They Have The Passion Weekly - Country Captures

For this weeks THTP post I decided to highlight Coy over at Country Captures.   Most of us are never far from a camera while out enjoying our outdoor passions and for most of us getting a picture is not the #1 objective of our trip.  For Coy getting the picture is his passion and being from South Central PA sure offers up some great subjects and locations.

Any image of a wood duck is tops on my list

Coy lays out his passion for wildlife photography this way.

Having been a hunter all of my life and a Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for over two decades, my photography interest focuses predominately on wildlife. Photography allows me to interact with and observe wildlife in ways that consumptive only hunting could never hope to. My hope is that sharing my work through Country Captures will encourage others to find a deeper appreciation for our natural world.

I can't disagree with Coy on this one.  I find myself on many outdoor trips more interested in getting a good picture then hanging a tag on my game.  For me it has to do with the long childhood dream of wanting to be a wildlife videographer, but make no mistake I still want to eat.

Coy even gets to play games - Looks  like Hide & Seek to me

Coy's images are just incredible and when viewing many of them you can't hep but think about the patience and determination it takes to get up every day and go out and take a pronominal photo.  It's not really much different then getting up, strapping on the old hunting boots and grabbing your bow or gun except for the fact that you need everything to line up perfect to get that great photo but you don't need everything perfect to put venison on the table - you normally just need the animal to show up inside your shooting range and to make a good shot.  When hunting the only light we care about is the legal start and end of shooting.  Coy has to worry about too much light, or not enough, reflections, how much light to let in or not let in.  It's all still somewhat a mystery to me but I am trying to learn.

Coy's tools - looks just like the one I will use Saturday for Turkey.

Country Captures is a regular stop for me and either during or just after my visit, I often find myself daydreaming or thinking about where I can find a willing participant for a photo the way Coy did.  What I find most interesting about wildlife photography is that you have to use many of the same skill sets that we strive to perfect as hunters and it is a typical game of hunter and the hunted, expect at the end of the day you know that same animal will be waiting for you again tomorrow.

Stop in and check out Country Captures and see some of Coy's Photos and share in his passion.  I promise you will be amazed at many of his captures.