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Photographing Hedgehogs ?
- Thread starter Lepus
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- Martin
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Your best bet is not to use a trail camera but to actually be there. If you know his/her route (they often follow the same paths) you can put some dog or (non-fish-based) cat food out, get yourself comfortable and wait. On a still night you'll hear them in the undergrowth and once they start eating your bait you will definitely hear them as they are rather noisy eaters. Hedgehogs often walk across our garden and are found by our dogs. Once the hedgehog has been found I take the dogs in and wait for the hedgehog to unroll and can get pictures then. As with all things wildlife, forget the quality of your camera gear, your biggest asset is patience.
D
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Triggers are cheap enough- I have 2 of theseAnyone got any tips ? I only have one Flash ....that I have never used. I managed to video him on a trail camera , he seems to show up on and off after Eleven P.M . Are there any half decent cheap -ish camera triggers out there , I haven't looked .yet .
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Tringa
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When you say trigger, are you looking for something that you can attach to your camera which then detects the animal and takes a shot, so you do not have to sit by the camera?
If so, these don't come cheap. One member here has made one -
www.talkphotography.co.uk
If you don't want to go down that route then I agree with Martin. If you know a hedgehog is visiting your garden then set yourself up and wait. You might have a night(or more than a night) of disappointment but that is the way it goes sometime.
We have one or to hedgehog visiting our back garden and they first appear anytime from 11pm to 3am and sometimes not at all; its just a matter of luck.
Dave
If so, these don't come cheap. One member here has made one -
Just built my DSLR Camera Trap......GENET captured last night with dinner!
I regularly use 'Trail Cams' to scout out potential wildlife sites, prior to setting up my hide and 'camping out'. However, call me lazy, but I really wanted to get some 'decent' images without being 'on site' at 'stupid o'clock'! I'm sure that others have posted their 'builds' on here, but as...
www.talkphotography.co.uk
If you don't want to go down that route then I agree with Martin. If you know a hedgehog is visiting your garden then set yourself up and wait. You might have a night(or more than a night) of disappointment but that is the way it goes sometime.
We have one or to hedgehog visiting our back garden and they first appear anytime from 11pm to 3am and sometimes not at all; its just a matter of luck.
Dave
No disrespect but all this info is useless to me . I used the trail camera to make sure my hunch he was visiting was right , it also gives me a rough time slot . I now know the Hedgehog comes and roughly when . The trigger I asked about , was one that the Hedgehog would set off himself , and I guessed they would be expensive ..... The thing I want to know is how do you photograph an animal in very dark situations ? I know the flash will reflect off his eyes , unless there is a way of positioning it so it does not , but remember it will be very very dark .
Tringa
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One way is to set up when there is still enough light to focus on a place where you have left some food and the light allows you to frame the shot. Then its just a waiting game.
The shot here - https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/badger-feeding-time.559515/ - was done that way. The peanuts were on the top of the log and I knew the badgers would go for them. However, this was fairly easy for me to do as the camera was on a tripod and I had a seat just inside the back door.
Dave
The shot here - https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/badger-feeding-time.559515/ - was done that way. The peanuts were on the top of the log and I knew the badgers would go for them. However, this was fairly easy for me to do as the camera was on a tripod and I had a seat just inside the back door.
Dave
Thanks Dave , considering it`s on camera flash that is a very good photo I think many of us would be pleased with . I will have a think of what natural looking dish I can put down , as I am feeding the Hedgehog ( Along with some local cats ) . Cat food ... I am hoping he will bring some friends along but so far it appears just one large Male is visiting .
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- Stu
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Hey up buddy how ya diddling?
All this sounds exciting you lucky sod, i've only seen one here in all the years we have lived in our hovel,Hmm a bit embarassing Mark I tripped over him on my way up the garden path :banghead:
I wish you were closer mate you could borrow my lights I used on PK and the cubs last year...... that would sort you. Mate probably somethiing like those isn't an option due to cost but maybe you can go the route of some form of really a bright light or better still a couple. and some extensions cables........ placed fairly close to the feeding spot bar the use of flask as Dave suggests
If you went this route remember two things that light fall off is relative to distance , I think there is an inverse square law or such like but it's a huge facet in all this . Mate I started the foxes getting used to light with an old table lamp. I made up a sort of waterproof housing for the light our of old compost bags bent some wire into a sort of hoop shape and used gaffa tape to secure it all...proper heath robinson stuff
Where extension cables joined I put the plug /socket in a tupperware and then something like a plastic bowl over the top to prevent any water ingress. It worked a treat mate was out in some holing storms no issues If you want to be even more cautious add a breaker plug where you plug into the house socket keep it all nice and safe
Two lights sort of 90 degrees apart Mark one closer than t'other, the close being your main light ie the most powerful and the second is your fill. the fill will let the light sort of wrap around hedgey give a much more natural look to the images , One light will give you a really harsh drop from the areas on the animal it covers to the areas it doesn't you really want that second in the equation.
Camera on tripod trigger remotely if easier up to you bro. Push the hell out of the ISO use topaz to deal with NR, you are really dealing with the noise on the subject not much else really mate as most else will be black anyway
Feeder get some thiing like an old tree stump log anything really that looks cool to your eyes I'd simply hollow that out a bit with what ever means you have so the food is out of sight of your images Then blend that into something natural looking with the odd rough turf, keep the turves watered daily and cut 'em deep so you have some roots under neath and sort of angle the cuts to blend into the lump of wood. You want to make it looking cool to the camera at night Mark it might look a bag of nails in the day all you need to concern your self with is your camera's POV at night but put some effort into the set up it will really fold back into your images and enhance them ha it's also bloody good fun, remember foxy drinking ie this
_S2I4212cub drinking 1 smj DN by Stuart Philpott, on Flickr
That's exactly the same ethos Mark fella is drinking from an old builders mixing tray sat on a lawn but no one would know would they
Naturally I've saved the best to last......................There might be a few WB issues bro dependent on light choices but then who doesn't have WB issues mate
sorted !!
Think I've got it all bro hedgey will be waay more tolerant of lights than a bloody nutcase fox just go gentle gradually set it all up and move the light in ever closer
and then make hay ...erm well the moon shines
An option that I know will work you want those light as powerful as possible they govern every thing you can squeeze from the camera sensor get them close and really work on how the pair work together if you can a light at the back will lift things even further
ok that's enough mate off ya go
stu
All this sounds exciting you lucky sod, i've only seen one here in all the years we have lived in our hovel,Hmm a bit embarassing Mark I tripped over him on my way up the garden path :banghead:
I wish you were closer mate you could borrow my lights I used on PK and the cubs last year...... that would sort you. Mate probably somethiing like those isn't an option due to cost but maybe you can go the route of some form of really a bright light or better still a couple. and some extensions cables........ placed fairly close to the feeding spot bar the use of flask as Dave suggests
If you went this route remember two things that light fall off is relative to distance , I think there is an inverse square law or such like but it's a huge facet in all this . Mate I started the foxes getting used to light with an old table lamp. I made up a sort of waterproof housing for the light our of old compost bags bent some wire into a sort of hoop shape and used gaffa tape to secure it all...proper heath robinson stuff
Where extension cables joined I put the plug /socket in a tupperware and then something like a plastic bowl over the top to prevent any water ingress. It worked a treat mate was out in some holing storms no issues If you want to be even more cautious add a breaker plug where you plug into the house socket keep it all nice and safeTwo lights sort of 90 degrees apart Mark one closer than t'other, the close being your main light ie the most powerful and the second is your fill. the fill will let the light sort of wrap around hedgey give a much more natural look to the images , One light will give you a really harsh drop from the areas on the animal it covers to the areas it doesn't you really want that second in the equation.
Camera on tripod trigger remotely if easier up to you bro. Push the hell out of the ISO use topaz to deal with NR, you are really dealing with the noise on the subject not much else really mate as most else will be black anyway
Feeder get some thiing like an old tree stump log anything really that looks cool to your eyes I'd simply hollow that out a bit with what ever means you have so the food is out of sight of your images Then blend that into something natural looking with the odd rough turf, keep the turves watered daily and cut 'em deep so you have some roots under neath and sort of angle the cuts to blend into the lump of wood. You want to make it looking cool to the camera at night Mark it might look a bag of nails in the day all you need to concern your self with is your camera's POV at night but put some effort into the set up it will really fold back into your images and enhance them ha it's also bloody good fun, remember foxy drinking ie this
_S2I4212cub drinking 1 smj DN by Stuart Philpott, on FlickrThat's exactly the same ethos Mark fella is drinking from an old builders mixing tray sat on a lawn but no one would know would they
Naturally I've saved the best to last......................There might be a few WB issues bro dependent on light choices but then who doesn't have WB issues mate
sorted !!
Think I've got it all bro hedgey will be waay more tolerant of lights than a bloody nutcase fox just go gentle gradually set it all up and move the light in ever closer
and then make hay ...erm well the moon shines
An option that I know will work you want those light as powerful as possible they govern every thing you can squeeze from the camera sensor get them close and really work on how the pair work together if you can a light at the back will lift things even further
ok that's enough mate off ya go
stu
Tringa
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Thanks Lepus. I would like to have better lighting but I have only an on camera flash. Perhaps just putting food on the ground might look more natural, though almost any food put out is going to look at least a bit unnatural. Hiding it behind a log or stone might help but with a small animal like a hedgehog it might interfere with the shot. Oops, just seen Stu has already suggested something similar
I tried putting out non-fishy wet dog food for the a hedgehog in our garden. The hog ate it but after a couple of nights the local cats found it first. Dry dog food works but it is also attractive to the local foxes; just the way it goes.
Good luck.
Dave
D
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Looking forward to seeing some images in due course- I have a Hedgehog living under my garden shed- last year she had 3 youngsters running around
Les
Les