Elevate Your WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY Skills: Tips For Shooting From Your Car, BIF & More
JOIN ME ON A WORKSHOP: www.hallofthewildstudios.com/
INSTAGRAM: (@hall.of.the.wild) / hall.of.the.wild
PRESETS: www.hallofthewildstudios.com/...
Main Camera:
(Adorama): howl.me/cjmJzBpNswu
(Amazon): amzn.to/3ftxI1f
Favorite All Around Camera: howl.me/cjmJDkOfPCX
(Amazon): amzn.to/3LWzRPl
Favorite APS-C Camera:
(Adorama): howl.me/cjmJGIJLEro
(Amazon): amzn.to/3DTPaFT
Favorite Drone: howl.me/cjmMQBZLWPd
Lenses
My Favorite Lenses
Favorite lightweight 800mm
(Adorama): howl.me/cjmOlEO0jLZ
(Amazon): amzn.to/3CpaLoW
Favorite Telephoto Lens: (also, my favorite lens overall)
(Adorama): howl.me/cjmJL3GRTvX
(Amazon): amzn.to/3dWLI38
Favorite budget wildlife lens
(Adorama): howl.me/ckWRLXRxXA8
(Amazon): amzn.to/3CrDAkD
Bags
Favorite Wildlife Bag: shimoda-designs.j8ujgp.net/21... (Hall10 for discount)
Favorite Overall Camera Bag: shimoda-designs.j8ujgp.net/oe... (HALL10 for discount):
Favorite camera strap: amzn.to/3M1P5mg
Favorite camera clip (for backpack): howl.me/cjmJRizzkhE
My Ghillie Blanket: amzn.to/3Crbaao
Camo Hood: amzn.to/3gK3W9s
3-In-1 Travel Tripod: heipivision.com/products/heip...
Mics
Main Mic: howl.me/clbLYyEwp7j
Backup mic
(Adorama): howl.me/ckWR0rVDA5z
(Amazon): amzn.to/3UYMugh
Website: www.hallofthewildstudios.com (for workshops, presets, and more)
I give some tips for how to get the most out of shooting from your car, birds in flight, and other wildlife photography advice.
Where I get my music: share.epidemicsound.com/aavo6d
21:10 those wing tips kissed by the sun is just divine!
Thank you for doing this. I suffer from osteoarthritis and can't walk any real distance....your video reminded me that it's still possible.
You're welcome, I'm so glad the video helped!
Awesome pictures, Brent .. a portfolio of high-quality bird photographs requires patience and a plan to achieve it.. it's a numbers game.. there's an algorithm in there somewhere.. patience is definitely part of that algorithm and how you use the tools of your trade.. or your camera and lenses in this case. How you use them and your patience will ultimately determine the quality of your portfolio. Using a Canon 500mm F4 lens and the use of a converter, when needed, gets you closer to your goal of more high-quality wildlife pictures and a higher sense of achievement for you and camera lady 😁
If you can that the lens hood off as well, because inside it can be warmer than the outside air, even when sticking the lens out the window
I bought a pool noodle from Dollar Tree and cut it lengthwise of my truck's window, then I cut the noodle straight down the middle. Then I place it on the window. Now I have stabilization. You can also go to Lowes and get pipe insulation.
Excellent thoughts on calibrating one's expectations, and satisfaction Brent. Well said. All kinds of good tech craft and wild craft in this one!
Hey thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I first met you at BDA last December for a few minutes at a fly in. This is first of your videos I have watched - I liked the way you presented your tips - clear information given in a down to earth manner. :)
Hey thanks for the kind words, and checking out the video, I really appreciate it!
I shoot at Quivira NWR often and it is always windy. If I can set still long enough with my trucks windows down, both drivers and passengers, for the heat from the truck to dissipate, I shoot through the truck using it to block the wind from my tripod. It calms the shake quite a bit.
First I identified with you because we both have a Velbon ELCARMA-530 Carbon Fiber Tripod with PH-250B Magnesium Head. I got mine in 2004 for $246.00 and it's still my everyday tripod. Then I saw you have a Crosstrek. Mine is a 2018 and I just had my 150,000 mile service. Today I recognized the quick release for your Op Tech strap. Mine is the sling version and I hang it across my chest from just 1 lug. Thanks for validating my choices!
Towhee's have such a beautiful song/call. Just by happenstance I heard it, got curious, and boom - inspired me for wildlife (specifically bird) photography!
Thanks, I'm glad to hear that! And yeah, towhees are awesome 😁
It is so much harder to get a great image when sitting in your car but sometimes you won’t get any photos if you don’t try it. Excellent advice on the do’s and don’ts here, thanks for another helpful video! I really loved the photo of the thrush!
This was actually one of my favorite videos on Your channel, and I did not know that there were other wildlife accessible areas that were closer to Albuquerque besides Bosque so learned something today from you.
Thank you for the video. They're a lot of good tips in there. I especially like the bit about atmospherics from shooting inside the car. I have never really thought about that too much. One tip I would like to add is if you really want to shoot, you should go alone so that you don't have to wait for anybody to rush you.😅
Hey Brent. Again. Thanks for all your tips. I had to move a few years ago, and ended up in the middle of my country. Little do I know that I was settling down in one of the most importent aereas for migranting birds in my country, but it get my bird photography taking off like a rocket. Nearest are a lake surrounded by farmland, 10 - 15 min. from my home. If I remember right, there have been spotted over 200 different species in the aerea. Its like heaven for a man like me, who always have been interested in birds. ;-)
Hi Brent, another great video with a lot information resp. tips. What do you think of a bean bag? I have a bean bag in U-shape for long lenses that can be used on the car door as a car door tripod. Can also be used over a tree branch, flat surface such as a table, fence, etc. I'm afraid to lay the lens directly on the door or the window rubbers. One careless movement and there are scratches in the paint or the paneling or the window rubber is damaged. Sometimes I also use a mesh scarf to put the lens on. Regards Uwe Germany, Frankfurt am Main
Bean bags area great and definitely helpful. I just don't have one.
Great tips and great shots, as always. That still shot of a crane towards the end--definitely an "I totally meant to do that" pose there. :) Camera Lady seems to be doing great with the Pocket 3, I really like that little thing!
Thanks!
Another fantastic episode! You speak the truth. Thanks!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
Was there in December,the number of birds was overwhelming. Great tips as usual.
Birds are disturbed when we get close and stalk them. It's good to take photos from your car.
ALWAYS good stuff.........thanks BRENT
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
A lot of good ideas here.
Thanks, I hope it helps!
First time to view and thoroughly enjoyed your tips and commentary ❤
Thanks Tom, I'm glad you liked it!
Great info and pictures, thank you for sharing! ❤
You bet man, thanks for watching!
I’ve shot from my car often and I never thought about the engine heat and atmospheric distortion. That was a huge tip. Thanks!
I'm glad it helped!
Brent, it is a cool feeling knowing that i am always going learn something from your videos. Heat of engine? I never had heard about that anywhere else. really enjoyed the video and i can speak from experience that your personal workshops are phenomenal.😃
Here in North central Ohio -7 wind chill. I was out this morning driving around only to get home to see this video. 😂 I was looking for hawks and after about an hour of driving got my shots right below my house in the river bottom. Great images dude! Your tips are always great and I have to say you are still the one wildlife photographer I look up to the most. Just amazing stuff brother. 😊
Brent, your monologue makes me laugh. “Sometimes the birder in you just has to take the picture to document it”! So true! I guess I’m just learning. I’m not sure when it’s atmospheric or operator error on my part!
I really enjoyed your video! It’s the next best thing to being there. Love the relaxed way you talked and your sense of humor 😊 Thanks!
Very good and informative Brent. I noticed you said you shoot in manual mode and adjust exposure with varying the iso value, I know you shoot with Canon's like the R5 and was wondering if you ever shoot in FV mode? I've tried that and it seems to work but it's a little different setup. Thanks!
I've never tried the Fv mode, though I've heard people say it's pretty decent.
Hey Brent. Thanks for another informative video. I do some wildlife shooting from my car, especially at spring and fall when cranes and geese are migrating true my area. I dont know if you have same problem as I often get into, but if I want pinsharp pictures I have to turn my motor off. Otherwise, my shots get blurry.
Great advice and Great Pictures!
Many thanks!
I enjoy the video, and you always make me have a chuckle. Anyway, also wonder if shooting from a car and bracing the lens on the window you'll pick up vibrations from the engine while it's running. So anyway you look at it turn the bugger off.
Thanks for an other great video. Really appreciate the tips and reminders you gave. Yes, some were reminders but others were things that were new tips that are of great value to us. Also really enjoy the relaxed pace of your videos and the humour. Very relatable. My wife and I thought you might have a projectile thrown in your direction when you were poking fun at Camera Lady at the end. Gary
Thanks Gary, I'm glad you guys enjoyed it! And yeah, she can be deadly with projectiles...
I love Verdin's! I've got a ton of them around my house in Arizona.
That's where I see them the most, out in SE AZ. I get them in Silver City, where I live too, just don't see them as much, or year round like in AZ.
@@BrentHallyeah I'm just west of Phoenix and they love our Trumpet vine bush in the front yard.
Thank you for the tips. I'm not much of a birder and birds usually come to me, rather than me chasing them :). But I'm trying. Your images look spectacular and it's real pleasure to watch your videos. Trying to make my R5 focus through branches on a little bird can be a real challenge. But I've learned that the smallest single point AF mode, the Spot AF, is the best for that, plus I need a different button (like AF-ON) for the full-blown animal tracking AF with eye detection. Unfortunately, (if I'm right) we can't have one button set to Servo AF and another one set to Single Shot AF, because they can only be both Servo or both Single Shot AF. But maybe I don't know something. Do we really need a third button for switching between Servo and Single Shot? Or is there another way?
New to your channel, I’m at the Bosque Del Apache now. Thanks for sharing!
Oh nice, well thanks for watching and have fun out there, it's an awesome place!
More reasons to turn your car off. If you're using your car window ledge as a resting point for your lens/camera and your car is on, it can decrease sharpness as the cars vibrations from the engine can mess with camera/lens stabilization. Learned that one the hard way taking photos of red wolves.
Had never thought how vibrations from the car could impact the sharpness of an image but it makes complete sense.
Vibration from the running engine will blur your images as well.
@17:18 "While this crane flies right over... Wow, that was close." 2 seconds later, we can see it in the mirror.
Great video! I learned a lot of these lessons through trial and error over the years. I've botched a lot of opportunities by not turning off the engine, esp in cold weather. In the snow, I even remove my lens hood bc it will retain heat in front of the lens and blur the shot. My gf swears by using a bean bag to rest her lens on but I rarely use one. Even turning off the engine isn't enough bc of the heat that will continue to rise from the underside of the truck so it can be beneficial to just wait a few minutes before shooting though time is a luxury when photographing wildlife. I'm still envious off that 500mm. Might have to start selling gear lol
Enjoyed the video Brent. question, is that an extension tube you are using and if so does it affect your ability to shoot BIF? Just to add a point from my experience when shooting in a vehicle with the engine running, to turn off image stabilization as it tries to counter the vibrations from the engine... if you don't your photos will miss focus majority of the time.
No, that's just the 1.4x TC and the EF adapter.
What are the pros & cons of shooting in crop mode vs post processing cropping?
Coyotes that look like tumbleweeds? LOL!
Freaks me out watching you carry that combo by the camera only... I've seen more than a couple of EF adapted big lenses fall off. One was mine. :(
I have a local national refuge near where I live that allows driving at certain times. Any suggestions on securing the camera between stops. I’ve been looking for some kind of case that mounts on the middle console of my car, so I can have quick access for my R5 with the 100-500. There are 2 of us and my wife is normally birding so she doesn’t want to hold the camera, which I understand! I have searched high and low for something like this for years! Suggestions anyone for this kind of case?
I think LensCoat makes a bean bag thing that goes on the window sill and even some with a ball head mount so you can keep it mounted on the window sill while you (slowly) drive around. Never tried them though.
I shoot with an R7 so the front wheel is shutter speed, the rear wheel is aperture, AUTO ISO... I guess the RF100-500 ring has to be exposure compensation, any other idea?
That's exactly what I do with my R7 + 100-500mm.
I bet you miss that 100-500 zoom, judging from your initial photos. Have you tried the 200-800 yet? Also, what is your favorite kind of light for bird photography? I liked the soft overcast light you mainly showed here, except for BIF shots against the white sky.
I do miss it, sometimes, but not nearly as much as I thought I would. I haven't tried the 2-8 yet. Not sure I have a favorite light. I like it all, just so long as I can get a good clean image.
I went shooting at Bosque with Brent. I had the R5 and the RF 100-500m zoom, and Brent and my husband were both shooting their 500 primes. Some excellent shooting for the cranes activity takes place during early morning (before bright morning light) and evenings (as the light is diminishing). Brent and my husband with their 500 primes were able to shoot wide open therefore capturing brighter images with lower ISO. Their images were far superior to my slower RF 100-500 simply because they could get more light - essential for birds in flight on the edges of daylight. I'm sorry that I traded my monster 500mm in when I purchased my rf 100-500. By the way - I HIGHLY recommend going shooting with Brent. He shares his extensive knowledge, and he knows where to find great shots.
Used to drive a Subaru... Great car. Turn off your car especially if it is a diesel. This is where an electric car can beat the rest. Quiet and no vibration once you stop.
Another reason to turn off the car is engine vibrations. That and the heat vapors ruined a snowy owl day. Lesson learned!