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Is it Ok to feed wildlife with photographers ( Bears photography )

I like the bridge photo. I photograph birds near a bird feeder at home but I don't feed them in other places. Feeding raptors for photography is a big no-no from what I understand. Some photographers toss dead mice out for owls which is bad. I don't think a little birdseed is a problem. Love the woodpecker! I use electronic shutter for perched birds. We call nuthatches "upside-down birds" LOL. Try to find a place where you can shoot from your car. A car is an excellent blind or hide and the birds will stay around longer, plus you can stay warmer (or cooler) in the car. :) Great video, Micael!

Some things to think about when photographing birds is to think of what might scare them. Loud noises or quick movements. Some birds (more domestic ones i guess) may stay put if you walk casually by them but not too close, but then they might fly away as soon as you stop walking, (I guess they instictively thinks it's a predetor getting ready to pounce.) And it's always better to let the birds come to you (or close to you) than the other way around. Just stay put behind a rock or a tree rather than chasing them through the forrest.

Electronic shutter mode is a great idea, especially on a camera like the a7IV which has very little rolling shutter effect

I don't and would never bring food as a lure for getting "better" photos when out in the wild. (My back yard we have bird feeders, though. I try for our enclosed yard to be a way station for migrating birds so they have a safe place to feed and drink and rest before resuming their journey, which is already very difficult for them.) The golden rule is do no harm, and to every extent possible don't interfere with their daily lives out in the wild. You want candid shots for the best storytelling, anyway. Also, I use electronic shutter mode fairly frequently. If there is motion during the exposure, you won't get a good photo (due to rolling shutter), but certainly there are times when it is a great boon to be silent, and if there's enough light for a fast shutter speed to freeze any motion you're good.

Nothing wrong with putting up a bird feeder or even a water feature for small song birds. Use of a small blind helps as well. I can do this in my own backyard.

I use an a6400 and a tamron 150-500. I’m here because I wanted to see if the images would be a lot better if I upgraded to the Sony a7iv and Sony 200-600. And have definitely come to the conclusion that I’m unable to tell the difference. Thanks for the great video.

A lovely day out. A few seeds nuts isn't cheating IMO. Field craft is so important. Keep learning

What camera settings do you use? Also do you shoot compressed raw or uncompressed? Also get a rolan pro camo sleeve for that lens! And a Half cage some small rig for your a7iv so nice and useful!

Hi Micael, enjoying your journey with your new lens and wildlife photography - keep it up. A couple of points from your video: If you are considering a cover for your lens, look at the Rolanpro - not cheap but very well made and worth the money in my opinion. I have the same camera/lens as you and mostly photograph birds. I use silent shutter but the A7iv suffers from rolling shutter if trying to take birds in flight when in silent mode. So ok for stationary birds but best to stick to manual shutter for BIF. I also have a 1.4x converter but you need to consider that at 600mm (I.e. 840mm with TC) your smallest aperture is F9 + you may need a tripod to get good shots + they tend to be a bit softer anyway.

I have the same setup as you do and I use the electronic shutter most of the time. However, the readout speed on the a7iv is not the quickest so there is a bit of rolling shutter, especially noticeable when I'm panning the camera for birds in flight. It might be best to set up one of the custom modes to use the mechanical shutter and increase your shutter speed so you can get to the right settings quickly when the bird takes off!

I've been meaning to watch this video all week and only now finally getting around to it! About electronic shutter, I do that to enable the "pre-shot" feature on my camera in burst mode. The drawback of electronic shutter, however, is that you will get rolling shutter. That doesn't always show up, and it's not always very noticeable in photos, but when either you are panning the camera or a bird is flapping its wings fast, it can result in slanted trees or weird artefacts as wings move. And to get rid of that you need to upgrade to something like a Sony A1 with its stacked sensor.

no harm, no problem and the birds in particular would probably thank you for some easy food .best of luck to you.

The 1.4tc works well with that lens. I use the 200-600 on a monopod with the Wimberly Monogimbal. It makes for a very stable shooting platform and you can carry your rig on your shoulder!!!

I don't know about other cameras, but the Olympus I use have an anti-shock setting, where there is no first curtain so an electronic start but mechanical end of the shot. Using a 0 s delay (i.e. none!) Will avoid rolling shutter effects. It is really good for handheld long tele shots (I use the 300 mm + 1.4x TC).

Verkligen snygg siluettbild från bron!

Well done I told you it would get better 👏

Oh, also: Electronic shutters have issues with "rolling shutter" effect. So, the faster the photographed objects are the more likely it is to introduce unwanted warping effects.

I have the same setup as you. Well i only own the camera and stole the lens from my brother. I recently sold my Lumix G9 and got the Sony. Today was the first day i went out in the early morning and got a few photos. I still miss my good old G9 with the Panaleica 100-400. This was just so much easier to use. The Sony is still weird for me. But decisions were made and now I have to train with this Camera. Your video may help me a little bit. Thank you.

I went for the 100-400 GM because, although shorter, has a very small minimum focus, which makes it excellent for larger insects and fungi on trees.

I'm myself be highly against feeding as you interfere with their biological cycle , sure their easier to photograph, but you on the same time would cheat yourself out of the hunt and the appreciation you have when you actually caught wildlife without interfering their space. And this question is highly ethical and philosophical in a way, and a minefield as well so i hope i made at least an attempt on a good explanation for my standpoint on it.

@poisoncobra7

Жыл бұрын

i agree, it teaches wildlife to be more dependent on humans for survival and disrupts the natural cycle. For me respecting wildlife is leaving it be, staying at a distance, not feeding and not intervening with their natural behavior, if an animal is wounded or sick it's best to call professionals and let them evaluate because laymen simply can't judge what's best for the animal.

@brodylockwood14

Жыл бұрын

What if it's something they naturally eat anyway such as grubs or worms? Don't see the harm in placing a worm down somewhere and letting the bird find it. I suppose you're against fishing too?

@poisoncobra7

Жыл бұрын

@@brodylockwood14 feeding is feeding, the bird can find food on it's own. i'm against exploitation of wildlife and i think we as a species have already done enough harm to the biosphere so for me respecting wildlife is leaving them alone and observing at a distance. I'm not saying i'm morally correct, hunting and fishing is just not for me but for some it's how they survive so i understand that.

@andrewlamberson539

Жыл бұрын

There are dozens of studies that show feeding birds in the backyard does not have a negative effect.

@Videonauth

Жыл бұрын

@@andrewlamberson539 Still, i grown up with hunting and fishing, and i not despise them as long its not sports fishing. The thing is I photograph myself and i found myself far more proud of the shots taken without taking measures to ensure a safe shot, and feeding birds where is no snow is counterproductive, you can read up on that. I for myself find it still not a good thing to do. Like stated above its my opinion and I stand by it and I know there's both sides with valid and invalid points and its often ending up in a heated discussion, that wasn't my goal here to start one, just voicing my own opinion on the matter. :)

I've rarely found clothes being an issue (as long as they aren't from the 80's ;) ), but yeah ... white lenses scare the living daylight out of mostly any wildlife in my experience. Mechanical or elerctronical shutter? Mechanical, but mostly for the feedback. The Canon R5 I use is fairly quiet even on mechanical, so not an issue really, but never experienced any issues with my old 5DmkIV, and biy, it was loud in comparison. The optimal would be an electronic shutter with a artifical shuttersound, so hopefully Canon will implement that in a future firmware (yeah, I don't believe in that myself :p). Baiting is okay, and pretty commonplace, so if you feel okay with it, do it. Don't bother with extenders unless you use a big prime or have a low-res full-frame sensor. You most likely won't see any gain in what you can resolv detail-wise. Get closer or crop. :)

Using "setups" such as bird seed, perches over water, etc, is fair game IMO. That is so long as it's done responsibly, don't let your subject become dependent on the food/water you provide as a primary source and generally it's appreciated when the photographer discloses that a setup was used and what type. Check out Duade Paton's channel, he did a great job discussing the use of setups and the ethics around it some time ago. Also, he's a fun bird photographer to watch 🕊️

Hello Micael, You are doing great, keep learning. Frist of all, consider to get some camo patterns clothes, this helps in blend the human figure with the enviroment, this way you can be less disturbing for the wildlife and if you stay quiet and calm in the same place, the animals will forget about your presence faster. Second, I use the Sony A9 + Sony G 200-600mm and I always shot with the e. shutter, maybe with the Sony A7IV you will have a bit of rolling shutter when the bird fly away but... I think that this only will happen with fast moving birds and not in all photos Third, I think there is no problem in putting some seeds and fruits to attract birds to photograph, and some water too, I use an abandoned field of my family to do this with great results, maybe you had to have some considerations, for example, you need to know what kind of seeds the birds like/need, avoid to overfeed and most important, avoid to feed very often, if you feed constantly the birds (specially young birds) will lose the ability to find food by themselves. Good luck for the nexts photowalks

Have you Looked into making a ground pod? I need to make one myself, it seems like the perfect gear, but seem very over priced and easy to DIY.

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

I might do it. But currently I feel that there is a big problem with these, and that is that you cannot adjust the height. Then I think I rather use my current solution with a big gorilla pod.

@guybob548

Жыл бұрын

@@MicaelWidell I have the same pod for on the go shooting. The only part I don't care for is when quick adjusting it for a quick birdshot I find my self bending the legs more to get steady quickly instead of spreading them, esp on wet or unstable ground like sand, mud or forest. But the Gorilla pod does make for an easy branch or tree mount I find too.

Feeding seeds generally leads to photos of feeder birds. Okay for a beginner, but might as well sit near a neighbor’s feeder for your photos. A real attractant is sound. Birds react to that even more than spreading a few seeds. During breeding season, it’s NOT a good idea. Other times, it might be the only way to get near some species. Some say it wastes their precious energy responding to calls. I doubt that very much, and I’ve never seen a bird drop dead at the sound of its own species.

I've been taking bird photography for about 6-weeks now. My favorite spot is a nearby park that has a giant canal that runs on the edge of it. We're in the Fall migration and several varieties of birds have followed the canal including ibis, egrets, curlew and many smaller birds that may be local but I have no idea what their names are. I don't think most of the migrating birds are used to people, yet I've been able to get 10 or so meters from them. Somewhat unrelated, I have a question, have you done a video on how you organize you photos in your computer?

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

I don’t have a video about that specifically. Basically I keep them all in one bit Lightroom classic library. I cull heavily so I never have more than like 5-10 photos per session. So pretty easy to find by approximate date.

I have the same combo since yester but have so many out of focus shots even at 1/3200 of 1/5000. I've done some tripod tests with oss off and self timer and even then most are out of focus. There are alot of poeple with the same issue if you look it up. Have you had any problems?

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

Never had any issues with the autofocus. Maybe try different AF modes. Make sure to configure eye autofocus as well.

@sdproduxions1849

Жыл бұрын

@@MicaelWidell i use bird eye af with birds

Birding and wildlife photography will become more successful if your lenses are camouflaged as opposed to the white that Sony and Canon use. Dark clothing with out shiny objects hanging from them is also beneficial. Otherwise simply keep at it and learn their movements and habits. Wish you the most success in this field of photography .

If you feed animals, make sure that the food is good for them. For instance, no salt in sunflower seeds. Peanuts are not the best food, and should be in the shell, roasted but unsalted and it is good to add other things so the mix is more healthy. Also check local laws. I have an apple tree, a pear tree, and a walnut tree in my back yard. Squirrels and racoons like those things. Possum too. I put out hummingbird feeders in my back yard. That is a responsibility because the birds will get used to that food source. You have to check the feeders and make sure they are clean and free of ants. About noisy camera gear. Some birds are really sensitive and will even hear the lens stabilizer running. Others won't care as much.

100% recommend the 1.4 teleconvertor , also check this guy out for tips on specific bird species . Mike Lane FRPS really down to earth guy .

Absolut kan man mata fåglarna! Kolla Morten Hilmers senaste video, han är otroligt inspirerande och den videon är lång men ändå kul/spännande att kolla på!

Nice shots! I enjoy shooting in the morning as well with the sunrise. I don't see any issues in feeding animals to get better photos! You are helping them out so you deserve some compensation 😉

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

Haha true :)

It is generally not appropriate to feed birds in the wild although sprinkling some bird seed isn't too bad. Feeding wild birds can put them in harm's way. It can also get them accustomed to being fed by humans. Keep in mind, wildlife photography isn't easy. Please consider this when you photograph wildlife.

Frugans cykel, igen?

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

Japp det är praktiskt taget min cykel nu :)

Just FYI, the bird at 6:08 is a Eurasian Blue Tit (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_blue_tit), another good one to learn. (It can be addictive, if not careful you may become a birder :).

I don't like feeding wildlife. It cheapens the experience for me. I like the tracking down part and having the risk of not getting what I want. But I am also not earning any money from it so I can get away with that.

I think its fine to feed birds. I leave bird feeders out in winter to help feed them, so no harm grabbing some shots while they feed 😊 I would be wary of feeding larger animals like foxes or deer, especially if they see you leaving the food etc. Again, not against it per sè, but it's not always a good idea to get them used to humans, especially here in Ireland people still hunt and kill foxes for fun (illegal as it is).

Hmm, the question of feeding is hard to answer in my opinion. I don't think it is cheating necessarily. A lot of photographers do that. But the other side is ethics. I live in Vancouver, very close to Stanley Park which is perfect for "low effort wildlife photography". There are a lot of animals around and they are mostly used to seeing people. But we started to get problems with too many people feeding animals too much stuff. Animals started to get aggressive, loose their fear for humans, some, like Coyotes, started attacking people. In other parks, further out, birds died during corona because there were less people feeding them and they started relying on that food. So, now there are huge signs everywhere with feeding warnings and fine threads if not obeyed. In other words: there are quite a few things to consider. In the end it probably just depends

I enjoy shooting pictures of birds at my backyard feeders or at parks that have feeders. I would not feed birds in other locations. Baiting raptors is illegal where I live. There are plenty of State Parks and Federal Wildlife Areas near me to shoot images of birds eating their natural foods.

No, I never bring food into the wild habitats. Just have more patience and also explore other areas. I personally always use silent shooting when engaging wildlife. Good luck Micael!

The object of the exercise is to take great photographs, and if feeding the birds provides those opportunities then that is what you should do. Believe me, the photography police who would have you wasting time sitting about and hoping that a chance opportunity might turn up do not take many great photographs. You have to work at it to create those chances.

As long as it's a special food for birds, and not a bread or other people's food then it's fine. Just please don't feed birds with a bread, as it causes a very painful and slow death, simply because they can't digest it

@MicaelWidell

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I will try buying some seed mix suitable for birds

I think silent photography is better with slow shutter speeds and not high shutter speeds

my anser is no !

The decision is yours about feeding wildlife, here's my opinion. Songbirds are probably OK especially in winter. They should only be fed food that they normally eat, don't feed them bread or other human food. I feel strongly that it is unethical to bait raptors, like other animals they will become habituated to humans and it never ends well. Other animals should not be fed, it upsets the natural balance and is almost always bad for their metabolism. Like raptors we do not want them to become habituated to humans, they should have a healthy fear or us. As an amateur( and not very good) nature photographer I prefer to see and take photos of animals in their natural environment unaffected by humans. I think a great disservice is done to animals when they are baited only to get a phot and "likes" from viewers. Take the time and effort to become a better naturalist and viewer of wildlife, it's more rewarding and you get better more natural pictures. instagram.com/cwetfeet/