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Close Up With the Wildlife
by Diana Roberts
Beautiful British Columbia is known for it's wild animals, but how many of us get a close-up view of them? There's one man in Burns Lake that has the skills to do just that.

R.K. Brown is a retired shop teacher, rock hound, bow hunter and wildlife photographer.

When on his hunting trips, R.K. realized that he could get some incredible shots, not only with his bow, but with a camera. After that, the camera was a part of every hunting trip.
Close to a Porcupine
I was curious how R.K. was able to get up so close to these animals, many which never saw a human close before. R.K. has studied wildlife on his hunting trips, he knows what their defenses are and how to get right up to the animals, without them ever seeing him. This may seem impossible, but R.K. starts out wearing camouflage clothing, then he stripes his face with mud, to blend in with his surroundings. When friends go out with R.K., they can't believe how close he gets.
A Fawn
As an example, he showed one friend just how close he could get to a deer. When the deer looked at R.K. he stood perfectly still. The deer would not see the man, so it would go back to eating. While the deer ate, R.K. would move in closer, always watching for movements from the deer. If the tail flicked when the deer's head was down, R.K. knew it's head was coming up to look around. So, again he stood very still. If the deer was looking one way and the tail flicked, he could be sure the deer would turn his head the other way. It's a waiting and watching game.

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