Photographing Birds in Flight at Bempton Cliffs with the Nikon Z9
2022 ж. 11 Мам.
9 861 Рет қаралды
In this episode I make a return visit to Yorkshire's premier RSPB Reserve 'Bempton Cliffs' in search of the elusive 'Albert' and a chance to put the 3d tracking on the Z9 to the test.
Come along for the journey and see what I see.
So great! Thanks!
Thank you too Jon 👍🏻
Great find. Looks like it is either a Black-browed Albatross or perhaps a Campbell Albatross (named after the island where they breed in the southern hemisphere). Either way that bird is a long way from home. We see Albatrosses regularly on our Tasmanian Pelagic trips. Sometimes even here in Queensland. If you ever visit Australia I can thoroughly recommend a Pelagic double-header out of Eaglehawk neck. On my first trip years ago I ticked over 50 lifers for the week-end and photographed all of them. Some within 6 metres of the boat. 👍
This was a Black Browed Albatross and as you quite rightly stated a long way from home but amazing to see. He’s no longer around and possibly unlikely to be seen again off the coast of the UK but you never know. I would love to travel to Australia one day 👍🏻
Best shots of a peregrine I've seen Dan.
Cheers Stuart I really appreciate that 👍🏻
Just tripped over your channel and subscribed, Ive just got into photography and live in Scarborough so Bempton is going to be my second home lol
Thanks very much for the sub it’s really appreciated. You live in a fantastic part of the country for wildlife photography. No doubt we will cross paths at some point in the future 👍🏻
Lovely shots Dan of the peregrine and Albertross , spent a Day at Bempton last June then Flamborough the next Day thoroughly enjoyable 👍
Thanks Laurence, appreciate your feedback 👍🏻
super pics dan worth waitingfor
Thanks Alan 👍🏻
Not only nice captures but also awesome editing !!! great job man
Thank you for your positive feedback 👍🏻
Great stuff Dan, glad you got to see Albie. I took Dad last year & we got shots of the usual suspects & a bonus perched peregrine too. We were first ones in the car park & by the time we left at 10am it was full! Fantastic place for seabirds 🙌 Great vlog mate, hope you & Stu are keeping well. Best, Nick
Thanks Nick, appreciate your support. Yeah Pops is great thanks 👍🏻
The effort definitely paid off, nice job mate.
Thanks Arthur, appreciate your support 👍🏻
First time to your channel. Some really nice shots. Just subscribed
Thanks for your comment and subscribing, appreciated
Lovely film and some great shots. I know what you mean about getting away from the crowds, I was shocked by the amount of people there when I visited a couple of weeks back. I did the same as you in the end and went down to Flamborough Head after seeing Albert briefly. Good luck with the channel.
Thank you appreciate your positive feedback 👍🏻
Great images, Dan. Did you use the 1.4x tele convertor to take the Gannet shots?
Thanks very much. No I switched to DX mode for the extra reach instead of 1.4 tc 👍🏻
Great video ..hope its showing when I get up there in the next month to try and get some photos, totally agree about the crowd but not a lot you can do ..have subscribed
Thanks Stephen and thanks for subscribing it’s very much appreciated
Awesome pics!!!!!! I was hoping to get to Bempton but health problems mean it's not going to be on this year. I have an 80-400 but hopefully by the time I get NEXT year I might be able to upgrade to a 150-6
Wishing you a speedy recovery Graham 👍🏻
Nice shots Dan , enjoyable video . We love Bempton but also prefer it early when it’s not busy . We seen Albert a few weeks ago , the wind was horrendous and he was low down but managed a few shots
Thanks for your comment Leon, glad to hear that you have had some success with Albert too and completely agree about arriving early 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography the far end (left side from visitors centre ) by the last viewing platform is usually a good spot for the peregrines. Also Barn Owl in the fields with the old buildings. Glad you enjoying the Z9 , I went from D850 to A1 purely for silent shooting. Anyway look forward to the next video
@@leonkirkbride6559 thanks for the information, my Dad who usually features in these videos is desperate to get out to Bempton Cliffs so will try there when we go
@@danwillis_photography Good luck I'm sure he'll enjoy it. Peregrines etc all have young now so you get to see them hunting more regular .
Thanks, a beautiful video with some really great footage. The only thing that puzzles me is why you have limited yourself to HD resolution rather than 4K? With the stunning resolution of the Z9 the footage could have come across so much sharper than I am seeing it on my display. Personally I like to film at 4k with my Z9 and, indeed my Z7ii, Z6 and even my GoPro! But, really like the video.
Thanks Brian appreciate your feedback. In response to the resolution, most of my video to camera is shot using dji pocket 2 which seems to suffer from overheating when shooting in 4K and so I tend to stick to HD. It’s definitely something I am considering moving forward with my videos as I agree it is a limitation. The obvious solution would be to record everything on the Z9 but this would require lens changes and potentially missing the wildlife I’m intending on shooting. Thanks again though for posing a question which has got me thinking 🤔
@@danwillis_photography Thanks for responding so promptly and glad to hear my comments provoked some thought. I have never looked at the dpi pocket 2 and am not familiar with its capabilities or limitations. When I am out taking my own video footage - and I can learn a lot from yours, I now use the Z9 as my main camera but either use the GoPro Hero 9 with a hand-grip, or, occasionally, my iPhon e12 with the dpi OM4 gimbal. I find either / both of these give superb 4k video footage and, as you say, means I don't need to change lenses. Two of my own examples you might be interested in are kzhead.info/sun/dMycedCnqoGinIE/bejne.html Good Friday Trains which was shot using the Z9 and the GoPro (I had only had the Z9 3 days at that point so still very much learning!! And kzhead.info/sun/nNSsh9WOh2toZHA/bejne.html Petworth Deer Park which was shot using my Z7ii and the iPhone using the FilmicPro app. Look forward to seeing more of your work.
Dan, Sir - So glad I came across your video. Great tracking on the flight shots. Well done! What time of year do recommend for visiting the cliffs? Also, which brand tripod head & gimbal setup are you using when you have a large lens on you Z9 and using a tripod? Thanks… Robert
Thanks Robert I appreciate your feedback. I have a Gitzo series 5 tripod and Gitzo fluid gimbal head. The gimbal head is brilliant for video as the fluid movement means that you get reasonably smooth tracking.
As for visiting Bempton, May through to July is the busiest as so many birds are nesting on the cliffs. Get there early and you beat the crowds and are usually treated to the Barn Owls hunting. I also like the winter months as there’s usually a good chance of seeing short earred owls and snow buntings 👍🏻
100% with you on not liking crowded places Dan and the older I get the less I like it (Victor Meldrew kicking in 🙂). Lovely flight shots of both the peregrine and the Albatross. I'm not brilliant at bird ID but is that a 'black browed albatross'?
It certainly is a black browned albatross and I think we all have a bit of Victor Meldrew in us 😂😂😂 Thanks for your comment 👍🏻
Which lens did you use ?
The 500mm f4 prime, it’s my go to lens for most of my bird photography 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography nice! What do you think about the 500 pf or 400 4.5?
@@ADNZ5442 my Dad uses the 500pf with his Z9 and absolutely loves it. The light weight making it much more useable for him. He also has the 100-400 (similar to your 400) and loves using this for birds in flight. The beauty of Bempton Cliffs is that you are often photographing large subjects (gannets have a huge wingspan) at close range so your 400 will be perfect 👍🏻
@@danwillis_photography thanks for the help, really appreciate it. Not sure what to pair my Z9 with for wildlife. Plan on going to bempton cliffs for the puffins some time June.
@@ADNZ5442 for the puffins go with the longest lense you have, they can be quite at range 👍🏻