Use a Bean Bag to Photograph Wildlife From a Vehicle

Sometimes it's the most basic accessories that can prove to be the most relied upon in the field, or in this case, the car.

There are a number of advantages to photographing wildlife from a vehicle. For one, it's the safest way to be in the vicinity of large predators. But also, and it at first seems counterintuitive, is that animals are generally less skiddish around your big vehicle than they are just your small human self standing around. To animals, vehicles are predictable and if they've been near roads before, have watched them countless times move in the same pattern without too much to worry about. Humans on the other hand are weird looking, have haunting eyes that stare, and walk and move around in unpredictable ways.

In this video from EXPOSED With John E. Marriott, take a look at the best way to photograph wildlife from your vehicle by using a bean bag set up on the window. Marriott shares a few smart tips on the basics to get you started with this, and soon you'll have the best portable blind ready for action.

While a bean bag has its advantages, the dirt cheap route to get started is to pick up some foam pipe insulation that can be found in plumbing departments anywhere and slide it on the window where it's pre-slit for piping.

Ryan Mense's picture

Ryan Mense is a wildlife cameraperson specializing in birds. Alongside gear reviews and news, Ryan heads selection for the Fstoppers Photo of the Day.

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4 Comments

Great suggestion! Love low tech options. You are spot on about wildlife being more afraid of you then your car. Thanks for sharing this.

This looks like what Scott Wilson used when he started shooting wildlife from his car while recovering from Colon Cancer treatments and surgery. Check out his story and see his book here:
https://www.wilsonaxpe.com/books-prints

Excellent! I thought I had seen his story but didn't realize you covered it.