If you love nature, wildlife, and photography, you're in the right place.
Now if all goes well, right about now I'm driving into Yosemite National Park to do some spring waterfall photography. I've been checking the weather and I think it snowed there yesterday, so hopefully the park is going to look great. So this week I pre-recorded this episode so I can be up there enjoying Yosemite, one of my favorite national parks. I'll try to make some recordings from inside the park to put in a future podcast.
Today we're going to talk about long lens stories from the field. Now if you're like me, you like to go out often and shoot in nature. Depending on what I plan to shoot, I'll have a variety of gear with me. However, by far, the piece of equipment that garners the most interest is my long last setup. As of late, I'm using the Nikon Z9 with a 600 f4 TC lens. The lens is covered in a lens coat.
This is a set of neoprene sleeves that protect the outside of the lens. Mine happens to be camo color. Now, I don't really subscribe to the thought that camouflage is going to make a big difference to the subjects I'm photographing. I doubt that a bulk elk is going to look over to me and say to himself, I see a guy standing over there, but I can't really tell what he's doing. It doesn't have a camera because if you did, I'd be able to see it. Yeah, I just don't think that camouflage on my lens just makes that much of a difference.
There are so many other things that would make a subject uncomfortable that having a lens covered doesn't seem to make much of a difference. My thought is this, the neoprene sleeves provide excellent protection for the exterior of the lens, shielding it from scratches, dents, and other potential damages that can often occur when you're outside in photographic sessions. The lens coat can also help in preventing dirt, dust, and moisture from accumulating on the lens, which is particularly beneficial when shooting in adverse weather conditions and rugged environments like, say, the beach. By using a lens coat, I feel like I can extend the lifespan of my expensive lenses, ensuring that they remain in optimal condition for capturing wildlife action. Moreover, for those who frequently photograph wildlife like myself, Moreover, for those who frequently while moreover, for those who frequently photograph wildlife moreover, for people who frequently while moreover, For those who frequently photograph wildlife like myself, it's essential to minimize any reflective surfaces that could alert animals to their presence. It's essential to minimize any reflective surfaces that could alert animals to your presence.
While camouflage isn't going to entirely conceal the photographer, While camouflage isn't going to entirely conceal the photographer, the reduced glare from the lens coat can make a subtle difference in approaching subjects discreetly. In essence, a lens coat serves as a practical accessory for me to preserve my gear while potentially enhancing the field experience.
Let's talk about support.
I often use a tripod and a Wimberly gimbal head. This is an invaluable asset to have in the field as it's pretty quick to set up and goes and allows good maneuverability. Here's how I work. I get to my spot and extend the tripod legs to the desired height. Then I balance the head using a knob that operates what's called the leveling base. A leveling base is attachment on the top of the legs of the tripod. It's kind of like a small bowl. Loosening it allows me to get the base of the head perfectly level in all directions. I keep an eye on the bubble level that's attached to the leveling base to get it spot on. The head sits on top of the base. The Wimberly head is a gimbal head. This has a large knob for the vertical axis and a large knob for the horizontal axis.
Next, I attach the lens foot into the head and tighten it down. Once tightened, I loosen the vertical axis. Once tightened, I loosen the vertical axis to see if the lens tips forward or leans back. I loosen the vertical axis to see if the lens tips forward or leans back. I then adjust it by sliding the lens back or forward. I then adjust the sliding. Then I adjust this by sliding the lens just a little bit backwards or a little bit forward until I achieve the perfect center balance.
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https://imagelight.com/lightroom-brushes Now this can be a bit of a sketchy part because you never want to let your hands off of the camera and lens while you're centering this. But as long as you never let go before you lock it down, you should be good. But as long as you never let it go before you lock it down, you should be fine. Once centered, I locked down the lens foot onto the head and now it's in the exact spot I want for shooting. Now I can point the lens in any direction. Now I can point the lens in any direction. And since it's centered and balanced, the lens always stays in place without needing to tighten the knobs. It's pretty slick. Commercial.
Thanks again for listening to the nature photography podcast. If you'd like to see images or learn more about photography and the software I use to process my raw images, check out my YouTube channel. You can find it by typing in a T that little at signal at. Thanks again for listening to the nature photography podcast. If you'd like to see images and learn more about photography and the software that I use to process my raw images, check out my YouTube channel. It's found at at TV five, ten So that's that little at symbol plus the letters T, V, then 510, at TV510. You can use, at TV510, you can use the same call sign to find me on Instagram, Twitter, and all the other social media locations. Now, if you have questions and want to contact me directly, try using my email address, terry at imagelight.com. That's T-E-R-R-Y at I-M-A-G-E-L-I-G-H-T dot com. I'll answer your note and put you on my mailing list to let you know when I have new podcasts released and videos to watch on YouTube. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider purchasing some of the digital products I offer like my popular ebook, razor sharp nature photography. It's packed with information on getting sharper images with both your wildlife images and your landscape images. It's sold exclusively on my website, www.imagelite.com. Just look under the digital products, you can find it there. Now, as always, product, as always, podcast reviews on the platform you're listening to this on like Spotify or Apple is great. A good review will often bring more attention to this podcast when people are looking for something to listen to. Lastly, just sharing this podcast with other photographers or nature lovers will lead to more listeners as well. Whatever way you choose to support the podcast, I do appreciate it.
If I find myself out in Yellowstone or say Grand Teton National Park and have my long lens out, and especially if it's on a tripod, this is a traffic jam creator. I could just be looking at the mountains or I could just be looking at the mountains and other park visitors will see the lens out and the cars will come screeching to a halt. No one wants to miss anything. Well, this is a technique for finding wildlife in those popular parks. So as you drive, you just look for traffic tie ups and a lot of times somebody has stopped for an elk or a bison or moose or even bears. Last fall. Last fall when I was up at Grand Teton, we had a wonderful time capturing images of just about everything.
One iconic wildlife subject we were missing, though, was grizzly bears. On one of the last days in the park, we headed out in our van, myself and five other wildlife enthusiasts, and I announced that today we would be number one. And what I meant by that is I wanted to be first on the scene, the first car to see something that a traffic jam would then start afterwards. This was just kind of a small social experiment I wanted to undertake to see how long it would take from when we initially saw some wildlife to the point of where the roads were impassable. We left our cabin about 3.30 p.m. to drive up north to the north end of the park. We'd heard rumors all week that bear 6'10 had had some cubs and was sighted north of Oxbow Bend in a place called Pilgrim Creek. 6'10 is a special bear in that she's a descendant of the famous 390... 610 is a special bear in that she was a descendant of the famous 399 grizzly bear. Now we were able to photograph 399 a few years ago when she had four cubs that she was managing. So that was a great thrill. Now, we hadn't seen any grizzly bears on this trip up to this point. The only thing to do was to be diligent about driving around or staying in one spot for the evening hours to see if we could get a glimpse of a mama bear and her cubs. Late in the day, we thought we'd do one more pass through the area before we headed back to the cabin for the evening. Sure enough, as we crossed over Pilgrim Creek Bridge, we noticed some movement a few hundred yards down the stream. We pulled over, grabbed binoculars, and started scanning the area. Just then, the mama bear and her cubs made her way into a clearing. We were the first ones on the scene. We were number one.
The bears were digging for roots in the stream bed and I quickly got my camera and lens mounted on the tripod and the legs extended. No one saw us yet. I found a suitable spot and spread the legs out and started shooting. I might as well put up a neon sign that said we found something. Cars started pulling over. Some people were respective. Some people were respectively quiet and others were making noise like they were going to a bears football game rather than to watch bears in the wild. We were near the bridge on Pilgrim Creek. After about five minutes, the wildlife management team was on scene directing people to not stand on the bridge. We knew this because we were We knew that in advance, so we were in the best spot. So droves of people started moving off the bridge. The traffic was a complete standstill for about eight minutes, and then after ten Then after ten minutes, no one's allowed near the area to see the bears. Shortly after, the bears moved on and the show was over. It reminded me of a time when a friend and I, another fellow photographer, were up in Yellowstone and we came across a dead bison out in the meadow. When we arrived, there was about six or seven other photographers watching the scene. Hoping that a predator might come to help themselves out to a meal.
We quietly set up our gear and joined them. We spent about seven or, we spent about seven hours at that site. Before we left, there were hundreds of people lined up on the roadside. People with their motorhomes, jeeps, all hoping to see a top-line predator come visit that bison. People were having picnic lunches, playing music, even some kids playing catch out in that same meadow. Needless to say, nothing came by that day except a curious coyote who trotted off with. Needless to say, nothing came by that day except a curious coyote who trotted off pretty quickly when he noticed all the spectators. So having a long lens is usually a great tool to have for photographing wildlife at a safe distance, but it still is very attractive to some people. I was just out the other evening and photographing a great blue heron across a small area of a regional lake not far from my home. I was blocked from getting any closer because of a small fence that was erected to keep people from trampling the vegetation around the edge of the lake. I was pretty content to watch with my binoculars and my 600 lens fixed on a tripod watching the bird. If he was going to hunt, feed, or take off, I was ready. Now, this is a fairly popular park, so people are coming and going all day long. While I was out... While I was out of the way, many people strolled behind me to get a look at what my camera was trained on. At one point, a woman came up to me and pulled out her cell phone. Now keep in mind, we are about sixty yards from the heron and about fifty feet of fence line that one could walk up to and see what was out there. But this woman came up and held her phone just inches from the front of my lens to get the exact same angle I was getting for her photograph.
I didn't say anything. She just looked, took a few shots. Jesus took a few shots with her phone and turned to me and said, you'd be surprised at how good my pictures come out on this phone. I gave a half-hearted smile and went back to looking through my lens. I was like I was supposed to... I gave a half-hearted smile and went back to looking through my lens like I was supposed to believe that her, her phone would get as good a picture as my $20,000 worth of glass that I was working with. And frankly, I didn't care. I thought it was weird that she wanted so desperately to get the exact same angle I had to come right up next to me and hover iPhone right over my lens. But these are some of the things that you get when you're out shooting wildlife, right? You'll get people that will, uh, if you're setting up a landscape, I've done this many times.
I've set up a landscape shot and then somebody is going to see that and say, oh, wow, I want that landscape shop. And what do they do? They walk out in front of my shot to get their angle. I just think that's so weird that somebody would, would have the, I don't know, audacity to set up their tripod in front of yours, knowing that now they're in your shot. And you know, with today's ability in Photoshop and Lightroom to remove things, I've kind of taken a lesser angle on that thing. I don't. I don't tell them, Hey, look, I was here first move while I'd like to, I don't. And I just think it's weird. I have had people, I've seen people out there that will, that will tell people, Hey, you're in my shot. And you know, I might, I might still do that to some sense sense, but yeah, Uh, just people not thinking selfishly going out and wanting to get the shot. And especially if they see somebody who's looks like they have pro gear. They think, wow, they must have the idea. They must have the shot. They must have the angle. They must have the best scene set up. So I want that. So rather than learning the process of photography and rather than learning What are the things that make up a good composition? They just go copy somebody. Same with long lenses. When you pull out a long lens and you're photographing wildlife, people just want to see what it is you're looking at. So they just crowd in and really they'll crowd in right next to you sometimes. To try to get a, uh, the same shot you're getting with their, with their iPhone. And it's, I find it weird, but I guess people do whatever they do. I still love going to the national parks because there's so many opportunities for photography and photography. Again, that's why I'm going up to Yosemite this next week or when you're listening to this. All right. Until next time, this is Terry Vanderheiden with the Nature Photography Podcast. I appreciate you listening and we'll see you next time.