Boxing Day in the Hide (A running thread image 19 has now been added)

[Trev4]

Thanks for showing the set up Rich, it just shows how we photographers have to rough it for our hobby
One question, is the catch on the door to stop anyone opening it and knocking you and your Drambuie off your armchair?

Like the Jays, they look good against the snow, nice work

 

[CT]

I love to see the dedicated wildlife tog at work! I have a similar setup using the kitchen window.

 

[erding]

Nice set up Richards - like the colour co-ordination between the beanbag/plywood/curtains

 

[MindofMel]

I can see it now, just as you are about to take a prize winning shot the missus opens the door and knocks the photographer off his chair

 

[Euan]

Excellent thread, and some cracking pictures. Im jealous of your set up, we have no tree's in our estate and loads of bloody cats so we don't attract many birds to the garden. Cant wait to see more on this thread!

 

[DrewPics]

haha, love the hide set up! no crawling around covered in insects for you!

 

[scottthehat]

nice set richard and a very good idea.

 

[Joe T]

Cool thread! Cheers for sharing your images and your woodwork!

 

[DOTTYROSS]

Thanks for the info on your set-up Richard, you have certainly sown a seed in my thoughts for my own home.

Regards: Gordon

 

[lost]

lovely set of pics you seem to have the perfect set up

Thanks glad you like it

I can see it now, just as you are about to take a prize winning shot the missus opens the door and knocks the photographer off his chair

Already thought of Trev noticed theres a bolt on the door

Thanks for showing the set up Rich, it just shows how we photographers have to rough it for our hobby
One question, is the catch on the door to stop anyone opening it and knocking you and your Drambuie off your armchair?

That and waking me up

Like the Jays, they look good against the snow, nice work

Thanks mate

I love to see the dedicated wildlife tog at work! I have a similar setup using the kitchen window.

Great minds think alike

Nice set up Richards - like the colour co-ordination between the beanbag/plywood/curtains

Thats me Modern Man in touch with my femine side

Excellent thread, and some cracking pictures. Im jealous of your set up, we have no tree's in our estate and loads of bloody cats so we don't attract many birds to the garden. Cant wait to see more on this thread!

Thanks Euan if you keep reading i will show you how you get round certain issues

haha, love the hide set up! no crawling around covered in insects for you!

You got that right Drew

nice set richard and a very good idea.

Thanks Scott just thought i would share it

Cool thread! Cheers for sharing your images and your woodwork!

Thanks Joe

Thanks for the info on your set-up Richard, you have certainly sown a seed in my thoughts for my own home.

Regards: Gordon

Thanks Gordon and there's a whole lot to come Yet

Thanks All

Richard

 

[cornishboy]

Love the images - have you built a ledge just outside your window to get the eye level shots?

 

[lost]

Love the images - have you built a ledge just outside your window to get the eye level shots?

No i like a bit of working distance

Here's how it's done i use the roof of my old summerhouse

And to get the eye level effect i build flat boarded areas and cover them in turf, snow and thin branches another favourite is to trim out the inside of old logs and put seed in and block them up

You can always screw a branch to a fence post as well with a bit of thought you can make anywhere work

The reason i went down this route is we have cats and the young one is a real bird hunter with all the feeders at this height the birds can see her coming she has now given up in disgust

Another 1 from the upstairs Hide



there are a few more interesting things to come so keep reading i must go now to fill the feeders

Regards All

Richard

 

[Euan]

The reason i went down this route is we have cats and the young one is a real bird hunter with all the feeders at this height the birds can see her coming she has now given up in disgust

Now ive got no excuse! Must go and gather some logs and stuff from the nearest woods.

 

[lost]

Now ive got no excuse! Must go and gather some logs and stuff from the nearest woods.

One thing i should say is once a week i clean all the feeders and sweep up any loose seed

The feeders are stocked with

Peanuts, Mixed seed , niger seed and blocks of fat/suet blocks or filled coconuts and a mix of this is always put on the flat boarded areas for the ground feeding birds. This seems to attract most birds

Regards

Richard

 

[Euan]

Thanks for that, what distance is it between your hide and where the birds land please?

 

[john starkey]

Hi Rich brilliant thread mate,love the pics so keep them coming,nice to see where you hibernate when it,s freezing cold and this has to be the best/warmest hide i have seen,

regards,
john.

 

[lost]

Thanks for that, what distance is it between your hide and where the birds land please?

This lot is set up for my 600mm and 300mm fitted with the 1.4 both used on &7d's. It is set up about 26 feet away it origanally started off as a feeding station to get shots of the Jays, Woodpeckers, Blackbirds, thrushes and Starlings
I have another hide at my worshop which is set up so the smaller birds are only eight feet away at most. The reason for this is the chap who works with me only had a 75-300mm i tend to use the 70-200 and 300mm there so anything is possible
Regards
Richard

 

[lost]

Hi Rich brilliant thread mate,love the pics so keep them coming,nice to see where you hibernate when it,s freezing cold and this has to be the best/warmest hide i have seen,

regards,
john.

Hi John

Glad you are enjoying it
Regards

Richard

 

[DrewPics]

No i like a bit of working distance

Here's how it's done i use the roof of my old summerhouse

And to get the eye level effect i build flat boarded areas and cover them in turf, snow and thin branches another favourite is to trim out the inside of old logs and put seed in and block them up

You can always screw a branch to a fence post as well with a bit of thought you can make anywhere work

The reason i went down this route is we have cats and the young one is a real bird hunter with all the feeders at this height the birds can see her coming she has now given up in disgust

Another 1 from the upstairs Hide



there are a few more interesting things to come so keep reading i must go now to fill the feeders

Regards All

Richard

What a fantastic set up! Protects and feeds the birds and gives you fantastic, natural shots, all from the comfort of the house.

 

[Euan]

This lot is set up for my 600mm and 300mm fitted with the 1.4 both used on &7d's. It is set up about 26 feet away it origanally started off as a feeding station to get shots of the Jays, Woodpeckers, Blackbirds, thrushes and Starlings
I have another hide at my worshop which is set up so the smaller birds are only eight feet away at most. The reason for this is the chap who works with me only had a 75-300mm i tend to use the 70-200 and 300mm there so anything is posible
Regards
Richard

Once again a big thank you for sharing your set up with us, its really got me thinking. We have very few tree's round our estate but im going to build some sort of set up in the garden to see if i can attract anything. Its definitely got me inspired though!!

 

[kaz10]

Some good shots Richard and interesting to see your setup its amazing what you can do I haven t gone as far as the top of the shed yet though lol

 

[mick cooke]

nice ones richard ,,great photos
all the best
mick

 

[lost]

What a fantastic set up! Protects and feeds the birds and gives you fantastic, natural shots, all from the comfort of the house.

Thanks Drew glad you like the set up keep watching

Once again a big thank you for sharing your set up with us, its really got me thinking. We have very few tree's round our estate but im going to build some sort of set up in the garden to see if i can attract anything. Its definitely got me inspired though!!

Thanks Euan glad it's given you some ideas more to come yet as the new year unfolds

Some good shots Richard and interesting to see your setup its amazing what you can do I haven t gone as far as the top of the shed yet though lol

Thanks Kaz it will be even better when i build the new summerhouse some time this year i have a few ideas i will be incorporating in the design

nice ones richard ,,great photos
all the best
mick

Cheers Mick glad you like the set up

Regards All

Richard

 

[u8myufo]

No i like a bit of working distance

Here's how it's done i use the roof of my old summerhouse

And to get the eye level effect i build flat boarded areas and cover them in turf, snow and thin branches another favourite is to trim out the inside of old logs and put seed in and block them up

You can always screw a branch to a fence post as well with a bit of thought you can make anywhere work

The reason i went down this route is we have cats and the young one is a real bird hunter with all the feeders at this height the birds can see her coming she has now given up in disgust

Another 1 from the upstairs Hide



there are a few more interesting things to come so keep reading i must go now to fill the feeders

Regards All

Richard

This is just an excuse cos you dont like gardening Great idea though Out of interest Rich, in that first pic which direction do you get the sun coming from? Does it travel so it is overhead of the shed for you?

 

[lost]

This is just an excuse cos you dont like gardening Great idea though Out of interest Rich, in that first pic which direction do you get the sun coming from? Does it travel so it is overhead of the shed for you?

Hi Rich it comes in from the left and finishes behind the back right corner at this time of year it stays low, The new summer house is being built with a tower on the back left corner it may be in the centre Yet so i can use the low evening light. It will be called Rich's Folly my old dark room is also being converted in the other shed.

Regards

Richard

 

[lost]

One from today i only had 5 minutes i have been a bit busy with other things

Regards

Richard

 

[Chris.S]

5 minutes ? thats a great shot!

 

[jc55]

A nice series sofar Richard,the LTT is a cracker,thank you.Happy New Year to you and family

 

[artyman]

A well spent 5 minutes

 

[LovesRaptors]

Great stuff Richard lets see more in the New Year...All The Best.



John

 

[higgy50]

Hi Richard,

I am new to the forum and have this 'bird' thing bad at the moment! I too have been shooting from the bedroom window but hadn't considered a board and was starting to get fed up with everything flying away every time I opened it!...Tomorrow I will be busy with a jigsaw me thinks!!..

Today I put up another feeder on the shed which is very close to the house but the problem I found was getting a cluttered background in my shots so I will also be out with hammer nails and branches tomorrow!!

Great thread mate and fantastic photos!...As a newbee to this it does inspire me to put a bit more effort and thought into my set up so many thanks and please do keep the thread going (I want to learn more and of course pinch a few more ideas!!)

Now just have to work out how to convince the wife that I've not gone completely mad!!??

Cheers

 

[Lev67]

Great thread Richard
Cracking set -up you have there..
Looking forward to some more great images over the next few months..
I'll be adding my weak efforts soon, so any tips would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

 

[lost]

5 minutes ? thats a great shot!

Hi Chris thanks but you have to remember i feed the birds all year round and have been doing so for about 3 years. In a 24x12 area of where this picture was taken i had the following
8 Blue tits
4 Great tits
1 Coal tit
7 long tailed tits
2 Robins
2 Black Birds
5 Chaffinches
4 Greenfinches
6 Gold finches
2 Dunnocks
4 House sparrows
and the reason i put the camera out the Woody who buggered off but he does come regular so it's not to bad. But with that amount of subjects even i get lucky sometimes In case you wonder i tend to keep a count at different times of day just to see if any patterns emerge in feeding habits

A nice series sofar Richard,the LTT is a cracker,thank you.Happy New Year to you and family

Thanks John and you mate

A well spent 5 minutes

Even i get lucky occasionally Ken

Great stuff Richard lets see more in the New Year...All The Best.

John

Cheers John there's a lot more to come wait till you see the water and reflection shots shots

Hi Richard,

I am new to the forum and have this 'bird' thing bad at the moment! I too have been shooting from the bedroom window but hadn't considered a board and was starting to get fed up with everything flying away every time I opened it!...Tomorrow I will be busy with a jigsaw me thinks!!..

Today I put up another feeder on the shed which is very close to the house but the problem I found was getting a cluttered background in my shots so I will also be out with hammer nails and branches tomorrow!!

Great thread mate and fantastic photos!...As a newbee to this it does inspire me to put a bit more effort and thought into my set up so many thanks and please do keep the thread going (I want to learn more and of course pinch a few more ideas!!)

Now just have to work out how to convince the wife that I've not gone completely mad!!??

Cheers

Hi Thanks don't worry my wife thinks im barking mad i will be keeping it running

Great thread Richard
Cracking set -up you have there..
Looking forward to some more great images over the next few months..
I'll be adding my weak efforts soon, so any tips would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

Hi Thanks very much im quite lucky as i have a couple of hides. But never be put off showing your work i have put in years of practice with a camera and 95% of it is Luck if i get a good one.
Regards
Richard

 

[Frankie_flea]

That LTT is a great shot. Interesting set up you have there, i have a totally different 'garden on a slope' set up, with an 'out in the garden' one man, purpose built hide.

 

[Charlottefitz]

Wow ! That's a lot of hard work you have put in too make such a snug hide. From your beautiful and natural shots it seems all that the hard work as paid off

 

[lost]

Please Note this first technique can be used on any camera even ones with slow Autofocus as you don't use it

I thought i would touch briefly on flight shots. There are many ways you can go about catching birds in flight one of the easiest is to prefocus on the end of a branch and put it in the edge of the view finder. Make sure the branch you use has a feeder on it. So the branch is basically a perch to the feeder. Set focusing to manual and use a cable release and wait. with my set up on the summerhouse all the branches are in a parallel line so as a bird passes from one branch to another he is traveling in a parrellel line to the camera if you want to be crafty you can block off one side of the feeder as well. Also put a board on a angle obstructing the flight path to the feeder from the other side causing the birds to come in from one way only. Just make sure it's not in the picture
Using this technique i would recommend pushing the iso up to get a good depth of field and a shutter of about 1/2000 to 1/3000 of a second and trying it on a good day

I never bother with a board and blocking off the one side of the feeder as i have so many willing subjects. This technique was used before the advent of autofocus and still works now you will get a load of duff shots but you will get some good ones as well

Here's a couple of Starling shots i took in the summer when they have young they show up on mass and take up every perch so prefocusing on a branch and using Servo mode with centre point autofocus works well with the 7d i can select adjoining AF points as well which is my favourite for this subject

They love the blocks of fat and suet with seed

Also cut the tops off the branches as they love to land on top off them






Regards All

Richard

 

[lost]

That LTT is a great shot. Interesting set up you have there, i have a totally different 'garden on a slope' set up, with an 'out in the garden' one man, purpose built hide.

Hi Frankie thanks any thing works it just needs a bit of thought if you want to put a few pictures of your set up on feel free

Wow ! That's a lot of hard work you have put in too make such a snug hide. From your beautiful and natural shots it seems all that the hard work as paid off

Thanks Charlotte

Regards Both

Richard

 

[john starkey]

Very informative thread Rich,thats great pics are a real bonus for us ,

regards,
john.

 

[u8myufo]

A good pose on that Ltt Rich and some good info for all I am somewhat puzzled as to what the other members of your family do for entertainment

 

[sawman]

Some great shots there. Now all you need is some Red Squirrel's!