Best Practices for Photographing Tracks
As our database continues to grow, we are seeing more and more photos of tracks and sign. Some of the photos allow for very easy identification while others are much more difficult.
Here are a few tips on taking photos of tracks that will help make it easy for others to identify them later.
1) Include a scale. Please whenever possible include a ruler in the photo. If you don't have a ruler, use a penny or other coin. Pocket knives come in many sizes and are of little use as a scale.
2) Shade the track. In bright light, your photos will often look much better if the track is shaded. This also eliminates dark shadows that can distort the track. 95% of the track photos I take are shaded.
3) Take a close up and a contextual photo. Take a good close up photo of the track as well as a photo from a little ways back that includes the gait pattern and other associated tracks. A photo of the general area that shows the habitat can also be helpful.
Keep up the great work everyone. The database is now over 700 observations and is becoming an amazing resource.
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Thank you very much for the recommendations. Try to make more contributions to learn more. For me it is very difficult but I'll try
Juan, You should check out a couple good tracking books. Most notably Mammal Tracks and Sign by Mark Elbroch. Also see his Bird Tracks and Sign book.
These are great technical books, but hard to learn from if you are just starting. I recommend:
'The Tracker's Field Guide' by James C. Lowery (Falcon Guide, 2013), which is written from the point of view of teaching all the basics . There is also enough material in this book to satisfy more advanced trackers too.
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