Earlier this month, award-winning photographer Andrew West produced another stunning photograph of Southwest Florida wildlife with his remote sensor camera. This time it was a bobcat.
Before the sun rises above the horizon, a bobcat strolls by a remote sensor camera set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed on Saturday, April 13, 2024.
The amazing thing about West's vast collection of photos of critters in the wild is that the subjects often look like made an appointment with him to have their portrait taken. But nothing is "posing" here. The magic of the remote sensor camera, also known as a camera trap, is that it is activated by the movement of the animal, producing these uncanny moments in the natural world.
West invests hours of his time checking on his remote sensor camera, maintaining it, readjusting it, replacing the batteries and frequently hiking out to its location to see if the camera has been triggered and by what.
Here is just a sampling of the array of breath taking wildlife photos West has been able to produce through the years with the remote sensor camera, which is set up in an undisclosed location in eastern Lee County:
A family of racoons (2022)
A family of raccoons stroll past a fallen tree at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in June of 2022. Photographed with a remote camera trap system set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West.
Limpkin (2023)
A limpkin strolls past a camera trap set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West in Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. The birds can be seen in fresh water swamps and marshes in Florida. Its diet consists of mostly apple snails including the large exotic apple snails that inhabit Florida. They have piercing wail that is often heard at dawn or dusk.
White-tailed deer (2023)
White tailed deer feed at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed on Monday, March 6, 2023. Captured using a camera trap set up by News-Press photographer, Andrew West.
Sandhill cranes (2019)
Sandhill cranes stroll past a camera trap set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in 2019.
A fawn with its mother (2023)
A fawn and its mother stroll by a camera trap set up at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in Collier County on April 12, 2023.
Endangered Florida panther (2019)
A Florida panther strolls past a camera trap set up at the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed at 4:15 p.m. on January 15, 2019. According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission panthers are generally crepuscular mammals that travel and hunt at dawn or dusk. The camera trap is set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West. This is from FWC panther biologist Dave Onorato: That is a young panther, likely just about a year old and perhaps still traveling with Mom. That panthers is in fine shape, good coat, etc. This animal surviving to year 1 is already beating the odds (33% survival rate for kittens to year 1). But, there is still the process of surviving to year 2 that will involve facing a lot of hurdles (dispersal, finding a home range, encountering competitors).
Bobcat (2022)
A bobcat uses a fallen tree as a bridge to cross standing water at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in June of 2022. Photographed with a remote camera trap system set up by News-Press photographer Andrew West.
Alligator (2022)
An alligator uses a trail at Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed in Collier to move between bodies of water on July 4, 2022. The reptile was photographed using a camera trap system.
Gray fox (2019)
Black bear (2018)
News-Press photographer Andrew West has set up a camera trap at several locations throughout the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed over the last seven months. One of his best image is of a black bear captured on July 18, 2018.
Three turkeys (2019)
Checked the #camera trap this afternoon. These #turkeys tripped the sensor this morning. Didn't get anything else besides my dog from the last trip out there. The original exposure is a little over exposed because I have it manually set for lower lighting conditions or at night because I am looking for a specific picture. These are just a bonus, but I have to tweak the exposure a little in photoshop.
Who is Andrew West?
Andrew West has been a photographer/multimedia journalist at the News-Press in Fort Myers since 1997. He covers general news, the environment and documentary assignments for the newspaper and the USA Today Network-Florida. He is a graduate of the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
He has won numerous awards, which include many National Press Photographers Association awards, Best of Gannett, and multiple commendations from the Society of Professional Journalists including a Sigma Delta Chi award for the work done in Haiti, the Society of News Design among others.
Besides journalism, Andrew loves to photograph wildlife, and he finds Southwest Florida the perfect place to live and work.
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