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<\/a><\/p>\nCallet and Turner wouldn\u2019t have met in their normal 9-5 world; he works retail and she\u2019s in the entertainment business. But together they are slowly transforming the science of the trail camera \u2013 now a must for any outdoor research biologist \u2013 into a template for art.<\/p>\n
Today, the two are hiking to check their four cameras hidden in the forest; they also have cameras in remote local areas. Sure, they have the standard Bushnell cameras that collect video images, but these camera trappers are anxious to see is what Callet\u2019s homemade DSLRs \u2013 which yield high quality color images \u2013 have clicked in the past two weeks.<\/p>\n
Callet and Turner each carry big backpacks full of equipment, hardware, batteries, cords, zip-ties, duct tape and more. Turner also carries her laptop so the two can check on how the cameras are positioned, if the lighting, sensors and triggers are working, etc. etc.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to gauge what\u2019s the main topic of conversation on the trail \u2013 the refinements they are going to make to the camera and camera set-up or the wildlife that surrounds them.<\/p>\n Big ticket cameras are \u201cnot in our budget; we\u2019re not using top of the line stuff,\u201d says Turner about camera trapping that was original marketed toward hunters and landowners.\u00a0 But Callet\u2019s prowess with photographic equipment and his MacGyver-like ability to jerry-rig pieces and parts (\u201ceBay is a very, very, very good thing,\u201d he says) is yielding fantastic results.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s so picky about the images, things that I think are wonderful, but he wants them perfect,\u201d says Turner about Callet\u2019s perfectionistic streak.<\/p>\n These remote animal portraits are difficult to come by. Remember, it took National Geographic photographer Steve Winter a year and a half to get that now famous shot of Griffith\u2019s Parks P-22 with the Hollywood Sign in the background.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that cat had a collar so they knew where he goes and his regular paths,\u201d chimes in Callet in his thick French accent. (He came to SoCal 27 years ago.) \u201cWinter also had a team who would go out and check the cameras,\u201d adds Turner. \u201cIt\u2019s just us doing this.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, Turner has been camera trapping for a long time. On her popular\u00a0CougarMagic blog<\/a>, Turner shares images taken with her remote cameras that she\u2019s set up all around SoCal wild areas. These days, she\u2019s posting more frequently on\u00a0CougarMagic\u2019s Facebook page.\u00a0<\/a>Years ago, she posted images of a collar mountain lion \u2013 P-12 \u2013 in the Santa Monica Mountains that caught the attention of National Park Service ranger Jeff Sikich. That photo revealed a broken radio collar which helped Sikch understand why he was having trouble tracking the big cat.<\/p>\n \u201cCitizen scientists can provide some real important data for us,\u201d he says adding that, \u201cThere are not that many people out there doing this. Cameras can get stolen or damaged. It\u2019s hard work. But Johanna has such a passion and is so dedicated to it. She\u2019s been able to cover areas of the mountains that I haven\u2019t been to.\u201d<\/p>\n Equally enthusiastic about wildlife behind a camera, Callet admired Turner\u2019s popular Cougarmagic blog\/YouTube Channel for years. He finally sent her an email about collaboration and encouraged her to check out\u00a0his personal blog of nature photos<\/a>, many taken in the Hahamonga Watershed Park, the Arroyo Seco and surrounding terrain. Dramatic photos of ospreys, great horned owls and videos of red shoulder hawks feeding their young. \u201cI knew he was for real and serious,\u201d she explains. \u201cHe has the eye and passion for this.\u201d<\/p>\n After a 45 minute hike from the parked car, the pair finally reaches the first cameras that are secured tightly in Pelican boxes and fastened with strong ties.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at this\u2026112 videos. That\u2019s a lot!\u201d remarks Calett as Turner takes out her laptop to pop in the SD card.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot like Christmas as the two scroll through images of squirrels, squirrels and even more squirrels, some cavorting in a recent snow storm. Will it be a disappointment? \u201cIt\u2019s never a disappointment when you are out in nature,\u201d says Callet emphatically. \u201cEven when we don\u2019t get anything, we can learn how to set it up better.\u201d<\/p>\n Turner chides him: \u201cI have seen you disappointed! Right when the sensor missed by a second. You get frustrated then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell\u2026yes, that\u2019s true\u2026\u201d reluctantly admits Callet with a sheepish grin.<\/p>\n Near the end of the SD card, the duo strikes gold. \u201cYes!\u201d exclaims Turner, fist in the air and emotion leaking from her eye.\u00a0 It\u2019s King Arthur, a big mountain lion that Turner has camera captured in the area over the past three years. She carefully observes the cat\u2019s walk, how he stops to smell the scent (Obsession by Calvin Klein) and then wanders out of view. It\u2019s like seeing an old friend, she explains. Jackpot, three times over.<\/p>\n After replacing batteries, repositioning lights and triggers, the duo checks the other cameras. Once again, squirrels and foxes are racking up valuable photo space (\u201cIt\u2019s like the show should be called, \u2018Fox and Friends,\u2019\u201d jokes Callet), but an image of two foxes playing in the snow is noteworthy.<\/p>\n Clicking through the SD faster, Turner suddenly stops. It\u2019s images of a mama bear and cub \u2013 in one image they are rolling in the snow. \u201cDo you think it\u2019s the little guy from last year?\u201d she wonders. \u201cMama looks great! Very healthy. Oh, it\u2019s so good to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n All in all, it\u2019s been a good morning camera trapping for Callet and Turner. Over the years, they\u2019ve spent thousands of dollars, countless hours hiking back and forth from remote locations, often coming back only with bad batteries, empty shots and unusable images.<\/p>\n But the times that skill, expertise and luck all clicks together to produce Olympic gold images make up for any frustration or disappointment. Hands down.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is more than a hobby, it\u2019s about conservation because these guys need all the help they can get,\u201d says Turner. \u201cCamera trapping is like a religion,\u201d agrees Callet. \u201cYou just have to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 Brenda Rees, Editor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Below are just some of the images that Callet (along with Turner\u2019s help) have produced. We advocate that any sane photographic gallery sign them up for an exhibition\u2026stat!!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n