Photographing Animals When They Least Expect It

"Red foxes are often camera-shy in the American West, but in Alaska they are bold and curious. Here one heads out to forage at sunset, inspecting my camera as it walks by." Jonny Armstrong

By Jordan G. Teicher 

As a working ecologist, Jonny Armstrong often uses camera traps—cameras that are remotely activated via motion sensor—for scientific purposes. Since 2011, Armstrong has also been using camera traps along with flashes in his personal nature photography to make images that are unusually intimate and unguarded.

“My research photos are occasionally pretty, but usually they’re grainy nighttime shots with low contrast, motion blur, and eye-shine from the on-board flash. These images are great for generating data and communicating science, but they fail to capture the beauty of nature. My personal photos strive to do what my science cannot—emotionally engage audiences,” Armstrong said via email...Continue reading, photos...