For years I have wanted to hunt Rusa deer. They are a unique deer and I’ve always felt the need for a new form. So when an auction hunt at the Safari Club Convention last year turned out to be a Rusa deer hunt on Mauritius Island, I was all in and we walked away with the hunt!
Photography- Yellowstone in the Spring, Close up and Personal
Yellowstone is a great spot for photography in either the spring or the fall. Since there is not much going on for antlers in the spring, it’s a great time for bears or wolves. Now I must admit I have not had much luck on close-up bears or wolves. I have seen both, just not within good photo range. Little did I know what lay in store for us as we headed for the Park this last month, the close-up grizzly category… was about to change!
How to: Widen a Deer Head
This is number three in a series of six head alterations that I said I felt no taxidermist can live without. I say this merely because in the world of everyday taxidermy you will, at some time, benefit dramatically by knowing how to accomplish these alterations. It may not be an everyday thing, but there will come a time. So this one is all about making a head wider than the original.
The Method To My Madness
Today’s skilled taxidermists have a slightly different mounting process than in days of old. Modern foam forms with their pre-sculpted details have somewhat negated the need for the average taxidermist to know anatomy in the same way as when paper forms were prevalent. I made some effort to show this in an earlier post called “From Old to New” (see the Taxidermy category on this blog).
But let me say this. The process today is just different, it does not take any less skill or ability, only slightly different skill and ability.
You Have To Be There
I was dying to get over to a nearby lake to see if any new birds had moved in. It was a bit early for any serious migration, but you never know. Days passed, but I just couldn’t seem to get there. Then we got a big spring snowstorm. Regardless, I made the decision to head that way after an early Saturday meeting at my church. It was pretty late in the morning by the time I arrived at the lake, and a mere 22 degrees. But what really kept me going was the nicely overcast sky. Great light for photography even at midday.
Photography- A few shots from Tanzania
Photography is a great passion of mine. I like everything cameras, but I particularly enjoy bird photography. I am a “birder” at heart, but somehow, for me, simply seeing or observing a bird is not enough. I need a photograph! And the same goes for mammals of all kinds.
So in this category, I will post all things photography. On some occasions I might post a quick morning
From Old… to New
In my first post on this Blog (see Observations/Taxidermy-An Ideal and a Pledge) I mentioned how much taxidermy manikins have improved since the world of paper forms in the pre-midseventies era. Because those forms had no pre-set anything, the taxidermist was required to model the face pretty much from scratch, on every singe mount. It was a time-consumer and certainly made symmetry much more difficult. But my encouragement was that even though forms are much better today, it does not preclude the necessity of a taxidermist’s study of anatomy, in order to produce the best mount he can on every occasion. Every deer is different and on each mount you have to be able to deal with what you have to work with. And knowing what to do about each one of the scenarios that come up, will produce a better mount, every time.
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