[missbirdphotos] Re: My new bird studio
- From: Qgray@xxxxxxx
- To: missbirdphotos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:55:04 -0400 (EDT)
Jay
It sounds like you have a nice setup with a lot of thought behind it.
I have an area in my yard setup also to take photos from and thought
I would share with you what I use.
The blind I use is one I bought from Sportsman's Warehouse and is
really a lawn chair with a camo. cover. It has zippered openings
in front and on both sides to see out of and can be folded flat so it
can be carried in one hand
Birds like to use and travel along edges of cover so I placed a brush
pile on a fence row with my feeders in front of the pile. I use a mister
that I tied to the inside of a waist high bush next to the brush pile. The
mister attracts birds and keeps them coming back to bathe. My birdbath
is located on the ground below the mister and as the mists collects on
the leaves of the bush, drops form and falls in the birdbath. The mister
is on a 25 foot small hose and connects to a garden hose.
To the side I have a suet cage that faces the my house that I keep filled
all the time but when I am taking pictures, I remove the cage and place
suet in shallow holes I have drilled in the side of the tree. That way when
the birds are using the suet, I get a side shot of the bird but no feed is
in the picture.
I also place a log close by that I have cut a small groove in it that I
fill with
peanut butter and sunflower seeds. The groove is cut in the top of the
log but to the back side so as not to show up in any pictures.
The mister really works as it attracts birds that don't use sunflower seeds
or suet. I get most of my photos as the birds are coming to the mister
or using limbs placed around the feeders as you have already done.
I am attaching two pictures one each of a Parula and Grosbeak coming
to my setup.
Q.B. Gray
In a message dated 4/23/2012 9:03:22 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
jcliburn@xxxxxxxxx writes:
So a couple of weeks ago we had a thread here discussing a "bird
studio." I was intrigued, so I decided to convert my driveway loop
into one.
First I had to move my birdbath and a couple of feeders away from the
front of the house, from where I could conveniently watch birds
through a big window from the comfort of my kitchen table. Then I
read somewhere that moving/dripping water was an effective bird
attractant, so off to the store for a little pump... I got a 60 gph
submersible pump from Home Depot for $15, but, alas, I had no power in
the driveway loop. Sigh. I remedied that by boring a 1-inch hole in
the front of my house, trenching across the driveway, laying 45 feet
of conduit, stringing 12-2 wire, tying into a circuit in my garage,
and installing a weatherproof riser box with an outlet and a switch
out in the loop. Presto: power for the pump. (Have you priced Romex
recently? Yikes!)
The drippers at the store were too expensive for my tastes -- and they
weren't suited for a birdbath anyway -- so I went to a nearby
canebrake, harvested a couple of stalks, and fashioned a dripper out
of cane segments. Works like a charm.
I wanted a rustic look, so I rejiggered my platform feeder by removing
it from its 4x4 post in the front yard, removing the roof, mounting it
on an old pine knot fencepost, and made an insert out of 1x2 and
window screen to allow water to drain through the seed when it's
installed in the platform. I then found some elm limbs and mounted
one to the feeder for a perch. I sat the other one on the ground over
a cast iron plant.
Next, I went into the woods and found a deadfall white oak trunk that
had broken in a few places and used my chainsaw to cut off a couple of
"stumps." I found a deadfall elm limb with a nice bend in it that I
used to lean against one of the pine trees. I bored some 1-inch holes
in it and inserted peanuts, hoping for jays or woodpeckers. (None
have partaken yet.)
Finally, I erected the Ameristep doghouse blind, which my poor wife
finds appalling, but I argue we live in the country and don't get many
refined visitors anyway, so what harm can it be?
Yesterday was my first attempt at photography in the studio. The
highlight of the day was an early morning, dew-drenched Indigo bunting
who surprised me sufficiently to cause me miss a shot when he was on
the perch. I settled for a feeder sidewall shot. I also got a
cardinal and a chipping sparrow in the evening, but unfortunately they
weren't on the perch, either. (BTW, It gets HOT inside that blind
when the sun shines on it -- even on a cool, windy day!) I was
pleased to finally get good feather detail using only a 300mm lens
(without teleconverter, because I wanted to open up to f4). I'm not
pleased with the Chipping sparrow detail, but he was in harsh light,
so that probably explains it. The cardinal and bunting were in
diffuse light, and those seemed to turn out much better.
So, thanks to Missbird photogs, I now have a studio! I'd be happy to
receive suggestions for improvements and additions.
Jay
Other related posts:
