I Am Not a Trophy Hunter

I have absolutely nothing against deer hunters who wait for the big buck, but I am not a trophy hunter. This season, like the four before, I sought only some meat for the freezer.

The season had gotten off to a painfully slow start. After nine hunts, I had seen a total of (wait, let me check my records) approximately one gray squirrel and zero deer. Approximately.

But this evening was different. I was in a new location, near a stream and some oak trees with a good acorn crop. As I settled into my spot, I could hear the squirrels loudly scurrying through the leaves in the woods behind me. They continued their antics for nearly an hour.

In the thick woods I hunt, I see as much with my ears as my eyes. The sights and sounds of the woods can be surprising when you let yourself settle in and become part. The wing-swoosh of a bird passing close by, the "chirp-meow" of some unseen creature. Even trees swaying in the wind take on a new tone. I was listening closely for the footfalls of a deer.

My Olympus PEN E-PL1 and the Lenses I Use

My camera is an Olympus PEN E-PL1. As if I needed to say, I am an amateur photographer. I mostly shoot pictures of nature in the woods near our house, and of places we visit on vacation trips.

When I bought my camera just over a year ago, my shopping criteria were: