Photographing Sparrowhawks and Pine Martens | Scottish Photography Hides | Nikon Z9 & 400mm f/4.5 S
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ส.ค. 2023
- Join me for a day of sparrowhawk photography and an evening with the Pine Martens at Scottish Photography Hides!
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A full day out with John Barrass ( / barrjon22 ) in the sparrowhwak hide at Scottish Photography Hides and then an evening in the nearby Pine Marten hide. It was a long an tiring day, with fast moving subjects and new techniques to try and wrap my head around, but it was extremely rewarding with some fantastic encounters and images.
Thanks very much to Alan McFadyen for the setup and all his invaluable advice on how to get the best images from his hides. You can see some of his fantastic wildlife photography here ( / alanmcfadyen ) and if you want to find out more about Scottish Photography Hides, check out the link below:
** Scottish Photography Hides: photographyhides.co.uk/about/
This video has three main parts:
00:36 Sparrowhawk Hide
10:14 Chat with Alan McFadyen
14:10 Pine Marten Hide
This was my first attempt at using a GoPro (Hero 10) for vlogging, and I definitely made a few rookie mistakes! The first was not setting the resolution and framerate appropriately for lower light situations - I'm too used to the awesomeness of the Z6, and the other was not realising that the closest focus isn't particularly close! I have since learned a lot more and I will continue to vlog with it as a trial. It's much simpler than using the Z6 which is awesome but faffy a lot of the time...
This was also my first time using remote flashes with the Z9 - it was a very steep learning curve! Alan gave us some base settings to get started with, but I quickly realised that to get a sharp image of the jumping pine marten I was going to have to really push the flash sync speed to the limit!
Equipment used or discussed in this video (full list available here: www.tapiopix.com/Equipment.html)
* Nikon Z9 FX Mirrorless Camera: tinyurl.com/7zmm3C
* Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Lens: tinyurl.com/mwes7jeb
* Nikon Z Teleconverter 1.4x: tinyurl.com/cp4fh9wd
* GoPro Hero 10 Black Action Camera: gopro.com/en/gb/
* Flexshooter Pro Head with Lever Clamp: flexshooter.co.uk/
* Camtraptions Wireless Flash Controllers: www.camtraptions.com/
Nikon Z6 FX Mirrorless Camera: tinyurl.com/4t495d33
Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S Lens: tinyurl.com/49bkwsvf
Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S Lens: tinyurl.com/5y5ynb48
UltraPod II mini-tripod: tinyurl.com/fw492u4z
GoPro Media Mod Accessory: gopro.com/en/gb/
Røde Videomic Pro Mic: tinyurl.com/fbe46xv8
Røde Lavalier GO Mic: tinyurl.com/yc3ay63y
Wasabi Power EN-EL18d Rechargeable Li-ion (for Nikon Z9): tinyurl.com/mrjhbv5z
RAVPower 26800mAh USB-C Power Bank: www.ravpower.com
Gitzo Adventury 45L Backpack: tinyurl.com/33nyuxd4
Swazi/Ray Mears AEGIS Tahr XP Anorak: tinyurl.com/4r29xhun
Fenix HP15 900 Lumen Head Torch: tinyurl.com/yvzdt2sb
I have decided to stop participating in the Amazon Affiliate scheme, so none of the links here provide me with any kind of payback. Instead, if you find the information useful, or you just want to support the channel, please consider buying me a coffee at the following link: www.buymeacoffee.com/tapiopix
You can find more of my photographs on my website at www.tapiopix.com and on Instagram / tapiopix . Also, I will post images from this video on my Facebook page at / tapiopix
Music: "New Land" & "Clarity" by Ian Post; "Dismantle" & "Lens Flare 3" by Peter Sandberg; "Dance of the Wildcats" by Deskant; "Last Countdown to the End" by Mikki Aglaganov; "Astral Roar" by Lama House. Music from www.artlist.io & www.epidemicsound.com
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#sparrowhawk #pinemarten #nikonz9 #scottishphotographyhides #wildlifephotography #behindthescenes
I had forgotten this particular trip Geoff, I'd also forgotten how quick those pine martens can move. I understand your trepidation in regards to feeding the wildlife and there's no doubt that it is a divisive subject for sure. My opinion is that they provide those of us with a demanding lifestyle a chance to get close to the subject when free time is in short supply to find the subject in the wild. As a manger I regularly work six days a week, in addition to being an instructor, a father and family commitments it can be very difficult to find the time to find subjects in the wild in it's natural habitat. In addition to this there is the issue with access to farms, moorlands, private land which can be very difficult. I use usually hides when my son wants to join me, it provides a single safe environment and he can observe the wildlife and its usually a great experience for him. I think children should be introduced to wildlife as young as possible, it will hopefully teach them respect for animals, the countryside and conservation. Hides can and do help with conservation which can only be a good thing providing that the hide as you say does not overfeed the animals and is not a cash generating machine. Yes we pay to use hides but it takes a lot off work to run a hide, shelters, food, habitat and time all play a part. I've been to hides where it's all about the money and I've not returned. If you get to know Alan well you soon realise he's wildlife mad since he was a young boy. He's really passionate about conservation and he also supports local conservation too. For me personally if I can photograph a subject in its habitat I will, I've spent years travelling, thousands of miles, a small fortune in fuel and using what little free time I have to look for subjects and not seen a thing, of course I'll keep trying thought. At this stage I'd call myself a fifty fifty photographer half hide, half wild. Sometimes I just take my binoculars and have a good wander. What is disturbing is the amount of photographers baiting the subject it it's natural habitat and also not keeping a respectful distance from said subjects, disturbing setts, roosts and nests which is where i the line.
Hopefully I can be a total naturalist in getting the shot but for now it will be half and half. If my hard earned money is put towards conservation that can only be a good thing providing the hide is not a money making machine for profit only and a total rip off in it's costs. That was a good day though and yet again the Z9 proves its worth once more. Cracking shots and what a way to end the day with the aurora.
Aye, it was a while ago now and a grand day out!
Regarding the feeding, while a devisive subject, I felt it was better to have a word about it and be open, rather than avoid it (which would have been easier for sure). I appreciate the purists and the idea of not feeding at all, but I too am very much in the category of photographer who cannot get to see these species without going to somewhere like Alan's hides. I don't think he is feeding too much, as some places definitely are, ther setup is definitely respectful to the wildlife subjects. I made the choice to come and the hides and setup are very good, and Alan's attitude and the conservation he's doing is absolutely outstanding, and I have no problem supporting that - this was not intended as any kind of diss. But, as I said on the video, the food seemed unnatural and wasn't quite what I was expecting. I had imagined it would be natural food like the pheasant... Now, I realise there is a time and cost implication and the volume of available roadkill is probably insufficient for Alan's needs, so I understand why he has to buy food in. I also realise he has to find a balance between minimising his impact through feeding, while supplying enough that the visitors / customers are happy witht he amount of wildlife encounters they get... That said, I would definitely have been happier with more natural looking brown rodents (still bought in for the purpose) and a means of securing them that was re-usable, rather than contributing to the pile of used zip-ties.
Looking forward to some red deer in October if you and the lad are still up for that!
Hello Geoff
fantastic vidéo
I like the way you show the settings of the hides, a great inspiration for my hide.
Thanks! Good luck with your hides :)
great photos
👍📷😎
Super
really enjoyed the video, keep them coming, love Pine martens
Thanks very much Dean, glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks very much Dean, glad you enjoyed it :) I know you've done some absolutely epic work with pine martens yourself!
Hi Geoff, you've got some beautiful footage and shots with your Z9 and 400 - they're a great combination for sure. Thanks for posting.
Thanks very much! Yeah, it has become my go-to setup for wildlife and really works well for what I do!
Beautiful video! It’s great to see the sparrow hawks and the pine martens too! It’s nice to see them - we get polecats where we are but not many pine martens! Thanks for sharing
Thanks very much! Never actually seen a proper wild polecat, just feral ferrets and mink.. Yeah, the pine martens are great but very hard to see without a hide..
Love this video....amazing shots
Thanks very much - glad you enjoyed it :)
great video Geoff glad to see you doing a video again been a while some cracking captures keep them coming
Thanks very much - glad you enjoyed it!
Good video. I enjoyed to chat with Alan and seeing the set up.
Thanks very much :) Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video Geoff, Alan’s hides are great, try the night otter one that’s a cracking hide, the forest floor hide is a great one as well - we 50/50 between hides and out on foot for our photography - keep the videos coming, always a treat 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks for the tip too - John has been to see the otters and the photos did look pretty epic!
Great video mate, Been up to Alan,s hides many times.. he does a cracking job..and provides a unique service..
Thanks very much! Totally agree - the sheer amount he's doing is incredible!
Hi Geoff, what a fantastic video Geoff, I've enjoyed it very much! I'm planning to visit the hides in the future. Greetings from The Netherlands, Gladys
Thanks very much Gladys, I'll look forward to seeing some images if you also visit the hides :)
Great video an every informative Geoff. I'll be at the hide soon and you certainly gave me some pointers there, thanks. Can I ask where you got your camo covering for the Nikon 400 4.5? I have the same lens and could really do with some proper protection and camouflage for the lens. Although I like the one you have, If I available I may opt for a darker green, if available.
Thanks very much - glad you found it helpful :) The covers on my 400mm f/4.5 are from Lenscoat USA. You can also get similar from www.outdoorphotographygear.co.uk and they are very good too - they have a colour scheme called 'moss' which is a bit darker...
@@GeoffCooper Thank you
Night shots LOL
Wot you fing abaout nikkor 180-600Z?
I’ve not tried it but I hear it’s a good Z successor to the 200-500mm. It’s fairly heavy compared to my little 400mm f/4.5 or the new 600mm f/6.3 prime, but then of course it has the versatility of a zoom…