Just found your channel, all I have to say is WOW I’ve learned more in the last few videos than ever before I can’t wait to watch more. Awesome content!
I was against it when I started out but after a lot of underexposed birds warmed up to the idea. Other than all the points you mentioned in your video, one thing I have noticed is when you get the exposure right with the fill flash, the quality of light looks much better than the images where flash was not used. Amazing videos btw, love how much thought you put into each of your videos.
Ruth Holland that’s what I meant when I said confusion and misunderstandings about flash. If you use it right at low power and not all the time, I do t see a negative impact. A sunbeam piking through the leaves is much brighter than a full flash beam
Many thanks Jan, great info particularly the balance between background to subject and of course, the manual mode. Your comment on not seeing that a flash is used is truly the art of using flash in bird photography....many thanks and Happy Xmas and New Year
Thank you so much for a very informative video, Jan! What a difference the flash makes to the photos! Will definitely be trying this method as soon as I have organised a flash extender and bracket.
Thanks for showing us all great ways to start using flash for birding, really comprehensive and helps to understand how you achieve you absolutely beautiful images.
Thanks for the video Jan. I learned to be very careful with my better beamer. I almost burned a hole in one of my flashes when I held it in such a way that the sun shone towards the camera and magnified the fresnel lens so it was literally melting my flash.
Excuse my English, I`m a French Canadian. A big thank`s buddy! I use the flash, HSS but in TTL exp. comp. : -1 -3 now, I will use in manuel mode, I`m sure my photos will be better...thank`s again, and Merry Christma`s and Happy New-Year! to you😉
Very informative and helpful video, thanks for the instruction. For some reason I’ve never considered using flash in my backyard bird photography, which has limited my shooting to “perfect” lighting conditions and days. Looking forward to more photo opportunities and trying my speed light this winter.
I have not used fill-in flash, and do not have the equipment but after watching your video something I could ask my family for as a Christmas present! How are you and the birds? I do not know what part of Australia you live and work in but I do hope you are not troubled by the horrendous bush fires in NSW shown on UK television. How are you coping with the heat? When I visited Australia it was 41 deg.C in South Australia near the Barossa Valley.
David Roach hey David. I’m in Melbourne, no big fires here and usually it’s a lot colder that many other parts of the country. In saying that, it was 43 here today!
First of all, thanks for your video and the simple way to explain things, I am starting to use my flash and all the advice you give in this video will help me a lot, I do macro photography and all this information is serving me Thank you very much and happy holidays. With best wishes from Mexico !!
Thanks for that. Now got almost same setup but Nikon. You are the dude that has inspired me to try this . Think it will help me a good bit as not much light sometimes in the Highlands of Scotland. It appears the ones most agents flash are the ones that know least about it from what I have seen so far. Happy Christmas dude.
I have been using a Better Beamer with a modicum of success but I think your tips in this tutorial will be elevating my success rate and produce better exposures. Thanks for you clear and concise explanations and helpful example images.
Very nice video. In the past my flash bird photos looked too obviously 'flashed'. I need to try again. What cord do you use to attach the flash unit to the hot shoe? I use a canon 600 ex-rt.
Don Photo i am using the original canon cords, they have proven to last the longest. However, I put glue around the outside of the bottom of the flash mount to strengthen it
Hi Jan, great video, of course. In this video you strongly encourage manually adjusting the flash power for shooting. I also note that you do a lot of shooting on perches that you've set up or are planning to try and get birds to land on. I'm curious if you would take the same approach on a day when you might be out stalking birds. Most of the time, this is what I'm doing, and my subjects are rarely at a consistent distance from the camera. Not only that, but they're moving from one lighting situation to another. Keeping up with my exposure settings (I do shoot in Manual mode) can be quite a challenge in and of itself. Adding manual flash exposure settings seems like an impossibility to me in these circumstances. Do I just need more practice, or might you consider using TTL mode under these circumstances. Thanks for your insight!
Hey, with the flash I am mainly looking at the light situation, rather than changing it for each bird. Unless the light changes dramatically, I don't adjust the flash settings. So if it's overcast my flash settings probably stay the same all day. By using manual, I simply make sure that the output is the same on every flashed image. I hope that makes sense
Jan Wegener yes, I understand that, but won’t that give you varying results depending upon the proximity of the bird, or if the bird moves from out in the open into a shadow or mixed light. What I’m trying to say is that my experience is that the lighting situation DOES change, sometimes dramatically and within moments. One hop of the bird can take it from a mixed light to full shadow. Or from 8m distance to 5m. Or does the result of the fill flash tend to be more forgiving than that? Perhaps I’m overthinking this. Thanks Jan.
@@formermpc10 Wrong information sorry. Best you watch more of photographers such as Jan (One of Australia's best). Flash has no impact on wildlife. Contrary to popular belief.
This is one of the great video and great instruction on how to use the flash with wildlife photography. I have never done this during the day time before as I thought that it may harm or bother them. Have a good day.
Your results look great, and thanks for explaining how to use flash for bird photography! I hadn't ever thought it was even possible at such distances.
Awesome video! Learned a lot from you. I just started using off camera remote flash in my backyard bird photography. What a diff! I also use the better beamer too. Watch all your stuff and subbed you! Cheers!
Hi, thank you for all your if , very helpful. Although the flash bracket and extender. Could you post the link to the actual purchasing place. I wanna buy the right stuff. I bough a flash bracket and can't seem to even hook it to the tripod foot. And to get the correct extender? I hate to be so ignorant to this but I clearing couldn't one that works unless you put it on the base of the camera body. TIA or if you could put a video together on the assembly of your set up
HI, I am going through everything in this video and links in the bio. ua-cam.com/video/ch0SMtBW98s/v-deo.html And there's a list on my blog, too aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
I think flash photography can be a little intimidating. I have tried to use it but with limited success. I would love to develop my skills. Thanks Jan for this video. Your tips were invaluable. It would be great if you made a video about how to set up perches for the birds to sit on. Also how do you get them to sit on the perches? Is it with food, call back, or is it just patience.
Ruben Montero check out my blog post in the description. I simply cable tied the battery to the flash bracket arm. I use a Y connector to draw from both battery outlets and then the normal flash cable and the cable connecting battery and flash
Thanks for sharing yet another really informational video. You create really good pictures. Regarding the flash bracket can you recommend anyone in particular?
Excellent video Jan! Inspired me to pull out my flash setup and get back into experimenting with fill flash for birds. Really like the battery pack you're using as it looks like a nice upgrade over the external canon pack I have.
Very informative video, thank you. A couple things, how far away from you can the bird be and still have the flash be effective and what is the manufacturer of the flash bracket. Keep up the great videos
Thanks for the interesting vlog. I have tried flash for small bird action with limited success, but the flash extender looks like the right thing to use.
You are the best, Jan Wegener! And so are your images! I’ve never understood exactly how to use my flash with birds, but I think I can now! Thanks for all the easy to understand help. You are so blessed to have all of those gorgeous birds to photograph! BTW, where did you find Charlie? 😊 thank you!
Steve Martin thanks Steve. That would only work at very short distances, because the birds are a bit further away, we need to funnel the beam to the get the reach. At short distances or in darker areas it could work
Amazing video I think I will get me a better beamer, thanks that was what I needed :) All you Videos are so amazing jan. I like everything about them - especially the music! Wonderful work and great inspiration 🙂
Yes I like to use flash… stopped using it for awhile as I found the better Beamer was getting caught on bushes as I moved around..I like the idea you use of setting up an artificial perch..am looking forward to giving that a go
@@jan_wegener Haha...I live in Northern Ireland where gloom is pretty constant; not that glorious location you are shooting in. What type of bracket are you using to elevate your flash to such lofty heights above your lens Jan?
Happy New Year Jan, I’m from the UK your videos are very Interesting & very informative. Thank-you for sharing. Just two questions do you use spot metering? And where did you buy Charlie from?
Hey, Thanks! I always shoot manual, so the metering doesn't matter. Charlie, I got from the local flower shop down the road. Never seen him on the internet.
Very nice video Jan 👍 I have few questions.. 1) Which flash bracket you use ? 2) I don't use gimbal head. Is it possible to use flash bracket with tripod and Ball head ? Or gimbal head is must ? 3) I recently saw this image on 500px . There is no shadow can seen on kingfisher. Is it shot using flash ? Please explain if you have some time .. 🙏🙏
N G mine are wimberley aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/ There are options to attach the flash hacker to the lens plate of its long enough Which image? I can’t see it
Hi jan,very informative,I shoot birds in sometimes dark areas with my r7.and 100-400 5.6 I think a fill flash might work in that situation ,am looking at the canon 430 ex lll or the very expensive el 1,..?,have you used either,would love to know,cheers.
One problem we have is wanting settings of, say, 1/3200th sec (for moving or flying off/on perch) shutter, f7.1, usually high-ish ISO (but we have Topaz DeNoise/Sharpen to help) and be able to get a good, low enoughflash power to get some burst shots.
I use flash for most of my wildlife photography from buffaloes to blow flies (different rigs of course). As you say, it's a matter of getting the balance right. I also use the Better Beamer but I don't have that battery pack, might be worth getting I think. Trouble is I mostly hand hold and that's another 500-odd grams.
I've only just come across your channel. Very intersting. One thing I would ask. When doing your PP, could you add the bird's name in the corner of the image, as most of them are unknown to me and no doubt many others.
Love the flash, love the better beamer Jan. But still did not find a proper construction to mount it above my lens. Witch one do you use and where did you buy it?
Must say very good video! I use mag beam, your tips are great to consolidate the understanding. I wanted to fix flash on my fluidhead tripod, what accessories you used to get that screw of gimble head?
@@jan_wegener Many thanks Jan for responding. I had visited your website from the description but for the fluid head tripod, I could not find the suitable one that was cost-effective. But I have to invest the money as this is what I was looking for... I am trying to get one as what you have the optimal solution.
@@vimalneha The only good flash brackets I have ever found are the Wimberley ones, unfortunately. They do, however, can also directly attach to an arca swiss style lens plate. Maybe that could be an option for you?
@@jan_wegener That is a great help Jan. I am coming to a solution with this arca swiss possibility. You are a GEM. As you correctly said I will be able with www.tripodhead.com/products/instructions-f-1.pdf. Thanks a lot.
I really found this video helpful. I use the same basic rig that you are using, but do not have a way to adequately secure my external flash battery. What accessory do you use to accomplish this? Thanks -
Very nice video explanation of flash and flash techniques. There are a couple of additional flash extenders that are useful. All use Fresnel lenses in a similar fashion. My current extender is with the MagMod system. It's the most compact and flexible. I also have an extender from Harbor Digital Design. It's a shorter more box like design that does not hang off the front of the flash as far as the Better Beamer. The Better Beamer is the original product - created by Walt Anderson who passed away in late 2019. He was a really nice guy and excellent photographer.
Living in Scotland and in particular during the winter months the flash is invaluable as without it i would be as well sitting in the house as the lighting at this time of year is usually very poor. Thanks for for sharing your work flow. I have now subscribed to your channel 👍
Hi Jan, I have used fill flash with success in bird photography and I already own a Better Beamer and a flash cord. My question is, can you please recommend the name of the equipment you use to keep the flash and better Beamer on top of the lens rather than on top of the camera? At this stage I do not own a battery pack, so just need to be able to mount the flash on top of the telephoto lens. Thanks for your video. As usual, so informative.
Hi Jan, I am looking at the Wimberley flash bracket as I type. I am a little confused as to which system you have found successful. I would be using the bracket on a Canon RF100 - 500mm lens which would be attached to either an arca Swiss Wimberley P20 plate, then attached to a monopod or tripod. Would your bracket be the Wimberley F-1 telephoto bracket? I take it that the quick release plate on the lens, has the flash bracket attached to the top of bottom? of the quick release plate which is then attached to the monopod or tripod? I am having trouble picturing how this system works? Can you please provide any guidance?
possibly. I have never used them before. I think it's a bit big and heavy and recycles too slowly (2.1 sec at full power). Flash can work with them as well, but the impact will be different and you couldn't use a flash extender
I am not sure. Most of them are just Velcro, so I am sure one could be made to fit? It depends on the flash with high speed sync. WOuld be somewhere in the menu or a certain button to press
Great video Jan! I’m getting into the flash world and was looking at different types of flash arms, how high does the flash need to be so that the birds don’t get steel eyes?
I see you are using a Canon Speedlite 600 here. Do you think a Canon speedlite 430 EX II would be sufficient in power for this kind of use (Paired with a better beamer and in HSS mode)?
Does the flash effect the birds much ie do they fly off never to return or are they fairly tolerant? Thanks for the tutorial Jan 👍🏼 OK you answered that at the end, cheers Buddy 🙏
@@jan_wegener it's fantastic, and easy to store in your bag. You can add different diffusers to the magnetic attachment besides the wildlife extender, like the magsphere, which I also use, it's the equivalent of a softbox. magnetmod.com/pages/discover?gclid=CjwKCAiA3OzvBRBXEiwALNKDP50n5YhPE4_IHLjk5kNcEwUld_fjBJBxI8E_Hwm8KsZTzyCNQcPjUhoCz64QAvD_BwE
Great video. Looks like i need investing in an Better beamer :) I use flash when i feel it's needed, and as you said, it never seems like the birds are affected by it. Also have to say that you have amazing beautiful birds in your area. Here where i live too, we have a lot of beauties. I live in South Brazil, with the Atlantic rainforest outside the house :) By the way, can you give me the name of that amazing bird in 11:53. WHAT A BEAUTY :) And again thanks for a great video :)
@@jan_wegener Thanks for the answer :) And yes you should come a trip here. It's amazing. I hope to visit your Australia one day too. An amazing country with fantastic wildlife
Another excellent video, Jan--thanks! So how high do you think the flash needs to be above the lens to avoid the "steel eye" effect? With the Wimberley F9 Bracket and the M-6 extension (for your battery) I'm guessing you're about 25cms high? I won't be using an external battery on my setup however. (I'm making my own bracket.)
I have searched everywhere in UA-cam to find a video like this. I have watched twice so far, GREAT JOB!!
Gary Dietz thanks man, glad they’re helpful 😊
Just found your channel, all I have to say is WOW I’ve learned more in the last few videos than ever before I can’t wait to watch more. Awesome content!
that's awesome to hear. That's why I made the channel. Happy to help :)
I was against it when I started out but after a lot of underexposed birds warmed up to the idea. Other than all the points you mentioned in your video, one thing I have noticed is when you get the exposure right with the fill flash, the quality of light looks much better than the images where flash was not used.
Amazing videos btw, love how much thought you put into each of your videos.
Thanks a lot :)
I was told never to use flash when photographing birds but after watching your wonderful video i'm going to give it another go
Ruth Holland that’s what I meant when I said confusion and misunderstandings about flash. If you use it right at low power and not all the time, I do t see a negative impact. A sunbeam piking through the leaves is much brighter than a full flash beam
As always - Great video Jan. Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge!!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching
Nice job Jan. Straightfoward and very clearly explained.
Allen Cortez thanks Allen
Many thanks Jan, great info particularly the balance between background to subject and of course, the manual mode. Your comment on not seeing that a flash is used is truly the art of using flash in bird photography....many thanks and Happy Xmas and New Year
Ron Geffin thanks Ron, happy Christmas to you too
Thank you so much for a very informative video, Jan! What a difference the flash makes to the photos! Will definitely be trying this method as soon as I have organised a flash extender and bracket.
Vickie Burt glad you liked the video Vickie. As I said, I don’t wanna use the flash all the time, but sometimes it has quite an impact
Your bird videos are the best! They are very informative and I've learned alot!
Karlie Larson thanks, that’s great to hear
Thanks for showing us all great ways to start using flash for birding, really comprehensive and helps to understand how you achieve you absolutely beautiful images.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Many thanks Jan for this Master Class!!
Glad you enjoyed it Victor
Excellent tips! Going to try using flash. Thank you for taking the time to produce such great information for bird photography! Glad I found you!
Glad it was helpful! Much appreciated!
Thanks for the video Jan. I learned to be very careful with my better beamer. I almost burned a hole in one of my flashes when I held it in such a way that the sun shone towards the camera and magnified the fresnel lens so it was literally melting my flash.
Excellent informative video as usual Jan. Thanks very much.
Paul Collins thank you Paul
Hi Jan, great video. Yep I've started using flash for bird photography, great tool to have in the toolbox. All the best, Brian.
Agreed, thanks Brian
Great video Jan! I knew it was going to be! :)
Thank you!
Hi Jan,
Jam packed information! Thanks for the video. Enough demonstration to make the topic easy!!
Cheers!
Sarajit Sil great to hear, thanks for watching
This is great. Never heard about this before and always used it during the night tour only. Thank you for sharing.
Tried this today on a blue jay in a dark tree. Game changer! Epic video Jan
Fantastic!
Excuse my English, I`m a French Canadian. A big thank`s buddy! I use the flash, HSS but in TTL exp. comp. : -1 -3 now, I will use in manuel mode, I`m sure my photos will be better...thank`s again, and Merry Christma`s and Happy New-Year! to you😉
réal daigneault thank you, same to you!
Very informative and helpful video, thanks for the instruction. For some reason I’ve never considered using flash in my backyard bird photography, which has limited my shooting to “perfect” lighting conditions and days. Looking forward to more photo opportunities and trying my speed light this winter.
Thank you! It can be a real game changer in your backyard.
I have not used fill-in flash, and do not have the equipment but after watching your video something I could ask my family for as a Christmas present! How are you and the birds? I do not know what part of Australia you live and work in but I do hope you are not troubled by the horrendous bush fires in NSW shown on UK television. How are you coping with the heat? When I visited Australia it was 41 deg.C in South Australia near the Barossa Valley.
David Roach hey David. I’m in Melbourne, no big fires here and usually it’s a lot colder that many other parts of the country. In saying that, it was 43 here today!
First of all, thanks for your video and the simple way to explain things, I am starting to use my flash and all the advice you give in this video will help me a lot, I do macro photography and all this information is serving me Thank you very much and happy holidays. With best wishes from Mexico !!
Glad you like my videos! I always try to keep it simple. Happy Holidays!
Thanks for that. Now got almost same setup but Nikon. You are the dude that has inspired me to try this . Think it will help me a good bit as not much light sometimes in the Highlands of Scotland. It appears the ones most agents flash are the ones that know least about it from what I have seen so far. Happy Christmas dude.
Jason fraser yes, in overcast it’s great! Glad you like my videos! Happy Christmas!
I use my Nikon 910 flash with the Magmod Wildlife Kit on a Wimberley Bracket on most of my Bird Photography.
Nice!
I have been using a Better Beamer with a modicum of success but I think your tips in this tutorial will be elevating my success rate and produce better exposures. Thanks for you clear and concise explanations and helpful example images.
Gordon Brugman great to hear I could help Gordon 😊
Very nice video. In the past my flash bird photos looked too obviously 'flashed'. I need to try again. What cord do you use to attach the flash unit to the hot shoe? I use a canon 600 ex-rt.
Don Photo i am using the original canon cords, they have proven to last the longest. However, I put glue around the outside of the bottom of the flash mount to strengthen it
Have always wondered about your serious flash set up ... thanks for explaining and touching on all the important points !! Great job 👍🏻
John NYC ; ] thanks a lot John, glad I could give you a bit of an insight
Great Vid Jan
................. Gary
.................. AU
Hi Jan, great video, of course. In this video you strongly encourage manually adjusting the flash power for shooting. I also note that you do a lot of shooting on perches that you've set up or are planning to try and get birds to land on. I'm curious if you would take the same approach on a day when you might be out stalking birds. Most of the time, this is what I'm doing, and my subjects are rarely at a consistent distance from the camera. Not only that, but they're moving from one lighting situation to another. Keeping up with my exposure settings (I do shoot in Manual mode) can be quite a challenge in and of itself. Adding manual flash exposure settings seems like an impossibility to me in these circumstances. Do I just need more practice, or might you consider using TTL mode under these circumstances. Thanks for your insight!
Hey,
with the flash I am mainly looking at the light situation, rather than changing it for each bird. Unless the light changes dramatically, I don't adjust the flash settings. So if it's overcast my flash settings probably stay the same all day. By using manual, I simply make sure that the output is the same on every flashed image. I hope that makes sense
Jan Wegener yes, I understand that, but won’t that give you varying results depending upon the proximity of the bird, or if the bird moves from out in the open into a shadow or mixed light. What I’m trying to say is that my experience is that the lighting situation DOES change, sometimes dramatically and within moments. One hop of the bird can take it from a mixed light to full shadow. Or from 8m distance to 5m. Or does the result of the fill flash tend to be more forgiving than that? Perhaps I’m overthinking this. Thanks Jan.
So nicely explained
Naga Hari Krishna Rachakonda thank you
Excellent video 👍
Thanks and looking for more videos in future... 😊
N G great! Next one coming today
Thanks Jan, loving these videos. I now use flash way more than I used too. Since watching your full tutorial video.
great! I can be a handy tool
Using flash on birds is not good for them
@@formermpc10 Wrong information sorry. Best you watch more of photographers such as Jan (One of Australia's best). Flash has no impact on wildlife. Contrary to popular belief.
Great info and will be practicing with my flash more! Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Great tutorial, I'm very envious of those fabulous birds and how tolerant they are.
Many thanks
great video very helpful thank you Jan
andrew wilson you’re welcome!
This is one of the great video and great instruction on how to use the flash with wildlife photography. I have never done this during the day time before as I thought that it may harm or bother them. Have a good day.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Jan, thanks for your videos.
Ulisses Lopes you’re welcome 😊
Very helpful tips - thank you!
Dianne Hodge 😊😊
Your results look great, and thanks for explaining how to use flash for bird photography! I hadn't ever thought it was even possible at such distances.
You're so welcome!
Awesome video! Learned a lot from you. I just started using off camera remote flash in my backyard bird photography. What a diff! I also use the better beamer too. Watch all your stuff and subbed you! Cheers!
Awesome, thanks!
Hi, thank you for all your if , very helpful. Although the flash bracket and extender. Could you post the link to the actual purchasing place. I wanna buy the right stuff. I bough a flash bracket and can't seem to even hook it to the tripod foot. And to get the correct extender? I hate to be so ignorant to this but I clearing couldn't one that works unless you put it on the base of the camera body. TIA or if you could put a video together on the assembly of your set up
HI,
I am going through everything in this video and links in the bio.
ua-cam.com/video/ch0SMtBW98s/v-deo.html
And there's a list on my blog, too
aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
I think flash photography can be a little intimidating. I have tried to use it but with limited success. I would love to develop my skills. Thanks Jan for this video. Your tips were invaluable. It would be great if you made a video about how to set up perches for the birds to sit on. Also how do you get them to sit on the perches? Is it with food, call back, or is it just patience.
Pauline Follett thanks. There are two videos here where I talk about that a little bit.
Wonderfully put together!!one of the best seen !!🌷🌷Thank you!!.
UAEBIF VIDEO great to hear, thanks for your comment
Fill flash not over flash....there are so many people on UA-cam that give out false informattion...very good presentation here.
Forster Stewart that’s exactly what I always try to advocate. Thank you!
Terrific video Jan, thanks
Many thanks!
Another great video Jan 👌I’d be interested to know how the battery pack is mounted on the bracket and what cables you need
Ruben Montero check out my blog post in the description. I simply cable tied the battery to the flash bracket arm. I use a Y connector to draw from both battery outlets and then the normal flash cable and the cable connecting battery and flash
Thanks for sharing yet another really informational video. You create really good pictures.
Regarding the flash bracket can you recommend anyone in particular?
Nicolas Brunicardi glad you liked it! I am using the Wimberley ones, because they match my tripod head
Excellent video Jan! Inspired me to pull out my flash setup and get back into experimenting with fill flash for birds. Really like the battery pack you're using as it looks like a nice upgrade over the external canon pack I have.
Great to hear! Yes, it's the best I have found
Very informative video, thank you. A couple things, how far away from you can the bird be and still have the flash be effective and what is the manufacturer of the flash bracket. Keep up the great videos
probably 20m ish
aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
It's wimberley brackets
Thanks for the interesting vlog. I have tried flash for small bird action with limited success, but the flash extender looks like the right thing to use.
yes that helps a lot. It takes a bit of practice to master the flash
Per usual, great and informative video. I don’t think I’ve tried manual over TTL, so I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
PipPipHooray you’re welcome, always happy to help
You are the best, Jan Wegener! And so are your images! I’ve never understood exactly how to use my flash with birds, but I think I can now! Thanks for all the easy to understand help. You are so blessed to have all of those gorgeous birds to photograph! BTW, where did you find Charlie? 😊 thank you!
Kathy Teague glad I could help. I got him from a flower shop
Great Video. How do you mount the battery to the flash bracket. Thanks in advance
Cable ties 😆
Great work Jan, love those birds. It's amazing what a difference a splash of flash makes :-)
Thanks Steve, yes it can make a big difference when editing the files
Very good video Jan, I tend to be against flash for nature but you have me thinking?????? BTW this looks like Aussie bush?
that's good! If you do it right the impact is negligible. Yes it is
Interesting & very informative. Thank-you for sharing. Do you ever use a defuser?
Steve Martin thanks Steve. That would only work at very short distances, because the birds are a bit further away, we need to funnel the beam to the get the reach. At short distances or in darker areas it could work
@@jan_wegener Thanks for your reply Jan. Of course, yes it would only be beneficial on close subjects.
Amazing video I think I will get me a better beamer, thanks that was what I needed :)
All you Videos are so amazing jan. I like everything about them - especially the music! Wonderful work and great inspiration 🙂
Glad you like them! Much appreciated
Thanks Jan, live in Ireland so sunny days rare. This is great advice. Thanks
Love your channel
Thanks for watching! You're very welcome :) I love a good overcast day :D
Yes I like to use flash… stopped using it for awhile as I found the better Beamer was getting caught on bushes as I moved around..I like the idea you use of setting up an artificial perch..am looking forward to giving that a go
Good Luck!
Thanks Jan, seriously looking at getting a speedlight after watching this. Cheers.
You won't always need, it, but it can be great help
@@jan_wegener Haha...I live in Northern Ireland where gloom is pretty constant; not that glorious location you are shooting in. What type of bracket are you using to elevate your flash to such lofty heights above your lens Jan?
Sean Stephen I’m using the wimberley flash brackets
aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
Happy New Year Jan, I’m from the UK your videos are very Interesting & very informative. Thank-you for sharing. Just two questions do you use spot metering? And where did you buy Charlie from?
Hey, Thanks! I always shoot manual, so the metering doesn't matter. Charlie, I got from the local flower shop down the road. Never seen him on the internet.
@@jan_wegener thank you for replying back to me.
Great tutorial as always!
Thank you! Cheers!
Very nice video Jan 👍
I have few questions..
1) Which flash bracket you use ?
2) I don't use gimbal head. Is it possible to use flash bracket with tripod and Ball head ? Or gimbal head is must ?
3) I recently saw this image on 500px . There is no shadow can seen on kingfisher. Is it shot using flash ?
Please explain if you have some time .. 🙏🙏
500px.com/photo/1011337494
N G mine are wimberley aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
There are options to attach the flash hacker to the lens plate of its long enough
Which image? I can’t see it
@@jan_wegener This image Jan 👇
web.500px.com/photo/1011337494?
Thanks for the video very informative
glad you enjoyed it :)
Hi jan,very informative,I shoot birds in sometimes dark areas with my r7.and 100-400 5.6 I think a fill flash might work in that situation ,am looking at the canon 430 ex lll or the very expensive el 1,..?,have you used either,would love to know,cheers.
I have used the smaller one, but it might be a bit small. You could buy a used 600ex for instance
@@jan_wegener thanks,appreciate that.
ACE, Thank You Jan.
Thanks mate
One problem we have is wanting settings of, say, 1/3200th sec (for moving or flying off/on perch) shutter, f7.1, usually high-ish ISO (but we have Topaz DeNoise/Sharpen to help) and be able to get a good, low enoughflash power to get some burst shots.
I use flash for most of my wildlife photography from buffaloes to blow flies (different rigs of course). As you say, it's a matter of getting the balance right. I also use the Better Beamer but I don't have that battery pack, might be worth getting I think. Trouble is I mostly hand hold and that's another 500-odd grams.
Yes, for handholding the pack would be annoying, you'd have to have it on your belt or so.
I've only just come across your channel. Very intersting. One thing I would ask. When doing your PP, could you add the bird's name in the corner of the image, as most of them are unknown to me and no doubt many others.
That's a good suggestion, thanks!
Love the flash, love the better beamer Jan. But still did not find a proper construction to mount it above my lens. Witch one do you use and where did you buy it?
I am using Wimberley Flash Brackets that attached to my Wimberley Tripod Head. I have linked it in the amazon links in the description.
Another excellent video mate, very well explained, I really need to use flash more often :-)
Duade Paton thanks mate
Great video, learned a lot. My only question is do you walk with all of this heavy settings or do you stay at a place and shoot?
Thanks you! I sometimes do and it's not much fun haha
Must say very good video!
I use mag beam, your tips are great to consolidate the understanding.
I wanted to fix flash on my fluidhead tripod, what accessories you used to get that screw of gimble head?
I am using WImberley Flash Brackets to attach it
@@jan_wegener Many thanks Jan for responding. I had visited your website from the description but for the fluid head tripod, I could not find the suitable one that was cost-effective. But I have to invest the money as this is what I was looking for...
I am trying to get one as what you have the optimal solution.
@@vimalneha The only good flash brackets I have ever found are the Wimberley ones, unfortunately. They do, however, can also directly attach to an arca swiss style lens plate. Maybe that could be an option for you?
@@jan_wegener That is a great help Jan. I am coming to a solution with this arca swiss possibility. You are a GEM.
As you correctly said I will be able with www.tripodhead.com/products/instructions-f-1.pdf. Thanks a lot.
@@vimalneha happy to help
I really found this video helpful. I use the same basic rig that you are using, but do not have a way to adequately secure my external flash battery. What accessory do you use to accomplish this? Thanks -
It's attached to my Wimberley Head with a Wimberley Flash bracket
Curious, do you have to change anything in camera to do high speed flash, or just on flash itself?
Steve Kunder I always do it on the flash
BreezyMunk good to know, thanks
Atter watching this video I will give it a go. You never know if you don't try.
Very nice video explanation of flash and flash techniques.
There are a couple of additional flash extenders that are useful. All use Fresnel lenses in a similar fashion. My current extender is with the MagMod system. It's the most compact and flexible. I also have an extender from Harbor Digital Design. It's a shorter more box like design that does not hang off the front of the flash as far as the Better Beamer. The Better Beamer is the original product - created by Walt Anderson who passed away in late 2019. He was a really nice guy and excellent photographer.
I like the light weight and small size of the better beamer the most. Magmod always seems very front heavy bending the flash down
You are very good about responding to people's questions. I've tried to find your battery pack/bank and it's hard to find. None on ebay. Thanks
Mine is a Flashpoint, but they're more commonly sold under the godox brand
@@jan_wegener And the Y connector you use gives more power to the flash for recycling nice choice
@@photozen8398 It allows the flash to draw power from both battery outlets, increasing the take
Living in Scotland and in particular during the winter months the flash is invaluable as without it i would be as well sitting in the house as the lighting at this time of year is usually very poor. Thanks for for sharing your work flow. I have now subscribed to your channel 👍
Kingfisher61 yes it can help a lot in overcast. Thanks 😊
Where did you find your flash extender? An also the whole st up with it? If you can post a link below I would be really grateful!
It's a better beamer, mine is from B&H
Can you program a button on your camera, to deactivate & activate the flash firing. I know you can do this in the camera menu, but is more fiddly
I haven't found that yet. That would be super handy. For most I'm am doing it in the menu
The depth of field preview button would be ideal, I think wildlife photographers would use it
Andrew Wordsworth for sure!
Hi Jan, I have used fill flash with success in bird photography and I already own a Better Beamer and a flash cord. My question is, can you please recommend the name of the equipment you use to keep the flash and better Beamer on top of the lens rather than on top of the camera? At this stage I do not own a battery pack, so just need to be able to mount the flash on top of the telephoto lens. Thanks for your video. As usual, so informative.
I use WImberley Flash brackets to have it sit up high
@@jan_wegener Thank you!
@@jan_wegener thank you!
Hi Jan, I am looking at the Wimberley flash bracket as I type. I am a little confused as to which system you have found successful. I would be using the bracket on a Canon RF100 - 500mm lens which would be attached to either an arca Swiss Wimberley P20 plate, then attached to a monopod or tripod. Would your bracket be the Wimberley F-1 telephoto bracket? I take it that the quick release plate on the lens, has the flash bracket attached to the top of bottom? of the quick release plate which is then attached to the monopod or tripod? I am having trouble picturing how this system works? Can you please provide any guidance?
Would you ever use a Godox AD200 for this? I wonder if this style would work on horse photography or is the subject too big?
possibly. I have never used them before. I think it's a bit big and heavy and recycles too slowly (2.1 sec at full power). Flash can work with them as well, but the impact will be different and you couldn't use a flash
extender
I'm using the Godox V1 flash on the r5. Is there a flash extender for that flash? Also, how do you set up high speed flash using that combo?
I am not sure. Most of them are just Velcro, so I am sure one could be made to fit? It depends on the flash with high speed sync. WOuld be somewhere in the menu or a certain button to press
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Great video Jan! I’m getting into the flash world and was looking at different types of flash arms, how high does the flash need to be so that the birds don’t get steel eyes?
around 15-25cm
Beautiful!! So where is the area, my god those beautiful color birds!
thanks. all the shots were taken around Melbourne and in Australia
Jan Wegener thanks for responding, just stunning those birds, places I always wanted to visit, I am a big bird lover!
Where do i find the flash bracket your using
I see you are using a Canon Speedlite 600 here. Do you think a Canon speedlite 430 EX II would be sufficient in power for this kind of use (Paired with a better beamer and in HSS mode)?
It would work. But not ideal probably
@@jan_wegener thanks! Awesome content btw, I am learning a ton of valuable stuff from your videos! ☺️
Can I use a warming type cover over flash? If so will it work the same without?
You could, but I have not found that to be necessary
Does the flash effect the birds much ie do they fly off never to return or are they fairly tolerant? Thanks for the tutorial Jan 👍🏼
OK you answered that at the end, cheers Buddy 🙏
Thanks! Usually it doesn't. I have been using almost no flash since I got the R5
@@jan_wegener Good point I'm now using the R6 a game changer in my opinion
Where can I get a flash bracket from for a gimbal style head? I’ve looked everywhere and can’t seem to find one?
I use WImberley ones
aviscapes.com/flash-settings-and-accessories/
I use the MagMod wildlife extender.
I have seen that one but never tried it.
@@jan_wegener it's fantastic, and easy to store in your bag. You can add different diffusers to the magnetic attachment besides the wildlife extender, like the magsphere, which I also use, it's the equivalent of a softbox.
magnetmod.com/pages/discover?gclid=CjwKCAiA3OzvBRBXEiwALNKDP50n5YhPE4_IHLjk5kNcEwUld_fjBJBxI8E_Hwm8KsZTzyCNQcPjUhoCz64QAvD_BwE
How do you use these beautiful branches? Do you collect them to set up?
I do many times, where it is allowed to do so.
@@jan_wegener how do you expect them to sit on it? I tried but non came on it
Great video. Looks like i need investing in an Better beamer :) I use flash when i feel it's needed, and as you said, it never seems like the birds are affected by it. Also have to say that you have amazing beautiful birds in your area. Here where i live too, we have a lot of beauties. I live in South Brazil, with the Atlantic rainforest outside the house :) By the way, can you give me the name of that amazing bird in 11:53. WHAT A BEAUTY :) And again thanks for a great video :)
Thanks! Brazil must be amazing. I need to visit one day! That bird is a Spotted Pardalote
@@jan_wegener Thanks for the answer :) And yes you should come a trip here. It's amazing. I hope to visit your Australia one day too. An amazing country with fantastic wildlife
Another excellent video, Jan--thanks! So how high do you think the flash needs to be above the lens to avoid the "steel eye" effect? With the Wimberley F9 Bracket and the M-6 extension (for your battery) I'm guessing you're about 25cms high? I won't be using an external battery on my setup however. (I'm making my own bracket.)
Yes, the bracket is about that height.
1000th like 😍🔥
:)
Just got the godox v860ii... a new path begins :)
awesome
Hi. Do you recommend one for Canon? I have a Sony but I can use your reference to compare
Miguel Angel Jimeno you mean a flash?
@@jan_wegener yes sorry. I meant a flash.
@@migueljimeno6875 I would usually recommend the top of the line ones because they recycle faster