One of the major challenges with wildlife photography is finding a great subject in great light with a great background! What you have just shown is how challenging it is to get all of those elements to come together! The icing on the cake is capturing unique behavior that is characteristic of that species with everything else going for you at the same time! Another great lesson from your video is the value of going back to the same area repeatedly. You learn the species, their behavior, their preferences, favorite locations, and what times of day are best. Over the span of a year you get a wonderful sense of how that location changes with the seasons.
Very well said Vaughn. Finding the animal is tough, but thats where the work has to be put in. Example of that come back again and again for subjects example is coming up in a week or so with an amazing eagle encounter I had last week and that wouldn't have happened with hitting a certain spot over and over where the eagles visit in the winter.
It looks so cold there! Thanks for sharing. After watching your video for the ways you store your cameras and equipment, I replicated for my jeep and absolutely love it. Thanks for the great advice. Stay warm!
Cute otters 😊 Love your channel, the way you present reviews and photo tips and tricks. Your R7 videos won me over to take the plunge and over time also updated from the sigma 150-600 to the 100-500 rf. It’s giving me so many great images. Thanks
Must be Sunday ! Thanks for the video Scott, it's good to see you out !! Folks can't go wrong with a big prime but........when I changed over to mirrorless and the Z9, I kept one F mount lens, the Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR. As a wildlife photographer, it gives me the versatility that a prime does not offer. And, the rendering.....amazing !! If you ever get a chance to try one, do so !!! Cheers,
I always thought of shooting down rails or logs as bit distracting, but after this video I see how it can really look great! I’ll have to try it out next time I’m out!
Thanks for all the tips, and congrats on 20k! I totally agree about primes...the color rendition and backgrounds are just noticeably better than even the best zooms. I wasn't aware of how long it took to manufacture the front element. Now I see why they are so expensive! Listening to your body is very important with these cold days. I had to bail yesterday a bit early because the water proofing on my boots gave out, and my spare pair was uninsulated rubber. I missed out on a snowy owl takeoff, but it was kind of far out and not worth getting frostbite on my toes, or at least feeling really uncomfortable. I still can't get over the cuteness of the otters, and those rosy finches!
Yes the large primes use Fluorite glass in them which is the best optical glass. Your 50 1.2 and such have flourite glass also. The rest use ed/ud or super ud elements due tot he fluorite costing so much to produce. I'll make a video soon about the glass types on different lenses and the IQ, etc. of each
Yesterday I went to find Otters in a national park here where we live. Left early and wanted to be there just at sunrise. As it turns out, I found White Throated Dippers and for whatever reason, I wasn't prepared. Laid down on the snow to get a low vantage point but the freezing cold just got to me faster than I could get a good setup. So in the end it turned out to be a "dialing in the settings while freezing" kinda situation. Dippers move so fast and I had the sun behind it, so it turned out to be a backlit motive kinda thing. Sometimes there is no flow in the situation and it ends up being a fight between the weather conditions, aninal behavior and my own behavior. I got a few shots, but overall, the photos weren't great. It happens. Just being there made my day. Fresh air. Beautiful sunrise. Can't beat it.
Been there 😊 Sometimes it's a fight to grab what you can and set it up on the fly. Hopefully you got some good shots. I need to go look for dippers next week down on the Kenai myself.
@@WILDALASKAScott, you mentioned in the video that with the R5 you got more magenta when underexposing and I get the same thing but only when using electronic shutter and high speed shooting H+. However, if I shoot with mechanical shutter and H+ the colors are warmer and no magenta. Lets say I shoot H+ with electronic shutter, every other photo will have tint of magenta on em but if I go mechanical, it goes away. This is why I prefer mechanical shutter on the R5. Weird.
In the summer with increased traffic, they are pretty shy also. Once winter hits and the harbors slow down due to less boats and tourists, they move into the harbors a lot more and settle down.
Lol, NOT bored by the otter shots. Beautiful critters and I am super envious of the time you get to spend with them. I'm also shocked by the differences in the weather. I am in the Canadian prairies, WAY south of you, yet Homer is at 43F at the time of this writing, and it is -11F outside my door. I don't get it.
I have great memories of photographing eagles in February in Homer back in the Jean Keene days. It was amazing and, like most great wildlife photographic opportunities, it ended too soon. If you find something special, go wear it out. It could end before you know it.
Great video Scott ! Love watching your work, envious of your work location. Thanks for sharing, always look forward to your videos. Btw, really enjoyed the music at the beginning of the video - what song and artist please.
Thanks for another great video! How do you go about finding new locations? Do you have to research a lot the animal you are trying to shoot? Or do you just go somewhere and try to be patient and see what you see? Thanks!
You have to put in the work. Lot of scouting, learning the animals behavior, breeding patterns and times, nesting or denning, season migrations, etc. Ill probably do some videos soon about finding different owl species, shorebirds etc.
I enjoy your videos. I live in North Carolina. It is cold here and thee first thing I noticed is your gloves. I've purchased a few pairs of gloves, and I'm not happy with them. What kind of gloves are you wearing and are they warm enough for your conditions. Keep up the good work!
Glad you are enjoying the videos. SO for the gloves, they aren't anything special and they don't really keep my hands very warm. They are just some bow hunting gloves from Cabelas. I don't know what model as they are like 6 years old. They are goretex so they mainly block wind and keep my hands dry. I will be reviewing some heated photo gloves here in a few weeks.
I’m also in NC in the Raleigh area, and what I do for gloves is I have some Redhead liner gloves (very thin material) and then I pair it with some cotton gloves liners on the inside. I find that not too bulky and still pretty warm. I was out this morning (around 23F) and my hands were ok, they weren’t uncomfortably cold, and I was still able to operate everything on my R7, which is a smaller camera.
Great video Scott, I already have the Z 180-600 which I love but am itching for a Prime and am considering the Z 600mm f6.3 or the Z 800 f6.3 which way would you go?
They are both nice lenses, but they are PF. Phase fresnel glass is good and sharp, but has issues with Spectral highlight issue and bokeh wonkiness happens sometimes when shooting into light (back or side) for the weight tradeoff. It's due to the way the lens is made and it helps in being much lighter than ED/UD and Fluorite lenses. The big primes f/2.8 and f/4 use the fluorite lens process which is the best optical quality glass made. The other lenses like the z 180-600 and RF 100-500 use ED, UD, and Super UD glass elements which are a cheaper way to make a lens thats close to fluorite performance for mass production. Depends on where you need the focus, either for light weight, price, or end game/last lens you buy. Hope that helps. I need to make a video on that soon and review the PF lenses, but I'm afraid I won't enjoy the comment section lol. Thanks for watching and then kind words.
Hi Scott just a thought you shoot Z9 with an adapter and canon lens is there an adapter the other way Canon body and Nikon lens any idea if there is one
One of the major challenges with wildlife photography is finding a great subject in great light with a great background! What you have just shown is how challenging it is to get all of those elements to come together! The icing on the cake is capturing unique behavior that is characteristic of that species with everything else going for you at the same time! Another great lesson from your video is the value of going back to the same area repeatedly. You learn the species, their behavior, their preferences, favorite locations, and what times of day are best. Over the span of a year you get a wonderful sense of how that location changes with the seasons.
Very well said Vaughn. Finding the animal is tough, but thats where the work has to be put in. Example of that come back again and again for subjects example is coming up in a week or so with an amazing eagle encounter I had last week and that wouldn't have happened with hitting a certain spot over and over where the eagles visit in the winter.
Brother, everytime I watch one of your videos I'm like Dang!!! I want to be there. Your so blessed my man 🙏🏼📷📸
👍
As always, great video.
Can’t get enough of otters. Good to see how you set up your shots. Really loved the finches. Keep rolling those shutters.
Thanks 👍
It looks so cold there! Thanks for sharing. After watching your video for the ways you store your cameras and equipment, I replicated for my jeep and absolutely love it. Thanks for the great advice. Stay warm!
Thanks! I’m glad you found it useful.
Loved this! Awesome adventure! Thanks for taking me along!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love those Rosey finches! Good to know your limits even if means having to leave the action. Congrats on making 20k!
Thanks! They are one of the most beautiful birds.
Cute otters 😊 Love your channel, the way you present reviews and photo tips and tricks. Your R7 videos won me over to take the plunge and over time also updated from the sigma 150-600 to the 100-500 rf. It’s giving me so many great images. Thanks
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for all the great tips and beautiful images!
Glad you like them!
Great video! Was so interesting to learn some of the technical aspects of your shooting. Glad to see you are doing well.
Thanks Chad
Must be Sunday ! Thanks for the video Scott, it's good to see you out !!
Folks can't go wrong with a big prime but........when I changed over to mirrorless and the Z9, I kept one F mount lens, the Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR. As a wildlife photographer, it gives me the versatility that a prime does not offer. And, the rendering.....amazing !! If you ever get a chance to try one, do so !!!
Cheers,
So that lens has a fluorite glass element in it which makes it very good quality like the big primes. Same as the Canon 200-400 f/4. Top end glass
I always thought of shooting down rails or logs as bit distracting, but after this video I see how it can really look great! I’ll have to try it out next time I’m out!
👍
Thanks, Scott! I really enjoyed this.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Really enjoy the shoot and live tips, talking through your composition as well.
Thanks
Thanks for all the tips, and congrats on 20k! I totally agree about primes...the color rendition and backgrounds are just noticeably better than even the best zooms. I wasn't aware of how long it took to manufacture the front element. Now I see why they are so expensive!
Listening to your body is very important with these cold days. I had to bail yesterday a bit early because the water proofing on my boots gave out, and my spare pair was uninsulated rubber. I missed out on a snowy owl takeoff, but it was kind of far out and not worth getting frostbite on my toes, or at least feeling really uncomfortable. I still can't get over the cuteness of the otters, and those rosy finches!
Yes the large primes use Fluorite glass in them which is the best optical glass. Your 50 1.2 and such have flourite glass also. The rest use ed/ud or super ud elements due tot he fluorite costing so much to produce. I'll make a video soon about the glass types on different lenses and the IQ, etc. of each
Yesterday I went to find Otters in a national park here where we live. Left early and wanted to be there just at sunrise. As it turns out, I found White Throated Dippers and for whatever reason, I wasn't prepared. Laid down on the snow to get a low vantage point but the freezing cold just got to me faster than I could get a good setup. So in the end it turned out to be a "dialing in the settings while freezing" kinda situation. Dippers move so fast and I had the sun behind it, so it turned out to be a backlit motive kinda thing. Sometimes there is no flow in the situation and it ends up being a fight between the weather conditions, aninal behavior and my own behavior. I got a few shots, but overall, the photos weren't great. It happens. Just being there made my day. Fresh air. Beautiful sunrise. Can't beat it.
Been there 😊 Sometimes it's a fight to grab what you can and set it up on the fly. Hopefully you got some good shots. I need to go look for dippers next week down on the Kenai myself.
@@WILDALASKAScott, you mentioned in the video that with the R5 you got more magenta when underexposing and I get the same thing but only when using electronic shutter and high speed shooting H+. However, if I shoot with mechanical shutter and H+ the colors are warmer and no magenta. Lets say I shoot H+ with electronic shutter, every other photo will have tint of magenta on em but if I go mechanical, it goes away. This is why I prefer mechanical shutter on the R5. Weird.
@@r2hildur The color balance won't change from electronic to mechanical. You may be seeing it but it shouldn't matter at all.
Great vlog Scott, cant beat the bokeh from a big prime! Look after yourself.
Thanks 👍
Mammals need a black nose for photos but videos are different. Thanks for talking about the Canon crystal lens.
Thanks for all you do love seeing your videos
Glad you like them!
Fantastic videos, really enjoy them and very informative
Great to hear!
I always enjoy seeing your otter photography. Wish you were able to send a few otters down to the gulf coast. The few I see down here are very shy.
In the summer with increased traffic, they are pretty shy also. Once winter hits and the harbors slow down due to less boats and tourists, they move into the harbors a lot more and settle down.
Lol, NOT bored by the otter shots. Beautiful critters and I am super envious of the time you get to spend with them. I'm also shocked by the differences in the weather. I am in the Canadian prairies, WAY south of you, yet Homer is at 43F at the time of this writing, and it is -11F outside my door. I don't get it.
The weather can be crazy!
Thanks for the composition tips. Hope I can get up to AK from Seattle sometime soon.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great video and tips!
Glad you enjoyed the tips!
I have great memories of photographing eagles in February in Homer back in the Jean Keene days. It was amazing and, like most great wildlife photographic opportunities, it ended too soon. If you find something special, go wear it out. It could end before you know it.
Still tons of eagles all over homer, Seward, anchorage, pretty much everywhere ;)
Thank you for the amazing video I learned so much and you are amazing, hope you will have an amazing 2025
Thank you! You too!
Great video Scott ! Love watching your work, envious of your work location. Thanks for sharing, always look forward to your videos. Btw, really enjoyed the music at the beginning of the video - what song and artist please.
Thanks. the song is “Between Your Arms” by Tyler Edwards. I usually have the song credits in the description of the video.
@ thanks again Scott !
Hi! Thank you for all great videos! Are you using the lens with the fringer adapter? Warmly, Jens
Yes it's the new version 2 Fringer adapter. I have a video form almost couple years ago on the fringer adapter. Works amazingly
Thanks for another great video! How do you go about finding new locations? Do you have to research a lot the animal you are trying to shoot? Or do you just go somewhere and try to be patient and see what you see? Thanks!
You have to put in the work. Lot of scouting, learning the animals behavior, breeding patterns and times, nesting or denning, season migrations, etc. Ill probably do some videos soon about finding different owl species, shorebirds etc.
I enjoy your videos. I live in North Carolina. It is cold here and thee first thing I noticed is your gloves. I've purchased a few pairs of gloves, and I'm not happy with them. What kind of gloves are you wearing and are they warm enough for your conditions. Keep up the good work!
Glad you are enjoying the videos. SO for the gloves, they aren't anything special and they don't really keep my hands very warm. They are just some bow hunting gloves from Cabelas. I don't know what model as they are like 6 years old. They are goretex so they mainly block wind and keep my hands dry. I will be reviewing some heated photo gloves here in a few weeks.
@@WILDALASKA Looking forward to it
I’m also in NC in the Raleigh area, and what I do for gloves is I have some Redhead liner gloves (very thin material) and then I pair it with some cotton gloves liners on the inside. I find that not too bulky and still pretty warm. I was out this morning (around 23F) and my hands were ok, they weren’t uncomfortably cold, and I was still able to operate everything on my R7, which is a smaller camera.
Great video Scott, I already have the Z 180-600 which I love but am itching for a Prime and am considering the Z 600mm f6.3 or the Z 800 f6.3 which way would you go?
They are both nice lenses, but they are PF. Phase fresnel glass is good and sharp, but has issues with Spectral highlight issue and bokeh wonkiness happens sometimes when shooting into light (back or side) for the weight tradeoff. It's due to the way the lens is made and it helps in being much lighter than ED/UD and Fluorite lenses.
The big primes f/2.8 and f/4 use the fluorite lens process which is the best optical quality glass made. The other lenses like the z 180-600 and RF 100-500 use ED, UD, and Super UD glass elements which are a cheaper way to make a lens thats close to fluorite performance for mass production.
Depends on where you need the focus, either for light weight, price, or end game/last lens you buy. Hope that helps. I need to make a video on that soon and review the PF lenses, but I'm afraid I won't enjoy the comment section lol.
Thanks for watching and then kind words.
Hi Scott just a thought you shoot Z9 with an adapter and canon lens is there an adapter the other way Canon body and Nikon lens any idea if there is one
Sadly no.
Does auto focus work when an EF lens is attached to a Nikon body?
Yes. Very well.
Dislike all of the man-made objects in the pictures. Like the natural.
Good for you 😔