Lightning Strike

Can Lightning Strike More than Once in the Same Location

    The loud sound of Gobble…. Gobble…. Gobble cut thru the cool crispy still dawn air of this March morning as if to tell the world here I come. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight out. I never have seemed to get-over hearing that sound, especially at that hour in the morning.

   

    

So... let me set the stage as to what has to be one of my biggest blunders in photography ever to date. It was early spring of 2006 and I was photographing the last rays of a nice sunset across Upper Myakka Lake with the Spanish moss-laden oak trees as my foreground when I heard the distinct sounds of a gobbler (male turkey) announcing that he just took roost in some trees for the night. I got out my turkey caller and gave him a couple of hen yelps that he immediately answered with a loud echoing gobble. I did this a couple more times to make sure he was in the same location and was indeed sitting in his tree for the evening.  I was going to sleep in the next morning and break camp and head back home early, but I figured I would give one more try to capture an elusive Tom Turkey and beat him at his own game.

    I had previously spent the last four days in pursuit of this elusive quarry, only to have turkey’s move left or right of my photo blind. I even employed the use of three turkey decoys, two hens, and a Jake (young male turkey) to try and give me the advantage for once. All I got for my efforts for the past few days was nearly getting run over by a pack of wild hogs. It seems as though I had set up my photo blind right in the middle of their favorite trail and they never saw me until they were about 10 feet away. I don't know for sure just who was scared the most..me or those dumb hogs?

    Spring is the best time of the year to pursue this undertaking, as this is the long-awaited mating season. The old Toms seem to let their guards down just a bit in their quest for a chance to mate with several hens.  So, after the event of the evening bedding a hopefully a willing subject, I decided that I would give one more try for this elusive bird. Early the next morning I arrived at the same location as the evening before.

    The cool morning air was again crisp and the morning sky was about to be wakened with a hint of color. I heard the sound of a gobble and Ole Tom was announcing to the world that he was awake. I knew that I had a little time as turkeys sit for a bit before flying down to the ground. So I quickly moved quietly thru the woods to a location that gave me the advantage of natural vegetation to conceal me. I figured that if I could call him into me, that his only approach to my location was to come through a break in the palmettoes just 10 yards from me. It still wasn’t very bright yet and I hurried to find a good setup location about 30 feet away and one that would give me good concealment cover. I didn’t bring the camo blind material or the decoys this time, as I knew I needed to travel quickly through the dense forest as quickly as possible.

    

    After getting settled in and the camera aimed right on the trail and the small opening in the palmettos, I gave the old boy a couple of yelps from both sides of the box caller. I was indicating to him that I was more than just one lone hen just waiting for his presence. He answered back immediately with a booming loud gobble. This signaled that he was now on the ground and would be on his way to what he thought was a couple of hens. I quickly checked the lighting conditions, which was getting brighter, but still pretty low. I decided that I would fire off one shot of the scene before he got there, but the only way to do so was to set the shutter to self-timer to trip the shutter. Once this was done and the correct exposure was verified and set into my camera, I was now ready and gave him one more call…..no answer, which was just what I wanted to hear... he's coming. The lighting was getting much better as I gave him another call just to make sure he knew exactly where I was and waited.  Just as predicted, the big Tom appeared right in the exact six-foot square opening on the trail that I had hoped he would.

    I slowly raised my hand up to my camera’s shutter release and tripped it... only to hear the audible sounds of the 10-second self-timer go off ( #*@+"?). As if that wasn’t devastating enough, the blinking white light on the front of the camera was telegraphing my position even more so ( #*@+"?). Now old Tom turkeys are not deaf, dumb, and blind all at the same time, and this old boy was no exception. It didn’t take him long to figure out that something was not right with this picture. It seemed like an eternity for that shutter to finally go off, but not in time to catch him standing in that shaft of early morning sunlight that would have surely made the cover of the National Wild Turkey Federation magazine.

    

    I was absolutely devastated and muttered a few choice words of non-wisdom under my breath. After about ten minutes or so I was about to fold up the tripod and leave when I heard the Old Tom gobble about 30 yards off to my left. I thought …… "Can lightning strike more than once in the same location?" I quickly gave him a couple of yelps, again from both sides of the box caller……he answered immediately. I called several more times and waited. After what seemed like an eternity I saw a glimpse of his blue head moving through the forest when a doe deer stepped right out in front of him and right in front of me. She moved right and I swung the camera over a couple of inches to make a quick grab shot when a second deer, obviously which I never saw, on my left saw me move and bolted, snorting loudly as she left. Ole Tom turned around and left for a second time. All of this wild action in less than an hour. My adrenalin was pumping in overtime mode.

    The frustration was building to levels beyond what a mere mortal man can endure. I’m sure steam was exiting from both ears and nostrils.  I waited a few minutes trying desperately to breathe with some measure of control again before folding the tripod, but finally did and took a few steps out into the open when I heard... yep! you guessed it... Gobble… Gobble… Gobble boomed in from my left. Surely, not three times in a row….. would this bird be that anxious to find a nice young ripe plumb hen to mate with, …… is he really that dumb? I once again quickly made my way back to where I was before and gave him the ole one ….two yelps and a couple of clucks and waited to see if he would show up ready, willing, and able to do his turkey thing.

After a long few minutes or could have been hours at this point for all I knew, I could see the brilliant blue and red of his head and could see his legs behind the palmettos. But this time I think he finally wised up, as he just would not step completely out into that opening again for love or money, which I would have gladly paid him any price to do so.

    So, what is the moral here I ask? Well, for starters I preach to my workshop participants that you must anticipate the quick shot when photographing wildlife. Always…always, let me repeat this… Always…always have your camera controls set up correctly. Be prepared and not guessing about exposure. Know your controls….. Oh Well!!  " Do as I say, and not as I do" was the motto for that morning. The only bright thing that happened during all of this was my first look of this magnificent gobbler as he stepped out into the golden shaft of early morning sunlight and stood there posing for that split second as if to say…….. 

"Catch me if ya can!" 

This was the image that I was hoping to capture