Wildlife photography, and especially bird photography, can quickly become an obsession. It takes an enormous amount of patience to nail a decent shot, so when it does happen, the endorphin rush can hook anyone.
In saying that, a photo alone isn't always capable of capturing the full behavioral qualities of your subjects, so photographer Jan Wegener has come up with a few tips to help other photographers get some decent video footage with their DSLR or mirrorless cameras.
German born and Australian based, bird photographer Jan Wegener has built an impressive portfolio of bird images, but he also recognizes the benefits of being able to capture great video content while out in the field. In this video — aimed at wildlife photographers — he gives some great tips on how to quickly transition back and forth between photographing and filming birds. As he points out at the start of the video, proper wildlife videographers need massive tripods and fluid heads in order to get smooth panning shots. But for bird and wildlife photographers, it's more often then not too much of a burden to carry all that gear around. This is only the first consideration photographers need to take on board, so have a look at the video to find out what strategies he uses to get around these limitations.
Why bother with video? Not only can video compliment a wildlife portfolio nicely, but on a more personal level, it's a great way to be productive and creative while also standing back and taking in the moment as it is happening. As is the same with any form of nature photography, it's always good practice to stand back from the camera at some stage and soak in the experience, even if it's just to remind ourselves why we are drawn to this form of the craft.
Excellent tips there, and some really nice footage. And, as an Australian, it's nice to see lots of birds I'm familiar with so clearly on film.