GEAR TALK: TRY-OUT OF A BLIND

TRAGOPAN Grouse V+ photo blind

The avid reader of my blog may remember that I mention quite often the use of my ”mobile blind”, and that’s of course my car. But that big ”photography tool” is not available while walking into the deeper parts of a habitat. I guess I know about the limitations a blind can have, mainly a limited view to the surrounding activities of wildlife. But after debating the acquisition of a blind with myself for several years, I finally bought the”Grouse V+” blind, made by TRAGOPAN, a camouflaged pop-up tent designed for wildlife photography.

Today was my first real test (after unfolding it once on the carpet of our living room) and it took place just in our ”front yard studio”. It took about a minute to unfold the pop-up tent and another one to prepare it to stand in the wind. Below you see a couple pictures that I would have not been able to create from the viewpoint of our house. Within a few minutes of trying it, I was able to make some photos that seem to justify the purchase. So what is it really about? As often mentioned, I’m still an advocate for ”getting it right in camera”, long before a digital file will be uploaded to the hard drive of the computer. With other words, I try to prevent excessive cropping, just because I was too far away from the animal. So the blind will hopefully help me to get much closer to the critters and birds and who knows, maybe lead to some shots otherwise impossible to make.

This female Red-bellied Woodpecker may not even come close, if I would just stand next to this tree trunk with the camera on a tripod and out in the open. It took the birds only a few minutes to accept the blind.

This pair of Mourning Doves walked right up to me and foraged between the seed droppings from our bird feeders. They are not totally shy but always keep a healthy distance to us humans. To be fair, the doves didn’t pay too much attention to me anyway, they were already playing their ”mating games”… The low sitting sun made for some great light yesterday evening and was perfect for trying out the new blind.

A big window in the door on the backside allows for shooting with a wider opening. Folding the tent to a circle that fits in the 20”x20” backpack sack takes a little practice but can be done in less than two minutes.

NATURE CLICKS #501 - WESTERN MEADOWLARK

Western Meadowlark, Sage Creek Valley, Badlands NP, South Dakota

There is a bird you may always see while visiting Badlands National Park, the Western Meadowlark. Making a successful click and telling the story of this beautiful bird is another story. I found them many times just beside the gravel road but quite often they camouflage very well in the grass and we can see them only after they take off. Today’s photo was made during a hiking trip along Sage Creek. As so often, I heard the meadowlark before the bird came into sight. A perfect blurred background was due to the bird’s location at the edge of the steep banks of Sage Creek. The Eastern Meadowlark, that we can find here in Eastern Iowa, looks very similar. The best way to distinguish between both species is looking at their malars. The Western Meadowlark’s malars have yellow in it while the eastern’s is mostly white. 

Preferring the environmental photo over the “eyeball shot” you can imagine I was very happy with this picture. Moments I consider the “great ones” in life…

NATURE CLICKS #445 - WILSON’S SNIPE

The summer range for the Wilson’s Snipe stretches from southern Minnesota all the way to northern Canada and east-west from the Atlantic Ocean to Alaska. Here in Iowa we are migrating territory for this small shore bird.

They are not easy to spot because they blend in perfectly between the muddy shore, old and new grass, and all the leaf litter we can find at this time of the year. Today I found at least three snipes along the wide water-filled trenches that border the gravel road cutting through the Green Island Wetlands.If you are able to see one you may have a fair chance for a picture. They normally don’t fly away quickly but rather use the camouflage of their feathers and hide by not moving. It still remained a challenge with the sun behind the birds and plenty of grass between the road and the edge of the water down in the water canal.

I have photographed the Wilson’s Snipe before and had a clear idea what story I wanted to tell with my photo. First the long bill had to be in the frame. They probe with it in the mud and frequently immerse the entire beak and forehead up to the eyes in the water. Their long bill is such a great distinction. I also wanted some vegetation in the picture because they always try to have cover around them. I thought that would tell the story about their hiding habits.

MASTER OF CAMOUFLAGE

Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)

As its latin name implies, the Gray Tree Frog is able to change colors from gray to green, depending on the substrate where they sit. This little guy announced his presence with loud calls from our flower bed in the front yard. We hear several tree frogs in our woods since a few weeks and sometimes they choose the house plants we have outside as their residence during the summer. This one is a male because the females don’t call.

FROM GREEN TO GRAY

Nikon D300s, Sigma 150mm / f2.8 APO EX DG HSM

The Gray Treefrogs are able to camouflage themselves from gray to green or vice versa, depending on the substrate they are sitting. This one was about to change quickly its color  after I found it under the tarp that covers our kayaks. Making the picture with the frog hanging on the orange or blue plastic boats, well, this is not what I really like. Putting the frog onto a tree stump gives it a much more natural setting. Being fast is key because these frogs are nocturnal and like to hide again. The photo doesn’t necessarily tell much about its size. I was pretty close with the Sigma 150 mm, f/2.8 macro lens and with a 1:1 magnification ratio you can easily fill the frame with this probably about 35-40 mm long critter.