March Meeting

A camera trap automatically takes images when triggered by an animal. Over the past few years, Robert Charity has developed his own camera trap using an old DSLR camera and a commercially-made trigger module. This module acts as an optical trip wire, triggering the camera when an animal crosses it. With this setup he has taken images of opossums, rabbits, and raccoons, which visit his backyard at night, as well as birds playing in his bird bath. In the fall, he set up the camera trap around his cardinal flowers, capturing hummingbird images with a macro lens. Bob will give us a brief introduction to the making of a camera trap and present some of the many images of critters having fun, doing strange things, and just hanging out in his backyard.

Robert Charity smashes atoms for a living. Working in the Chemistry Department at Washington University, his research team has been involved in the discovery of 8 new isotopes. While born in Australia, Bob’s career has taken him from California to Germany, and finally to St. Louis where he has been for the last 35 years. 

When not smashing atoms, Bob is passionate about nature, spending his time hiking, paddling, and camping in the great outdoors. Bob bought his first decent camera in California to record his adventures in the Sierra Nevada and over time, nature photography has become an essential element of his outdoor adventures. His images have appeared in the magazines: Backpacker, Country, The Missouri Conservationist, The Modern Times Journal, Digital Photo, and in the Missouri Scenic View calendars for a number of years. He is currently on the board of the Missouri Nature and Environmental Photographers.