Oh Snap! Wildlife in Focus: A Webinar with Vishal Subramanyan

One warm spring afternoon, I met up with Hannah Eugster, POST’s content marketing specialist. Together, we visited the POST-protected property that currently hosts the Djerassi Artist Residents Program. One item on our lengthy to-do list was to set up some high-quality remote cameras—aka DSLR camera traps—to photograph wildlife as they moved through the landscape. 

As we wrapped up our hours of painstaking work, we were ready to head home. But just as we got to our car, we spotted something quite rare. It wasn’t an animal, but rather, an ankle-high, moist mound of dirt. Many people would find the mound unremarkable. But for Hannah and I, it was the most exciting sight of the day.

Curious what happened next? This is just one of several remarkable stories I shared in my recent webinar with POST:

We sprung into action, swiftly and quietly undoing hours of work to relocate a DSLR camera to the mound. After so much activity, all we could do was cross our fingers and wait.

Weeks later, when I came back to extract the SD card from the camera, my hands were shaking with excitement. Back at home,I scrolled through the images and gasped. An American badger had visited our camera – one of the most elusive residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It was the first badger photo I captured for POST, and certainly one of the most memorable.

About Me

My name is Vishal Subramanyan, and I’m a professional wildlife photographer. For the last two years, I’ve been working with POST to photograph the Santa Cruz Mountain’s most elusive wildlife: from mountain lions to bobcats to badgers. Through this project, I’ve had the opportunity to visit some of the most critical wildlife habitats on the San Francisco Peninsula, all while learning about the importance of connectivity and land conservation.

Below, you can learn more about the questions we covered during the webinar. If you want to learn more, be sure to watch the full recording above.

Wildlife Photography Q&A

What is a DSLR camera trap? How does it work?

DSLR camera traps work similarly to standard trail cameras, using motion sensors to capture wildlife images. The DSLR camera trap takes this one step further. It uses a DSLR camera and off-camera flashes to produce high-resolution, full-color photos, even at night. Along with collecting valuable data, they generate compelling images for outreach and storytelling. For elusive species like mountain lions and badgers—rarely seen in person—this approach is often the only way to capture powerful visuals that resonate with the public.

How do you find locations for camera traps? What do you look for?

Like humans, animals prefer the path of least resistance. I look for roads and game trails out on the landscape. Once I find these spots, I look for tracks and signs. For example, mountain lions leave behind scrapes to mark their territory, where they kick up piles of dirt with their back legs! Seeing those signs is always a great way to know where to place cameras.

What’s been the most challenging or difficult animal to photograph?

Definitely the American badger! Animals like bobcats and mountain lions frequently use trails, but badgers don’t do so as much. Instead, they move across the landscape every few days by digging different burrows. So being in the right place at the right time to find a fresh burrow and set up a camera takes a lot of luck!

What makes Coyote Valley so important for habitat connectivity?

Coyote Valley is incredibly important for habitat connectivity because it connects two critical mountain ranges: the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Diablo Range. By joining these two habitats, it opens up over a million acres of connected habitat for wildlife species to roam.

What are the biggest challenges you face while camera trapping?

Two main things – cows and wind! Cows are very curious about camera setups, and frequently knock them down and change their direction. Blowing grass in the wind leads to a lot of false triggers, causing SD cards to fill up and batteries to die.