It turns out that operator error can hinder the wonderful world of game camera photography. I had planned on leaving the Hunten Outdoors GSC30-30IR camera out for two weeks but curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the camera from its first location.
And am I ever glad I did....
I had two worries about the camera. First off I was worried that I hadn't set up the camera property and it was actually turned off and not taking any pictures and missing some amazing shots.
The other worry was about the batteries. When I had put the camera out for a quick test run I had put dead batteries into the unit and that didn't work out to well. Now I got thinking were the batteries any good or had it just been a while since I charged them. So I crawled through the trees and found the Hunten Outdoors GSC30-30IR game camera exactly where I had left it... sort of.... The location was the same but the placement had changed. Either the strap to secure the camera to the tree is poor design or I tied it wrong and it was laying down, pointed up towards a branch waving in the wind. Not a very advantageous angle to capture wildlife pictures.
Regardless I tried to stay positive and took the unit home.
After putting the SD card into the computer it opened up and showed 8636 pictures. My spirits were lifted until...
Branch… branch… branch with sun… branch with grass...
8636 pictures of nothing.... but at least the camera worked!
I've now came up with a better system to attach the camera so stay tuned for more updates. Full moon this week so it should bring out the wildlife.