B
irders have long appreciated Princeton because of its position on the flight path for migrating species. But the local environment is also home to a number of wild creatures year-round. Besides the ubiquitous white-tailed deer and groundhog, there are signs of beavers by Lake Carnegie, river otters in the Delaware & Raritan Canal, foxes, coyotes and wild turkeys. All of them live in and around Princeton. Some, however, are just passing through, like the American black bear spotted on the University campus last year and the mountain lion that left tracks in the vicinity of Mt. Lucas Road. Local photographer Charles R. Plohn has been intrigued with wildlife since he observed an “unbelievably tall bird” making a meal of the goldfish in his backyard pond. Since then, capturing the Great Blue Heron has become a photographic passion. “It took me four years to get a picture that I was really satisfied with,” says Plohn, who honed his skills while attempting to show the bird in its natural watery habit. “I shoot full frame and strive for a well-thought-out composition, best angle and best light.” “Photography literally means writing with light, and seeing something pleasing to the eye is what makes me raise my camera. Wild animals can be challenging; they are unpredictable and often moving, which is where the technical aspect of photography comes in; the right shutter speed,
aperture and lens allow you to be more responsive and creative.” Subsequently, Plohn photographed heron along the towpath of the Delaware & Raritan Canal between Harrison Street and Kingston Lock and off Mapleton Road. Whatever the bird, he always thinks of his first backyard encounter. Far from being angry with the bird that stole his ornamental Koi, he admits to having soft spot for the Great Blue. “And for some reason, I associated the heron with a young friend who had died. Jed was such a prankster and I had a feeling that he had come back in the form of a heron to continue to play tricks on me.”
FILLING THE FRAME
Plohn favors a Nikon full-frame camera, which, although expensive, is well-worth it for sharp clear images. He uses 300 mm or 600 mm lenses to maintain an unobtrusive distance between himself and his wild subjects. A tripod is a must. It was while trying out a new tripod that he “lucked” into a shot of a coyote. “The coyote was totally unaware of me as it hunted for mice in a field bordering the Institute Woods. It was just before sunset, always a good time. I positioned myself low down and got several action shots. But then he heard the click of my shutter and looked straight at me. I caught that moment.” Photographing an animal behaving like an animal is particularly satisfying to the photographer, who has found that the early evening is also a good time to spot Princeton’s famous Bald Eagle pair. The birds have such a presence that it’s hard for Plohn to
shake off the idea that they are “going out to dine,” when other animals and getting ready to turn in for the night. Plohn has followed them since their arrival in the Princeton area, and observed as they relocated their nest after the tree it was in came down during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Each year, he photographs their fledglings, and the juveniles whose heads have yet to turn fully white. “Animals are creatures of habit; they often have places where they like to perch or to hunt and if you observe them for some years, you get to know their secrets.” To get great shots, however, the photographer doesn’t have to go too far from his home on Library Place, where he sees a Red-Tailed Hawk almost daily. At night he can hear, but hasn’t yet photographed, a Great Horned Owl. The Springdale Golf Course, is also a miniature nature preserve where he’s seen hawks and egrets. He’s gone a little farther afield for Bald Eagles and Osprey on the Manasquan Reservoir and to Long Beach Island for piping plovers, those sparrow-sized sandcolored shorebirds that nest and feed along the New Jersey Shore.
CHALLENGING INSECTS
Backyard flowers attract bees and Monarch butterflies, a particular challenge for the camera lens. Plohn uses a macro specialty lens with no magnification for a one-to-one ratio image with very limited depth of field. Monarch butterflies reach Princeton each year after a long journey from Mexico and their numbers have been dwindling in
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