American Desert Hare — aka the Black Tailed Jackrabbit
I just got back from a two week business trip to Los Angeles. I had some down time last weekend and was able to get out to the desert for a night. It was hot. Very hot. 122 degrees hot. Too scorching for even the usual desert wildlife to make an appearance. As soon as the sun hit the horizon, however, the jackrabbits, coyotes and roadrunners all came creeping out of hiding. The next day, I got up before the sun and had a good time photographing the jackrabbits. This particular rabbit was eyeing me through a hole in the dried up desert flora. With their enormous ears, jackrabbits have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. They can be skittish and don’t usually stick around long enough to get decent shots, but I had good luck this time — perhaps because they were too hot to make much of an effort to run away. I’ll be posting a few more of these guys in the coming weeks. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second
excellent photo Sean … my my those ears, and he sure blends well with the surroundings … love the out of focus portal and zeroing in on his facial features … we are having a heat wave here in BC but nothing like those temperatures
Great photo, I too like the total focus on his features. With ears like those, any movement would be detected instantaneously. Thanks for sharing your world.
Oh my dear, what big ears you have! “Just don’t try talking about me behind my back. I can hear a leaf drop at 50 paces!”
“What dya mean when you said am I having a bad HARE day?
Really cool picture, Sean. I love to see pictures of the more “mundane” of the wildlife specimens we have in this world. You don’t need a tiger to get a good wildlife picture. Do you have any wild horses? I would love to see some mustangs sometime. While we are making requests! There are some beautiful wild things in this country of ours, excluding the people!
Wow, Sean, thank you so much! I went to school at BYU in Utah and I never had the opportunity to see some of the extraordinary desert there, due to lack of car….I will have to make a trip there again to re-visit the old and discover the new.
It was so kind of you to post those pictures for me to see. It made my day. Horses are one of my favorite animals. I love all your posts and look forward greatly to seeing what you have seen, through your camera lens. Your picture blog is really is one of the highlights of my day. I oftentimes share your pictures with other family members.
You must have the patience of a saint, to get the shots you get. If you were to calculate the hours of waiting, by the number of usable shots you get, what would the average amount of time spent per shot be, do you think? I wonder if people truly understand how much time is put into getting a really good shot of a wild animal, and you have so many! It is a real accomplishment and a testament to your talent. Its also a testament to your nature, that you shoot with a camera lens, rather than a weapon. A much better use of your talent for seeing what the rest of the world passes by unnoticed. It is an honor to see your work on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing it with me.(and everyone else!)
Hi Melissa,
Tough to say on the amount of time waiting vs. usable shots. It varies so much. On a good day in Africa I can get hundreds of usable shots in a single morning. On other days, I’ll be with an animal for four hours waiting for it to do something and nothing ever happens. On certain trips (especially some of the places I go in the United States) I’ll search all day and never find anything to photograph. Nature is so unpredictable. My theory is to just give myself the chance — go places where I might get lucky and simply increase the odds that I will. I might not ever see a Florida panther, but by driving up and down the Fakahatchee Strand as often as I do (an area where they’ve been spotted before), I stand a better chance than if I never give it a shot. Someday, who knows, hopefully I’ll see one. Along the way, I find other things to photograph. Last time I went for the panther, I came back with shots of turtles and otters. In Madagascar, I once waited for six hours to see a certain lemur. It finally showed up, but I missed the shot. On other occasions, great shots practically fall into my lap. Anyway, thanks for continuing to check out my daily posts.
Marvelous photographs of the desert creatures, Sean. I know very well the heat of summer by having grown up in Pasco, WA where the Snake and Columbia Rivers come together. Jackrabbits live out there in the sagebrush and sand under ungodly heat. Those ears help to keep them cool by blood running up into them and giving off heat to the air. And boy can those rabbits move when they need to, not only in a forward direction, but they can turn on a dime which must frustrate the coyotes to no end. I’m with Melissa is appreciating the time and talent it must take to get these superb photos.
Thanks Michael. It’s true, I look at shots from other photographers and appreciate them more when I know that I tried to photograph the same thing and was unsuccessful. Not all creatures like to pose for the camera.
Thanks, Sean, for such a thorough answer. I can barely get a good shot of my dogs, let alone a good wildlife shot. I did come across a skunk, which was surprisingly pretty, a fox, a big snapping turtle , and an opossum, which I actually STEPPED on one night while taking out the garbage. It heard me and played dead right under my feet. I suppose I was lucky not to have been bitten, with all the teeth they have. It is very hard to get pictures of these animals that are worth keeping, so it got me to wondering. I also find that if I am still,sitting quietly with a good book or just thinking about things, wildlife makes itself known to me, but that in and of itself does not mean a good picture will come from it. That takes an artistic eye and great working knowledge of a camera, both things you possess.
I will start wishing hard for you to see a Florida Panther. It is the least I can do! And the most…I am sure you will see one some day. Your patience and perseverance will pay off.
Thank you for answering my myriad questions and for the photos of the horses. I really enjoyed them.
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I just got back from a two week business trip to Los Angeles. I had some down time last weekend and was able to get out to the desert for a night. It was hot. Very hot. 122 degrees hot. Too scorching for even the usual desert wildlife to make an appearance. As soon as the sun hit the horizon, however, the jackrabbits, coyotes and roadrunners all came creeping out of hiding. The next day, I got up before the sun and had a good time photographing the jackrabbits. This particular rabbit was eyeing me through a hole in the dried up desert flora. With their enormous ears, jackrabbits have always been one of my favorite subjects to photograph. They can be skittish and don’t usually stick around long enough to get decent shots, but I had good luck this time — perhaps because they were too hot to make much of an effort to run away. I’ll be posting a few more of these guys in the coming weeks.
excellent photo Sean … my my those ears, and he sure blends well with the surroundings … love the out of focus portal and zeroing in on his facial features … we are having a heat wave here in BC but nothing like those temperatures
Thanks Pauline. It was hot but fun following the rabbits around. I can’t remember ever being in hotter conditions.
Great photo, I too like the total focus on his features. With ears like those, any movement would be detected instantaneously. Thanks for sharing your world.
Desert breath of earth below—-Nose twisted by scent of sulfur—-Iistening hare keeping cool.
Are the ears always alert like that, straight up in the air? Do they ever relax them or have them down?
Hey Mom, they do relax them and I got several photos in the down (floppy) position as well. I’ll post some of those in the coming weeks.
Oh my dear, what big ears you have! “Just don’t try talking about me behind my back. I can hear a leaf drop at 50 paces!”
“What dya mean when you said am I having a bad HARE day?
What amazing ears! Photo too! Hope you get some relief from the heat!
Thanks Jeanne, I’m not comfortable back in the reasonable summertime conditions of the northeast.
Perfect
Really cool picture, Sean. I love to see pictures of the more “mundane” of the wildlife specimens we have in this world. You don’t need a tiger to get a good wildlife picture. Do you have any wild horses? I would love to see some mustangs sometime. While we are making requests! There are some beautiful wild things in this country of ours, excluding the people!
Thanks Melissa. I do have quite a few wild horse photos. Here is one I posted a while back: https://seancrane.com/2013/12/grazing-wild-mustang/
and here is another: https://seancrane.com/2010/08/wild-mustangs-monument-valley/ I’ll try to upload a few more in the coming weeks.
Wow, Sean, thank you so much! I went to school at BYU in Utah and I never had the opportunity to see some of the extraordinary desert there, due to lack of car….I will have to make a trip there again to re-visit the old and discover the new.
It was so kind of you to post those pictures for me to see. It made my day. Horses are one of my favorite animals. I love all your posts and look forward greatly to seeing what you have seen, through your camera lens. Your picture blog is really is one of the highlights of my day. I oftentimes share your pictures with other family members.
You must have the patience of a saint, to get the shots you get. If you were to calculate the hours of waiting, by the number of usable shots you get, what would the average amount of time spent per shot be, do you think? I wonder if people truly understand how much time is put into getting a really good shot of a wild animal, and you have so many! It is a real accomplishment and a testament to your talent. Its also a testament to your nature, that you shoot with a camera lens, rather than a weapon. A much better use of your talent for seeing what the rest of the world passes by unnoticed. It is an honor to see your work on a daily basis. Thank you for sharing it with me.(and everyone else!)
Hi Melissa,
Tough to say on the amount of time waiting vs. usable shots. It varies so much. On a good day in Africa I can get hundreds of usable shots in a single morning. On other days, I’ll be with an animal for four hours waiting for it to do something and nothing ever happens. On certain trips (especially some of the places I go in the United States) I’ll search all day and never find anything to photograph. Nature is so unpredictable. My theory is to just give myself the chance — go places where I might get lucky and simply increase the odds that I will. I might not ever see a Florida panther, but by driving up and down the Fakahatchee Strand as often as I do (an area where they’ve been spotted before), I stand a better chance than if I never give it a shot. Someday, who knows, hopefully I’ll see one. Along the way, I find other things to photograph. Last time I went for the panther, I came back with shots of turtles and otters. In Madagascar, I once waited for six hours to see a certain lemur. It finally showed up, but I missed the shot. On other occasions, great shots practically fall into my lap. Anyway, thanks for continuing to check out my daily posts.
Marvelous photographs of the desert creatures, Sean. I know very well the heat of summer by having grown up in Pasco, WA where the Snake and Columbia Rivers come together. Jackrabbits live out there in the sagebrush and sand under ungodly heat. Those ears help to keep them cool by blood running up into them and giving off heat to the air. And boy can those rabbits move when they need to, not only in a forward direction, but they can turn on a dime which must frustrate the coyotes to no end. I’m with Melissa is appreciating the time and talent it must take to get these superb photos.
Thanks Michael. It’s true, I look at shots from other photographers and appreciate them more when I know that I tried to photograph the same thing and was unsuccessful. Not all creatures like to pose for the camera.
this is a fabulous shot & it reminds me so very much of Alice in Wonderland!
Thanks, Sean, for such a thorough answer. I can barely get a good shot of my dogs, let alone a good wildlife shot. I did come across a skunk, which was surprisingly pretty, a fox, a big snapping turtle , and an opossum, which I actually STEPPED on one night while taking out the garbage. It heard me and played dead right under my feet. I suppose I was lucky not to have been bitten, with all the teeth they have. It is very hard to get pictures of these animals that are worth keeping, so it got me to wondering. I also find that if I am still,sitting quietly with a good book or just thinking about things, wildlife makes itself known to me, but that in and of itself does not mean a good picture will come from it. That takes an artistic eye and great working knowledge of a camera, both things you possess.
I will start wishing hard for you to see a Florida Panther. It is the least I can do! And the most…I am sure you will see one some day. Your patience and perseverance will pay off.
Thank you for answering my myriad questions and for the photos of the horses. I really enjoyed them.