Photographing bears, wolves and wolverines from a commercial hide in Finland - a guide.
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- Where to go, how to prepare, how it works, what to wear, things to consider... I'm trying to share as much information as I can think of based on my own experience and perspective.
I began exploring this type of wildlife photography, which is done from a commercially operated hide in Finland, six months ago and here I am sharing everything I've learned this far via some footage from my latest adventure to eastern Finland to photograph bears wolves, and wolverines in the wild.
In this video, I try to cover the basics in regards to what to think about, consider, and bring with you...how it is photographing from these types of hides. Everything I wish I knew, before I spent my first night in a freezing hide listening to wolves howl around me.
There is a lot more to this topic for example the ethics of this type of "travel service" and wildlife photography. I have begun exploring that topic in my blog, which you'll find on my website, and plan on doing a video about it as well.
I'm planning on also following up with more hide adventures and with my top three places to go which I found the most responsible and had great wildlife encounters at. So stay tuned.
Sign up to my email list for workshops: eepurl.com/iwWPbY
Looking forward to your thoughts, comments and questions.
Music credit; by Sergey Cheremisinov
Slow Light
Hi Jonna, I've always wondered how people spotted bears and wolves in Finland and this is such a good video detailing everything about the prep and things to keep in mind. Thank you!
I’m in the United States and I believe it’s illegal to bait wildlife in most states here. Residential bird feeders are ok and bait used for fishing are ok. But baiting nearly all other wildlife is illegal, at least that’s how I understand it. I would love to either visit one of those commercial hides in Finland or go on a guided photo tour in Alaska so I could photograph bears like that.
Yes I believe it's illegal in the States. Legal in some European countries like Finland. There are some benefits to conservation, at least here, from such ecorourism operators that create an environment in which these large predators are more valuable alive than dead...but there is definitely room for improvement in this practice.
Great video. I've been to Bear Centre twice & loved it, and hoping to go back next year. Normally I am against baiting for subjects, but you're right - you won't see anything without it here. Bear Centre seems to do this just right (compared to other centres I've heard about in Finland)
Very cool. I wished I had seen your video before I went to such a place some weeks ago. I was in an observation house with a group. It was good, we saw two bears but the people made a lot of noise. The next night I spent alone in a hide. This was a very intense and wonderful experience. I definitely want to come back. It is noteworthy to mention that the quieter the camera the better. In a case the bear seemed disturbed by the shutter noise of my DSLR and left the site calmly.
Thank you! Very happy to get such feedback as these were some things I wish I knew before having my first experience at a place like this. Glad to hear you ended up having a beautiful experience! And yes, as a mirrorless shooter I forget that some cameras still make noise...would definitely be better if they didn't.
Hieno taltiointi. Tykkään. 👏👏Olisihan se mahtavaa nähdä karhu/ karhut ja ehkä muutakin livenä. Jo ilveksen kohtaaminen Sotkamosta Kajaaniin ajellessani oli mahtava kokemus muutama vuosi sitten. Yhtäkkiä ilves tulla porhalsi tien yli ja onneksi ehdin hiljentää ettei jäänyt alle. Oli luultua isompi ja tummempi. Taisi sydänkin tehdä muutaman ylimääräisen voltin. Muistan sanoneeni itselle,että Vau.😯
Kiitos paljon, kiva kuulla! 💜 Tuo ilveksen kohtaaminen kuulostaa huikeelta hetkeltä. Olen itse myös kerran törmännyt ilvekseen (en kirjaimellisesti) juuri autotiellä ajellessa...on he aivan upeita kisuja kyllä.
Thanks for this video. I plan to go for such a shoot during the autumn. This will definitely help me prepare well. Thank you Jonna.
Thank you, love hearing that the video was helpful!
Nice video, I like the information you provided in the voice-over.
Thank you, that's great to hear!
Lovely footage and a really nice overview of the experience :) Having visited some hides up near Kuhmo a few years ago that really took me back - what an incredible experience, and one that I will surely repeat again one day! After posting up some videos myself it was really interesting to see just how divided the community is about these places and the large scale feeding of animals... Definitely had a bunch of people unsubscribe on the spot! Personally I felt that the level of feeding was too much on one of my hides, but fine on another (similar to what you showed), and actually the whole experience felt more peaceful and natural at that second hide. Of course, there is also a conservation and protection element to these operations - often run by real conservationists - so it's a fine line they have to tread between making a commercial success and taking the feeding too far. Anyway, I will be very interested to see it if you do make the follow-up video on the ethical issues...
Thank you! Yes, there are just as many ways of operating these hides as there are individual hide operators...so some are a lot more ethical and eco-conscious than others. I will have to start working on that ethics video soon.
Tämä oli hyvä video missä tuli hyvin tarvittava tieto koju kuvaamiseen! Itse en ole noissa kaupallisissa karhu kuvaus kojuissa käynyt mutta pitää kyllä joku kerta käydä just koska karhun näkeeminen täällä Suomessa on todella haastavaa! Itse kuvaan omassa kojussa enimmäkseen lintuja ja peuroja täällä etelä Suomessa 🙂
Paljon kiitoksia, mukava kuulla! Oman kojun ylläpito on varmasti myös mielenkiintoista puuhaa.
Tutusta kojusta kuvattu ja hyvää asiaa. Myös ehdotus eettisistä pelinsäännöistä on hyvä. Eilen oli Suomen luonnonvalokuvaajien paneelikeskustelu tästä. Kojukuvaus ei ehkä ole eettisesti edes pahinta, vaan myös pesäkuvaus ja vaikka ketunpentujen kuvaus voi mennä överksi ja vaikka pöllökuvaus.
Kiitos paljon! Pöllöilyt onkin viimeiaikoina puhuttanut jonkun verran...ensi kuun Luontokuva lehteen kirjoittelin siitä kolumniakin.
❤
Hey Jonna. Now we managed to publish two videos about our bearwatching trip from last August. The main video, and inspired by your GUIDE-Video, a video about our learnings regarding such a trip. All in German language. Cheers.
Hey, that's awesome! Any plans for a next trip?
@@JonnaWoodPhoto Well, we are travelling with our van through Europe. Currently in Spain visiting the Desert Bardenas Reales. In the longer run we want to ship the van to Halifax, Canada and go until Panama. But there are some issues with the van to solve first.
@@aracnoloco Sounds like a wonderful plan! Hope everything goes according to plan. :)
@@JonnaWoodPhoto Thanks. However, during the last 5 years or so I got used to the fact that plans sometimes do not work out but there always come cool alternatives, sometimes even better than the original plan. Good luck to you.
Beautiful 😍Lady!
Hyviä vinkkejä noviiseille kojukuvaajille. Tuosta Vartiuksen lammelta , missä kuvaussuunta on rajavyöhykkeen suuntaan, on kelien suosiessa mahtavat valot läpi kesäyön.
Kiitos paljon, mukava kuulla :)
Hello! Very good one! Can you give some information which hide is this in Finland? 🙂
Thanks
Nice video Jonna! Which lens was enough for you? If I saw correctly, you used 600mm f/6.5.
Thank you! I was using a 500mm 5.6 lens, and feel like that was enough for me. Of course it would always be better to have a lens that can go to f4 or f2.8 as mostly the animals move around dawn and dusk, but millimetre wise one would be well off with anything from 400mm and up...of course depending on the hide location and one's personal preference.
Sign up to my email list for workshops: eepurl.com/iwWPbY
What website did you book this hide with?
Great video how much does your work shop costs
Thank you, glad you liked it! I'm still piecing the workshops together so there's no final investment available yet.
Hello,what lens is used in this video?
Hi, I was using a Nikon 500mm 5.6 PF lens
before to be a good photographer you need to be a good naturalist, this type of 'photography' is s....t... absolutely no interest . don t be another wildlife paparazzi
I agree with being a naturalist first :) This type of photography is a big part of the nature photography scene here in Finland and it does have some benefits to the conservation of the large predators here. Personally, I began researching this scene myself just a year ago, as it does divide opinions, so I wanted to develop my own opinion by also seeing what it is really like. I'm currently the chair of Finnish Nature Photographer's Ethics Committee, and hoping to work to improve this type of ecotourism scene for the better.