In this video I'll be walking through my latest project photography project, looking to capture images of Barn Swallows in very close proximity to our current accommodation!
Having recently ordered a Camtraptions setup, I decided to give the flashes a try out on a new subject. Having attempted to photograph these Barn Swallows out in the open with limited success due to their amazing speed, I switched to plan B which involved photographing them as they exited the nest site. Currently in the barn there is a nest with 4 hungry chicks ready to fledge very soon, so this was the perfect opportunity to capture some images of these beautiful birds.
Join me in the dusty rafters as I attempt to get some high speed captures of these amazing Summer visitors.
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Hi, I'm Simon Eardley. Welcome to my channel!
Wildlife photography doesn't have to be complicated. Join me on my adventures as I try to capture the magic of nature in both photograph and video form. I'll share with you the tips and tricks I've learned along the way, helping you capture the best images possible.
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Great dedication, Fantastic.
Very good unusual video simon really great work some great footage keep up the good work👏👏👏
Many thanks Paul👍🏼
Great Video Simon, The Swallow has always fascinated me with the perilous migration that they do each year, how they remember their nesting sites and the speed and energy of these birds. It's always nice to try out something new and you've got some nice shots at the end of it...🙂👍🏻
Thanks Eddie, isnt nature just amazing 👌🏼 Cheers for watching 👍🏼
Hard work on old planks. Really good documentation and very good images.
Cheers Eigil, yes I didnt realise how much those boards were flexing till I saw it on the film!!🤣
Fantastic. Cheers Simon, all the best. 👍📷😎
Glad you enjoyed it Rob 👍🏼
Brilliant Simon good luck with the new place
Thanks Andy👊🏼
👏👏👏👌
Great video mate, love the still image with all four mouths open! Fantastic stuff mate, fingers crossed for your onward move! Cheers Rich 👍
Cheers Rich and thanks for watching 👊🏼
Hi Simon great video but also wanted to wish you all the luck in getting your new place. We retired last September & have only just moved into our new place in Mid Wales quite close to Devils Bridge. I know you were looking at Wales & I can assure you it’s one hell of a place for photography. All the best pal.
Fingers cross for the house ! I never thought of using a flash gun on them ! something to keep in mind for next year ! Nice neat job on that electrical wiring too 😉
Cheers Pat, yeh no way you"d get them without flash indoors. Theyre so quick.
Great vlog again Simon. Fingers crossed the new place will work out.
Fingers crossed! Thanks for watching 👍🏼
That was bloody great
Thanks for watching 👀
You can't beat Barn Swallows . I particularly like them in flight . Great video Simon 👍
Yeh theyre certainly a challenge. Thanks for watching👍
Great video once again Simon. It’s great that in your videos you explain your project and the challenges and solutions you have come up with to try and get the shot. Using flash can really help freeze the action can’t it, especially when using slower shutter speeds than normal. An extremely difficult subject to capture and even more so using single shots so timing is key and you pulled it off. I thought there were still a lot of Swallows around this year too. We came back from Sutton-on-Sea (north of Skegness) on Monday after a break in the caravan and there were large numbers of Swallows everywhere we visited. Hope the potential new house materialises and keep up with the projects.
Thanks Gazza, always fun to try a new discipline and like you say it was a real challenge. Thanks for watching mate 👍🏼👀
Great video Simon ,I went to menorca at the beging of the month and all over he resort there were swallows and house Martin's luckily lots of nests too so great to get some shots
Cheers Keith, theyre great to try and capture and a good test of anyones panning skills to try and get them in flight!!👀📷
👍❣️
Hi Simon, another great vlog, the shot with all 4 chicks with their mouths open is the one for me 👌🏻 hope all goes well with the new place 🤞🏻
Thanks Lee👍🏼
Hi Simon, what a great video! I just love your little projects they are not only fun and interesting to watch but also unique. I hope you will succeed with house! Greetings from The Netherlands.
Just think those chicks are now flying around sunny Africa, mind boggling isn’t?
I know Neil, its hard to get your head around!!👌🏼
I get barn and tree swallows as well as purple martins around my yard every year. They are really hard to photograph. I haven’t tried my flashes with them. I’ll have to try next summer when they show up. Thanks for the video.
Nice one , plenty to go at when they do return. All the best , Si 📷 👍
Great video Simon, fingers crossed for the new house. Awesome shots there of the swallows, always good to try something new, flash work is never easy when you don't use them much. Keep them coming
Thanks Ray, i think its something every wildlife photographer should have in their arsenal. Even if its a bit of fill in flash, it can make a big difference to an image 📷👍🏼
great stuff Simon I started using the camtrations for badgers and works well after u get used to them as u get photographs u wouldn't normally be able to
Thanks Alan, if you watch the channel regularly you'll know Badgers have been my nemesis!!😆🦡. Cant wait to have a proper go with the full Camtraption setup 🤞🏼📷
lovely shots Simon. love them all lined up with the wide gape. Good luck on your next steps mate.
Thanks Stevie 👊🏼
Great Video Simon nice to see wildlife photography back to basics
Glad you enjoyed it Sonny. 👍
Nice work first attempt 👏 good luck with the new place and look forward to the new hides setup
Thanks Derrick👍
Hi Simon nice to see you back great shots being it’s your first time with a flash set up good news about the house hunting fingers crossed and mind that drop don’t want another fall all the best Laurence 👍
Cheers Laurence, not too far to fall on this one!!!😂
❤❤❤❤ it is good I like the video have you got your new home
Thanks Sandra, the sale is going through at the moment, all being well 👍🏼
Nicely done Si. Chose the right option with single shot flash. We don't want the birds going back to Africa with epilepsy now do we? The only thing which went against the rub for me was there was no mention of the forthcoming calendars! Found that hard to swallow mate! 😉 Stay safe buddy.
Haha, how did I know that was coming!!👀 Cheers for the constant motivation Richard 🤣🤣
Thanks for taking us through set up for this. Great capture of these amazing birds. I've seen the latest update on the Z9 has Auto-Capture for both video and stills, might be worth doing a little video on it. Thanks again look forward to your next video.
Yeh the auto capture is something ive yet to try in ernest. It looks a fantastic feature. Thanks for supporting the channel 👍🏼
get yourself a Camranger and from a smart phone or tablet you can manage and control the camera with a live view.Saves having to sit there. You can be 100 meters away….
I get what youre saying but you cant beat being there and enjoying the moment!!👍🏼
Nice to see you working with flash, good to also see your feedback..😊 Does the z9 not have peeking level for focusing...? If it does this would help you for the lower light situations when using flash.😊😊
Yeh good shout Keith, i'll check it out. The Camtraptions flashes are excellent, just bought an extra Tranciever to use as a remote trigger. The guy who runs it is really helpful for anyone new to the camera trapping game. Thanks for watching 👀👍🏼
Brilliant video yet again. Can I ask your opinion as I value your opinion I have upgraded my camera and lens to a Nikon d500 and a sigma 150-600 contemporary. I would appreciate your opinion of this set up for wildlife.
Thanks Bob.I had exactly the same setup and it was excellent. The d500 is a superb crop sensor body with great af and the Sigma 150-600 complemented it really well. I captured some fantastic images with this outfit. A good choice 👌 👍
Great video, Simon! Capturing a natural-looking image using an unnatural lightsource is incredibly challenging, I know from bitter experience. All I can suggest is to consider what lightsource you're trying to emulate. I think for this you're trying to emulate an ambient light - eg. the 1 second exposure you used for focusing. That's probably illuminated from the doorway into the barn, so you might consider bouncing the flash off a really big white diffuser or two flashes through a couple of large diffusion umbrellas, next to each other, to emulate that light. I would consider adding an appropriate warm filter to the flashes too, since the light off a flash is typically very cold and not at all like the warm ambient light of a barn. I'm just an amateur and I imagine you'll come up with these ideas yourself, and much better too! 🙂
Cheers Simon, yeh good shout with the diffusers. It was a bit of a tight site and didnt want to alarm the birds too much. I think if it was a bigger barn i could have got away with it. Not bad for a first attempt though. Thanks for the input 👍🏼👊🏼
is the Barn Swallow the same as the Swallow in UK ?, i've never know it to be called Barn Swallow in UK
Yeh same bird, I just worded the title wrong to be honest!!🙄😆
And there was I thinking....Where has Simon gone?
Not gone far Barrie, just all over the place with the house move😃