finally, there are limited and irregular volunteer opportunities with the Ventana Wilderness Society (call them at 831-455-9514)

California Condor and Turkey Vulture flying, Big Sur, California -- oh yeah, there is a size difference

Chris does like this tree holes!

Its that time of year again. Chris Wemmer (aka the Camera Trap Codger) is teaching his Camera Trap course through the Sierra Nevada Field Campus of San Francisco State University. If you are a regular follower of the camera trappers around the blogsphere you will see most of them took the class with Chris and all of them are happy to endorse it as well. There is an obvious reason for that. It is well worth your time both from a knowledge standpoint and from getting to know Chris. Everyone who knows Chris knows he won’t brag about himself but trust me he is simply an awesome guy who is willing to go out of his way to help you. Enough said, sign-up, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself!

Waleed Al'Rail with Leopard Foundation's camera trap, Hawf, Yemen

As I wrote in a previous post, using camera traps in wildlife photography provides its own unique set of challenges and possibilities for unique photographs. Using camera traps in a different country is a totally different story.

Before this assignment I was only operating one camera trap, but by the time I was getting on a plane to try and get some pictures of the mysterious wildlife Yemen has to offer they totaled five. There was surprisingly little resistance by the immigration people of Yemen to my equipment and me coming into the country. This was mainly due to the fact that I am not a journalist and even more importantly all the work David Stanton and Yousuf Mohageb had put into making this step of the project go smoothly (David is from the Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen and Yousuf Mohageb runs Arabian Eco-tours).

David Stanton (right) and Yousuf Mohageb (center) eating dinner, Yemen

Bureaucratic problems avoided, it was time to focus on placing the cameras in spots where there were good chances of animals coming by. While Waleed Al’Rail and  Murad Mohamed (both are Yemeni Arabian Leopard researchers) were checking their cameras and showing me the area, I was imagining all the good locations for the camera traps along the game trails we were using. When I expressed my ideas, Waleed and Murad made me aware of a problem I had not even considered. Yemen is a Muslim country, and in Islamic law it is not accepted to take pictures of woman. Sure that’s easy to control when you are behind the camera but when you put the camera out in nature, especially in an area like ours where people use the land and a daily basis, it is incredibly challenging. There was a fine balance between a good location for the cameras and one that women may use while they were deployed. If women saw the cameras, I was told, they would get destroyed.

Keeping this in mind, we deployed three of the five cameras into the cloud forest habitat of the Hawf Protected Area. Three days later a cyclone arrives (the worst in forty years) and destroys, or better yet, completely obliterates one of the cameras. One camera down, it was beyond repair.

Cloud forest, Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Flooding in the Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Broken camera from camera trap, Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Nonetheless the camera captured one image before being flooded.

Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) pair, Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

The other two cameras also snapped a few images.

Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Arabian Caracal (Caracal caracal schmitzi), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

White-tailed Mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Small-spotted Gennet (Genetta genetta), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) juvenile, Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

After a couple of weeks we placed the two remaining cameras into the far desert inlands. Animal densities are definitely lower in this area but a few different animal species are present there as well.

Desert, Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Arabian Wolf (Canis lupus arabs), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Spiny Mouse (Acomys cahirinus), Hawf Protected Area, Yemen

Throughout camera trapping in Yemen I was surprised by the lack of camera trapping results. It was quite interesting how much more wary the animals are of foreign objects here, I think caused by the constant human pressure on them. As you can see from the pictures as well, most wear taken at night. Animals in Yemen are more nocturnal than in areas where hunting pressures are not as strong. While I was there I heard three live rounds go off, no doubt each time the rifle was aimed at an animal.

Now if only this was an Arabian Leopard

Arabian Leopard looking through bars, Sana'a Zoo, Sana'a, Yemen

As most of you remember, I went to Yemen to try and photograph the critically endangered Arabian Leopard. Sadly, there were no leopards in sight. Even more disappointing was the fact that we could not find any signs that they are still present in the area. My fieldwork in Hawf leads me to believe that the sighting of a leopard in June 2011 was possibly the last instance of leopards occupying the region. This proves that there is an even greater need for the protection of these amazing animals, as well as the ecosystems they occupy, than I had previously expected. Arabian Leopards are barely hanging on, their existence depends on us humans. The picture above exemplifies this exact point to me. Taken at Sana’a Zoo, in a cage filled with concrete and little space to hide, the beauty of this animal caught between the bars of its enclosure reminds us of how dire its situation is both in captivity and the wild. However, this zoo may soon be the only place in which Yemenis will be able to see Arabian Leopards. To help ensure the survival of its wild counterparts, 20% of all sales of this image will be donated to the Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen. Since it’s an artist edition print, only 10 fine prints will be made of this image.

Pumapix Gift Certificates

Don’t know which exact picture to give as a gift, no problem. I am now offering gift certificates for purchase. You can get either a money amount or something specific like a framed 22×28 fine print. Please contact me at sebastian@pumapix.com to purchase your gift certificate.

I SAID, DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD.

The caption contest winner for the above winner is Stephanie Pearson with her caption “I SAID, DO YOU LIKE SEAFOOD.” Stephanie will receive an 11×14 matted fine print from either the Yemen Portfolio or another picture taken in Yemen that is on the blog, or if she has a Yemeni subject she particularly cares about, then I will make her a private gallery from which she can choose one image as the price.

May 11th and 12th, 2012 – Taking Your Images to the Next Level

This workshop is designed to get you to make pictures not just take them. We will cover a range of topics and will stress the importance of making conscious decisions about what picture you are trying to achieve and changing your camera settings to get those results. This workshop is appropriate for people who know basic camera functions but are looking to improve their picture quality. Limited to 8 participants. Full Details

Finally, feel free to message me back if neither of these workshops suits you and why. If I get enough of a response with common interests/needs that are different from the above I will try to arrange a workshop that fits those requests. Also, check back since I will be scheduling more workshops in the future.