Camouflage

[Rookie47]

I would interested to know whether any of you carry any form of camouflage with you on a photo trip.Hides etc

[Brocker]

Hi Rookie47,
Welcome to the site. I have a lot of camo bits and bobs, depending on what I am photographing. Clothing is probably one of the most important pieces of kit. I have two sets of camo clothing. One is a Real Tree waterproof light weight and breathable jacket and trouser set. This is for use when the weather is a little warmer and I also have a waterproof and quilted Realtree jacket and trousers with a hood for use when the weather is very poor. I have a face net to shield the outline of my face and head. I have good gloves and comfortable waterproof boots. I also have camo covers for my camera and lenses and also camo tape to cover my tripod if necessary. Like I say it is unusual to use it all at the same time but have found it is absolutely invaluable if you want to get up close to animals and birds...

[JeffH]

I've been using a dome hide from Kevin Keatley of Wildlife Watching Supplies (check out their website) for most of my bird photography over the last 8 months or so, even in my own garden where the hide's been a permanent feature right at the side of one of my ponds for the last 3 weeks

It's been great and has allowed me to get shots of Kingfishers from as little as 2 metres away and Barn Owls from about 6 metres.

Provided you know where your subject regularly roosts/perches and you have the patience to sit and wait for the birds to come to you, it really is the best way to get good results in relative comfort and warmth and you can even enjoy some breakfast/coffee whilst you're waiting and without the risk of disturbing your subject.

Incidentally, I've tried covering myself in camo netting and lying in wait but a hide is so much more comfortable albeit rather less mobile.

Jeff

[mh68]

I tend to wear camo when i`m out, havent used a portable hide as yet but was thinking of getting a camo version of the ones below....

gelert Quick Pitch SS

Has anyone used one?

One thing I have found is that your face/head and hands are the most obvious to wildlife, so wearing some form of hat (and face net if necessary) and gloves helps a great deal with wary species.

Mark H

[PMG]

Originally Posted by mh68

I tend to wear camo when i`m out, havent used a portable hide as yet but was thinking of getting a camo version of the ones below....

gelert Quick Pitch SS

Has anyone used one?

One thing I have found is that your face/head and hands are the most obvious to wildlife, so wearing some form of hat (and face net if necessary) and gloves helps a great deal with wary species.

Mark H

Could be good from the head height perspective - but you would need to cut it on all four sides to poke the camera thro and make mesh and fabric covers and poss sleeves for the lens....... You may not want to cut it up?

How thick is the material? Even Kevin's dome hides are not thick enough to prevent your shape and even your tiniest movement showing in sunlight. I've actually had to throw a normal car (plaid!) blanket over my dome hide of sunny days to stop bird seeing my shadow and that rather undoes the idea of camou!!

My camou dome is very quick to put up but the lack of height (I need to sit on a folding chair cos of the damage done to my hips in a road accident back in the 90's - I can't sit for long on anything but a proper chair) otherwise the little folding efforts with four or three legs might be ok for fit folk with no residual damage to their hips or spine. The trouble is the folding chairs are quite tall and you end up doubled up with your neck at an impossible angle for many many hours esp if like me you keep your eye to the eypeice - the new 40D with its live shooting mode would be useful here poss!

On balence I wouldn't be without my camou hide and I ought to use it more often but since I got the 100-400 lens have tended to stalk rather than sit and wait..........

A question from me tho - I could do with a new winter weight coat and would like to buy the Advantage Jacket but haven't come up with anywhere local where I could go and try one on - I don't want to guess at sizes and send over the web for clothing. Anyone know of any suppliers in the Manchester area?

Pauline

[mh68]

Some good points there Pauline, but at that price I wouldnt have any qualms about cutting a few holes in it
Re advantage clothing - plenty of angling shops around you that will sell it,especially those that cater for carp anglers.Ted Carters of Preston is a big shop with lots of stuff like that, and if its still there Trafford Angling Supplies in Manchester will be worth a look too

Mark H

[PMG]

Originally Posted by mh68

Some good points there Pauline, but at that price I wouldnt have any qualms about cutting a few holes in it
Re advantage clothing - plenty of angling shops around you that will sell it,especially those that cater for carp anglers.Ted Carters of Preston is a big shop with lots of stuff like that, and if its still there Trafford Angling Supplies in Manchester will be worth a look too

Mark H

Thanks for that Mark - I'd forgotten about TAS - used to know all about them when I worked at Orrell Water Park but it had gone right out of my mind! They sold it at Northwest angling at Hindley at one time but not now - I looked the other day.

I shall google both and see what they have - thanks Mark

Pauline

PS I'm laughing now cos I realise we;re chasing each other round these two threads - bet others are getting dizzy

[pressld2]

I have a piece of scrim netting in my camera bag that has come in very handy on several occassions. I just chuck it over my head and sit (or stand) still. It breaks up my outline and the birds approach quite close. People out walking their dogs tend not to see my either but the dogs always know I'm there!

I also have a camouflage pattern 2-man tent that I occasionally use as a dome hide. But it's like JeffH said, the lack of mobility means that it's only really useful when you know exactly where your quarry will be and you have some hours to spare waiting.

Dave P.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by PMG

Thanks for that Mark - I'd forgotten about TAS - used to know all about them when I worked at Orrell Water Park but it had gone right out of my mind! They sold it at Northwest angling at Hindley at one time but not now - I looked the other day.

I shall google both and see what they have - thanks Mark

Pauline

PS I'm laughing now cos I realise we;re chasing each other round these two threads - bet others are getting dizzy

Thanks Mark for reminding me about Ted Carters - I think they have the one I want its just a matter of nipping to Preston - ta muchly

Pauline

[ron1863]

I use a local forest for birdwatching and photography and use camouflage netting as a hide, which is cheap and does the job. There are lots of websites offerring ex army camo netting, tents, etc. Here is just one:

Camouflage netting woodland camo nets

[hammock monkey]

just some black netting on its own is good.
filling it with grasses, few leaves etc is nice and easy. once its empty it fits in the pocket and costs next to nothing, as well as matching in perfectly. takes a few more minutes to do, but not much.
to me, being able to go out regularly in clothes that i can go to the pub in on the walk etc is pretty important!

[Rob Chace]

Dont forget that camo clothing is especially good for keeping youself concealed from the general public! A big lens is like a magnet for all & sundry, who come over & want to know what your looking at. My usual polite reply is "nothing at the moment" when i really want to say "nothing since you scared off every living thing within 10 miles". (rant over!)
Camouflage clothing is useless though if you do not observe a few simple rules:
1.Keep still & if you have to move, move slowly.
2.Ensure you have a good backdrop & dont silouhette yourself against the skyline.
3.Keep hands & face covered. Nothing shows up more than a big white face or
hands.
4.Be quiet! The human voice can be heard a long way off by most animals & signifies
danger.
Follow these few simple rules & you will have greater success avoiding being seen by wildlife & the public.

[ron1863]

I understand completely. I now set up my hide well away from tracks and trails as there's nothing worse than sitting still for ages, then seeing something interesting only to have someone suddenly ask if you have taken any successful shots. Not only do they scare the wildlife away, they nearly give me a heart attack.

[paulthomas]

Like Jeff I'm a fan of dome hides. I've got a mini-dome hide in Advantage and a standard and a large both in DPM. The large one I bought for photographing the birds coming to my garden feeder (it gives me the higher camera position which I need for that). I use the mini-dome mainly for waders and waterfowl as it gives me a nice low angle. The standard one is good for general use. I also use a bag hide sometimes. The exact cammo pattern doesn't seem to matter.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by Rob Chace

Dont forget that camo clothing is especially good for keeping youself concealed from the general public! A big lens is like a magnet for all & sundry, who come over & want to know what your looking at. My usual polite reply is "nothing at the moment" when i really want to say "nothing since you scared off every living thing within 10 miles". (rant over!)

I've got round the problem of disturbance from curious members of the public whilst shooting from my hide by pinning two A4 laminated signs (in large yellow print on a camo background) on either side of my hide saying "Please do not disturb - wildlife photographer at work". Since doing this some months ago I've had a number of people approach my hide but then turn and walk away on seeing the sign

Like paulthomas I also have (and use occasionally) a bag hide but I find it very difficult to keep still long enough to get good results with it, though it's handy to carry around and can be set up very quickly in the event of stumbling across something worth staking out for a little while.

Jeff

[hammock monkey]

jut sitting still - even if you you arent particularly camo'd (perhaps just in dull colours without too much day glo trim) is amazingly effective - but not so much for photographers i guess.
I've found that when you arrive somewhere there are layers of time when the wildlife appears.
instantly: blackbirds, robins etc
few mins: flock of tits investigate you
15mins:squirrels pretty close
30mins: shrews at dusk , most woodland common birds by now
hr: possibly deer, Badger at dusk
overnight: late at night owls etc come to have a look

i genuinely believe that once they see that you arent behaving like a predator they accept you and are often fairly interested.

in my experience the trick is just being able to sit still or move very little. sat with your back to a tree, wrapped up well, waiting
its about surprises to me, not much use if youre going out for a specific photo, but a great way to spend an afternoon into evening.

having clothes that dont smell of perfumes etc is also useful, poachers were known to keep their 'lucky' jacket out in the shed away from too many human smells.

[paulthomas]

Originally Posted by JeffH

Like paulthomas I also have (and use occasionally) a bag hide but I find it very difficult to keep still long enough to get good results with it, though it's handy to carry around and can be set up very quickly in the event of stumbling across something worth staking out for a little while.

I too found the WWS bag hide unsatisfactory as you either have to sit with your face right next to the camera (very uncomfortable) or have to do a lot moving, ducking and diving to locate the camera body under all that cloth. My solution has been to cut a big hole about 2 foot from the front and big enough to get the camera body through so now I can sit in a more relaxed posture and easily move my eye to the viewfinder when needed. It seems to work quite well. I almost had a Snipe land on me a couple of months ago

[mh68]

Originally Posted by paulthomas

I too found the WWS bag hide unsatisfactory as you either have to sit with your face right next to the camera (very uncomfortable) or have to do a lot moving, ducking and diving to locate the camera body under all that cloth. My solution has been to cut a big hole about 2 foot from the front and big enough to get the camera body through so now I can sit in a more relaxed posture and easily move my eye to the viewfinder when needed. It seems to work quite well. I almost had a Snipe land on me a couple of months ago

Well a snipe almost landing on you is proof indeed these bag hides work...snipe are usually ultra-shy birds

Mark H

[Rookie47]

Thanks everyone for all your advise. It was interesting to know what you all prefer to use.
Thanks
Rob

[Chris_Johnstone]

This thread is really interesting in that quite a lot of people here use camouflage. Maybe I should get it on the Christmas list. Out of interest, those who use camo, would you describe yourselves as hobbyists or serious photographers? I'm trying to gauge a level.

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by Chris_Johnstone

Out of interest, those who use camo, would you describe yourselves as hobbyists or serious photographers? I'm trying to gauge a level.

I'm strictly amateur in that I've never sold any of my pictures (although I have submitted some to a stock photo site) so I guess I'm in the hobbyist camp. Having said that, I do take my hobby very seriously and invest a lot of time and effort (and money!) into trying to improve the standard of my images.

So I'm a serious hobbyist! Probably not helpful, sorry.

Dave P.

[ron1863]

Originally Posted by Chris_Johnstone

This thread is really interesting in that quite a lot of people here use camouflage. Maybe I should get it on the Christmas list. Out of interest, those who use camo, would you describe yourselves as hobbyists or serious photographers? I'm trying to gauge a level.

I'm just a serious amateur but I happen to live next to a forest where I can put up some camo net and feeders well away from the trails.
It's a really good way of ensuring you get a few good shots.

[Rookie47]

I have just checked out the tent mh68 mentioned the Gelert Quick Pitch looks a light and cheap option. Has anyone tried it out?

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by paulthomas

I too found the WWS bag hide unsatisfactory as you either have to sit with your face right next to the camera (very uncomfortable) or have to do a lot moving, ducking and diving to locate the camera body under all that cloth. My solution has been to cut a big hole about 2 foot from the front and big enough to get the camera body through so now I can sit in a more relaxed posture and easily move my eye to the viewfinder when needed. It seems to work quite well. I almost had a Snipe land on me a couple of months ago

Funnily enough I've adapted mine as well Paul, but just by scrunching (if there is such a word ) up all the excess material between the viewing hole and the lens hole and putting a cable tie around it. I think the original design must have been for a rather obese photographer as there seems to be acres of surplus cloth

Haven't had anything land on me yet though .

Turning to Chris Johnstone's question, Like Dave P I guess I'd consider myself a serious hobbyist. Having said that, I'm really more interested in the subject matter than the medium of photography and prefer to think of myself as a wildlife enthusiast with an interest in photography rather than a photographer with an interest in wildlife - if that makes sense?

Jeff