I have the same problem in Brisbane Australia, just purchased a chair hide & am considering respraying it in greens. Will also look to getting some of that green mesh camo as well, lots of useful tips in this video thank you.
Nice video about what sounds like a very successful set up. I may have to look into one of those to try on my deck next to a pond feature in my garden where birds come to see if they will tolerate my camera being so close. Thanks for the video.
Kudos for a great and informative video. One thing puzzles me however. I just got an Ameristep Deluxe (two seat) chair blind and can no way to attach the camo net to the roof of the hide using zip ties. (Refer to the 13:30 mark in the vid.) Perhaps you have an earlier model which had ties for attaching brush and such. Or perhaps yours isn't an the one made by Ameristep Any suggestions will be most welcome ... and Thanks.
OK Ron another question. I see the link you give to the Ameristep blind. I took a look at it. I can see how you use it, except for the material that is shown on it. In this video you talk about how this kind of material would not work in a hot/warm climate like Florida. But I don't recall you telling how you replaced this dense material with the lighter mesh. Did you remove the Ameristep material except for the top/ceiling? And then add your mesh of choice? Or ??? Thanks, I think this little hide would be great for my backyard setups. Like you I do not want to swelter in Ameristep's standard material.
Nice setup. I work also with a blind, do not have the chair blind, that works not for me since I often use the bike to go somewhere. I have a small package that unfold itself, works good. It is warm inside, but I am from the Netherlands and than that is better, use it mostly in Fall, Winter and Spring at that time temperature's are not that high. It has openings on different levels wich is very usefull. (eyelevel) Putting it somewhere standalone is not so good is my expierience, its better to have some bushes around.
That's a neat setup. Thanks for sharing this. You are like a one man trail camera - just that the quality of the photos is quite different than from typical unmanned cameras 😆.
blind is out of stock. Question, if you have to swing that camera/lens on the gimbal from left to right & so on, how does that work out sitting in that tent chair? wondering if a mono pod would work out better. Thanks for putting up the vid with the links. By the way , great name for your u-tube channel.
I have been using the gimbal head on a tripod for this type of photography for many years and it works great. Much better than a monopod IMO. For the kingfisher, a monopod actually can have too much movement when the bird is perched and watching and can result in the bird being scared off. With a tripod and gimbal all movement is much more controllable. Thanks for the comment.
@@whistlingwingsphotography I get that. I thought when the gimbal is turned left & right it would be hard to stay behind the camera as it swings back & forth sitting in that chair in the blind.
It took me years to get an area that I could consistently photograph kingfishers. I consider it a privilege to be able to photograph them so ever winter when I get a bird coming to my pond area I feel blessed and take advantage of the opportunity as much as I can. Because, one year, I know, it will not happen. I tell the photographers that come to my seminars, "never take an opportunity for granted, because you may never get it again." Also, kingfisher is one of my most popular tours I run each winter and I do what my clients want to do. Cheers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography sort of like your Spirit Animal! I know exactly what you mean when you say some things never come again. I learned that after some time in my birding.
Hi Ron, great video with great information. Question: Did Ameristep make your hide custom for you with the mesh? I ordered one using the link you provided, but it is mossy oak material (solid) . Maybe they no longer offer the mesh option? Thanks for your help!
I am not sure. I bought 6 of them several years ago and have not looked closely since then. I do know that the mesh version was hard to find back then. Not sure if they still make it or not.
Recommend you bring a third camera to videotape what you're seeing or at least show us what's in your viewfinder. Long edit of just watching you looking through your camera is not very interesting.
Hey, will gladly bring a third camera and some external sound recorders to get all that good outside the blind footage and immersive sound. Let me know when you will buy all this equipment and ship it to me. Seriously, I am one lowly bird photographer who can barely afford the equipment I have. I do the videos to provide information that I hope helps at least a few people with there bird and wildlife photography. I am not aiming for perfection or to be fancy in what I do. I don't have the time or the budget. Sorry.
I have the same problem in Brisbane Australia, just purchased a chair hide & am considering respraying it in greens. Will also look to getting some of that green mesh camo as well, lots of useful tips in this video thank you.
I love hearing the call of a kingfisher! So iconic
Glad you’re enjoying our Kingfishers. They left us here in the northeast last month and I miss them already. Thanks for all the great information.
So nice of you to share them with us down year for a few months. They are awesome birds.
Really excellent job on the videos Ron. I love the detail you get into, the small things are so important. Your presentation is great!
Thanks so much, Harold. I hope we can someday shoot togehter again.
I enjoy the detail you provide as I start to explore doing this kind of thing for my needs
Hey, thanks for the comment. I am you found the video helpful.
Nice video about what sounds like a very successful set up. I may have to look into one of those to try on my deck next to a pond feature in my garden where birds come to see if they will tolerate my camera being so close. Thanks for the video.
Thanks so much for the comment. It is much appreciated. Hope you have success if you give a blind a go.
Kudos for a great and informative video. One thing puzzles me however. I just got an Ameristep Deluxe (two seat) chair blind and can no way to attach the camo net to the roof of the hide using zip ties. (Refer to the 13:30 mark in the vid.) Perhaps you have an earlier model which had ties for attaching brush and such. Or perhaps yours isn't an the one made by Ameristep Any suggestions will be most welcome ... and Thanks.
I love these videos, once things normalize a bit I'm going to look into one of your tours.
Thanks so much, Jay. I look forward to that day. Stay safe.
Cool! I have been wondering what your setup was for this for a while now. So simple!
Hey, thanks for the comment. Yep, pretty simple. I like to keep things simple as it seems the more you have to deal with the more you miss shots.
I loved the shot with the spread tail. Jealous of the eye detection. Nice video.
Hey, Mike. Thanks for the comment and compliment. Stay safe.
Good video man, I had no idea you were in water the whole time in the hide or the blind or whatever you want to call it! Love kingfishers.
Thanks so much for the comment.
Awesome video Ron!
Thanks so much, Bill. Really appreciate the comment.
Nice one buddy, handy little hides those chair hides I have a single seat one, very handy kit..great vlog and shots well presented as always 😉👌🤙
Hey, thanks. Yep, I love the hides, as they are so easy to move around and set up. Take care.
OK Ron another question. I see the link you give to the Ameristep blind. I took a look at it. I can see how you use it, except for the material that is shown on it. In this video you talk about how this kind of material would not work in a hot/warm climate like Florida. But I don't recall you telling how you replaced this dense material with the lighter mesh. Did you remove the Ameristep material except for the top/ceiling? And then add your mesh of choice? Or ??? Thanks, I think this little hide would be great for my backyard setups. Like you I do not want to swelter in Ameristep's standard material.
Nice setup. I work also with a blind, do not have the chair blind, that works not for me since I often use the bike to go somewhere. I have a small package that unfold itself, works good. It is warm inside, but I am from the Netherlands and than that is better, use it mostly in Fall, Winter and Spring at that time temperature's are not that high. It has openings on different levels wich is very usefull. (eyelevel) Putting it somewhere standalone is not so good is my expierience, its better to have some bushes around.
Hey, thanks so much for sharing you experiences using a blind. It adds nicely to the information available. Cheers.
Always appreciate your videos. Thank you :)
Thanks so much for your comment, this is good to hear.
is the starting point for your hide the Ameristep 2-man chair blind?
That's a neat setup. Thanks for sharing this. You are like a one man trail camera - just that the quality of the photos is quite different than from typical unmanned cameras 😆.
Hey, thanks for the comment.
You must have used electronic shutter, right? Good video.
Yep, ES, it is great to have when photographing such a skittish species like the belted kingfisher.
sublime!
Thanks for the comment.
blind is out of stock. Question, if you have to swing that camera/lens on the gimbal from left to right & so on, how does that work out sitting in that tent chair? wondering if a mono pod would work out better. Thanks for putting up the vid with the links. By the way , great name for your u-tube channel.
I have been using the gimbal head on a tripod for this type of photography for many years and it works great. Much better than a monopod IMO. For the kingfisher, a monopod actually can have too much movement when the bird is perched and watching and can result in the bird being scared off. With a tripod and gimbal all movement is much more controllable. Thanks for the comment.
@@whistlingwingsphotography I get that. I thought when the gimbal is turned left & right it would be hard to stay behind the camera as it swings back & forth sitting in that chair in the blind.
@@thomastuorto9929 All I can state is that it has not been a problem for me or the hundreds of clients that have used a tripod and gimbal.
BEKIs are indeed amazing and fascinating, but you seem to spend a LOT of time on them. Any particular reason?
It took me years to get an area that I could consistently photograph kingfishers. I consider it a privilege to be able to photograph them so ever winter when I get a bird coming to my pond area I feel blessed and take advantage of the opportunity as much as I can. Because, one year, I know, it will not happen. I tell the photographers that come to my seminars, "never take an opportunity for granted, because you may never get it again." Also, kingfisher is one of my most popular tours I run each winter and I do what my clients want to do. Cheers.
@@whistlingwingsphotography sort of like your Spirit Animal! I know exactly what you mean when you say some things never come again. I learned that after some time in my birding.
Hi Ron, what Gimbal and Tripod would your recommend for an R5 with RF 100-500MM
Hi Ron, great video with great information. Question: Did Ameristep make your hide custom for you with the mesh? I ordered one using the link you provided, but it is mossy oak material (solid) . Maybe they no longer offer the mesh option? Thanks for your help!
I am not sure. I bought 6 of them several years ago and have not looked closely since then. I do know that the mesh version was hard to find back then. Not sure if they still make it or not.
Nice video, Greetings from Italy, Like n.32 :)
Hey, thanks for the comment. It is always appreciated.
Recommend you bring a third camera to videotape what you're seeing or at least show us what's in your viewfinder. Long edit of just watching you looking through your camera is not very interesting.
Hey, will gladly bring a third camera and some external sound recorders to get all that good outside the blind footage and immersive sound. Let me know when you will buy all this equipment and ship it to me. Seriously, I am one lowly bird photographer who can barely afford the equipment I have. I do the videos to provide information that I hope helps at least a few people with there bird and wildlife photography. I am not aiming for perfection or to be fancy in what I do. I don't have the time or the budget. Sorry.