In meinen Augen ist Ihre Hide das wohl schönste Wohnzimmer in ganz GB! 🙂 Ihre Aufnahmen vom Eisvogel sind vorzüglich. Ich gratuliere Ihnen sehr herzlich zu diesem Erfolg
Great video! I was first hooked on Kingfishers after watching the BBC Natural History Unit film by Ronald and Rosemary Eastman from the late 60s ... "Secret Splendour of the Brooks". The film technology of that era was primative compared to today. The Eastmans had to borrow a very expensive high-speed (120fps) film camera from the BBC to capture their diving sequences, but today, far superior video recording capability is available in something barely bigger than a cell phone!
Thanks very much for sharing. Great video and images. Where I am, we only get the Belted Kingfisher and they are extremely skittish. You can be 200 ft away and they fly off. The only time I can be close enough is with the juvis. They will come in.
What a wonderful production in every single aspect, my photo pal and I very much look forward to our visit there in a couple of weeks time, so thanks for your tips Mike, thanks for sharing👍🏻
Excellent video, Mike!!! I just fell in love with kingfishers... Our kingfishers in the U.S. are not as colorful, but very active just like yours in th U.K.. Thanks for taking us along!!!
great video, already heard and watched a video about this place , and plan to book a day on my Birthday, 20th may all being well, ive been taking pics for 40 yrs ,but never birds, just started this new interest of photography about 2 months ago, ive got some modest equipment so the clarity of the pics won't be as good as yours, but I'm sure the bird will be recognised , I missed a pair of breeding ospreys that must have cleared off a day before I got to the location were they nest on the outskirts of coventry, every yr apparently ,, people in the hide were showing me pics to tease me, l o l Brandon Nature Reserve , coventry , I believe they have 8 or 9 hides there and one being called the kingfisher hide ,,,, cheers Shane in the midlands uk
Absolutely fantastic Mike 👍 you've got some stunning slow mo clips in there and cracking pictures, I like how she wanted to check your camera 😂👍 I've seen a few videos from this hide now and saved the contact details, but I've not made a booking yet, I'll have to get in touch with them sharpish 👍 Thanks for sharing, ATB Andy
Hi Mike I was in the hide the day after, it was -5 degrees overnight and the pool did actually freeze over, even with the fire we never got warm all day as the temp did not get above 1 degrees. Tim was ecstatic to leave your branch in for me, I have been Christmas Eve and I’m back again in Feb all the best and keep up the great work. Tony
Great video Mike. Looks a fantastic hide and set up , and I`ve certainly never seen a hide as `plush` as that. Any idea where he got the rubber clamps on the side of the pool ?
Wow Mike, those were really wonderful shots and videos you got there. Definitely worth going. Was that 4K 60p on the Mark II? - Mick Thompson, Tucson, Arizona.
Mike, Couple of questions, looking at focal length of lens, will the Sony 200-600mm be too much? Perches look quite close to the hide. Secondly, natural light, better morning or afternoon? Thank you!
The 200-600mm will be perfect. The hide is facing north and slightly east. I saw no sun while I was there so do not know how the shadows and colours play on the water. It is a hide you normally book for the day.
Nice action and shots, pity about the white background. With extensive experience of the kingfishers in my local river (SW France) I suggest it unwise to generalise about kingfisher behaviour. The birds here are extremely sensitive and timid, they scarper at my approach, when 100m distant.
Bird photographers used DSLR camera for years so yes you can get pictures. Modern mirrorless cameras just make it easier. Aim for 2500th with the lens wide open and use the maximum fps. Your camera might have 8 fps max, with a modern camera it can be 50 fps. Just makes it easier.
Someone has put in a lot of effort to build that hide. First the location scouting, building the hide, installing electric power, building the infinity pool, ensuring the birds are regularly fed, topping up the coffee bar(!), providing the camera mounts and massage “armchair”, preparing perches and perch mounts, not to mention the maintenance of the whole setup. Some hides actually provide pre-configured continuous light and flash setups, so the photographer doesn’t actually have to do anything at all. I have to question who can actually take credit for the resulting photos? The only skill the photographer needs is the ability to find the hole in the camouflage to point his lens through. All the work has been done by someone else. This is nothing like your other kingfisher videos where you searched for the location and set up your own hide. Using a commercial hide maybe fun, but this is not wildlife photography as I know it. Many look down on zoo photography, but at least in a zoo you have to select your own subject, location, light and background. Using a hide like this really takes armchair photography to new heights! Perhaps you’d like to voice your own opinions on this subject in your next video?
Hi, Not something I would like to talk about in a video. There is obviously more satisfaction in doing it yourself and before I started Youtubing I had only done one paid for hide in the U.K, but doing a weekly film is challenging so I have done several now. It gives me a new film and people like to watch them. I also enjoy it. I like being close to wildlife and despite being there all day I wanted more and better images. That suggests there is something more to it than finding the hole in the camouflage. Putting the time in is the most important thing. Similar points are made about all aspects of photography. African safaris. Who gets the picture? The photographer or the driver guide? I have self driven in several African parks and do very poorly. I would do much better using someone who knows what he is doing, but I stubbornly want to do it myself. You want pictures of Leopards and Cheetahs use a guide and you only have to press the button. I would enjoy it if I did, but i enjoy all of it. I am very much in favour of paid for hides. There are far too many photographers today all wanting pictures. Very few have the opportunity due to time, access to suitable land or knowledge, but they want to have the fantastic experience that these setups provide. The more people interested in wildlife the better. Tim who owns this site mentioned how pleased he was to have had 3 father and son visitors in the short time he has been going. He knows the impact that had on those young people. It reminded me of when we used to rent a Kingfisher hide out decades ago. My friend and I only did this on a casual basis, but we had a father bring his son along and when I collected them from the hide at the end of the day the joy and excitement that young person showed was great to see. Watching a Kingfisher catch fish close up yourself rather than on the TV would be an experience he will never forget and will have made him very respectful of nature and the countryside.
@@MikeLaneFRPS Thanks for responding. The “finding the hole” was a little tongue in cheek, I should have added a Smilie, but I think you probably followed what I meant. I understand the attraction of being close to wildlife and you clearly record and therefore declare how the images/video are taken, so I have no problem with that. It does however make me question every other kingfisher (and jumping squirrel etc.) photo I see. In my opinion, it puts every other similar, or perhaps less optimal image taken under more “natural” conditions into question. Some years ago, a jumping squirrel could probably have won a photo competition but that’s probably unlikely now, even if it were taken under completely natural and “uncontrolled” conditions. In this sense it’s similar in some ways, but obviously not as extreme, as the question of AI. Yes, ALL photographers want great images but I feel they should make the time, gain access to suitable areas and attain the necessary knowledge. It’s not just a case of buying the newest and greatest camera and expect to become a great photographer. That’s how the best photographers learn and make the very best images (I’m certainly not one of them 🙂). I’ve also made several trips to Africa but with just my wife and myself with a driver. Clearly the driver offers advice on where the best spots are, but when we arrive, we all look out for wildlife and I direct the driver to position the Land Rover in the best position, when and how to move, and when to leave the animals in peace. No animals are baited, and the environment was completely natural. I personally don’t see the two situations as being comparable. I can’t argue with the father and son aspect, that’s obviously great to see. It’s more a question of what happens to the flood of near perfect images that would otherwise require far more knowledge and effort to attain. Regards Step
@@CNCTurboStepI have to disagree with you, hide photography is a great thing, especially as you get older, or are less able to walk for miles, or crawl about on river banks. It also enables you to hone your technical photography skills with an almost guaranteed subject. I do a mix of hide and “free-range” wildlife photography, just like some meals I make from scratch, sometimes I eat out at a restaurant, it’s nice to have choices. If it’s not for you don’t do it.
Hello Mike,nice footage and a great hide!! Greetings Gijs 🤠🤠
Thanks
In meinen Augen ist Ihre Hide das wohl schönste Wohnzimmer in ganz GB! 🙂
Ihre Aufnahmen vom Eisvogel sind vorzüglich. Ich gratuliere Ihnen sehr herzlich zu diesem Erfolg
Great footage and pics Mike, thanks for sharing :)
Glad you enjoyed it
How are you finding the DJI Neo by the way ?
Great video! I was first hooked on Kingfishers after watching the BBC Natural History Unit film by Ronald and Rosemary Eastman from the late 60s ... "Secret Splendour of the Brooks". The film technology of that era was primative compared to today. The Eastmans had to borrow a very expensive high-speed (120fps) film camera from the BBC to capture their diving sequences, but today, far superior video recording capability is available in something barely bigger than a cell phone!
Glad you enjoyed it! I remember watching the Eastman film.
Wow excellent once again Mike I do love ur videos so simple but yet so professional. 🙏🏻👍🏻
Glad you like them!
What a finely equipped hide! You could spend the night in there if it was permitted. Very comfortable. Good job, Mike.
You could.
great video and great shots
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks very much for sharing. Great video and images. Where I am, we only get the Belted Kingfisher and they are extremely skittish. You can be 200 ft away and they fly off. The only time I can be close enough is with the juvis. They will come in.
Glad you enjoyed it
Lovely Video as always Mike, i captured my first proper Kingfisher photos last year, looking forward to some more this year.
Thanks
To short, I could watch that all day. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a wonderful production in every single aspect, my photo pal and I very much look forward to our visit there in a couple of weeks time, so thanks for your tips Mike, thanks for sharing👍🏻
Many thanks!
Excellent video, Mike!!! I just fell in love with kingfishers... Our kingfishers in the U.S. are not as colorful, but very active just like yours in th U.K.. Thanks for taking us along!!!
Thanks 👍
Professional model bird.
Brilliant work, as usual. Thanks for sharing!!!
My pleasure!
Very nice vid and images Mike. That hide looks really like a hotel room 🙂. Always love you vids, thank you.👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Awesome syncing the music with the lady kingfisher.
Glad you enjoyed it
Very cool… when he landed on the camera:))) nice film. Great hide
Thanks for watching
Brilliant as usual Mike excellent
Thanks again!
You are the best, great Video, greetings from Germany Alfredo
Thank you! Cheers!
Very nice video with one of my favorite birds. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
Wow what a hide my sort of Wildlife photography Mike Awesome 👍
Its one of the best.
Stunning photography!
Many thanks!
great video, already heard and watched a video about this place , and plan to book a day on my Birthday, 20th may all being well, ive been taking pics for 40 yrs ,but never birds, just started this new interest of photography about 2 months ago, ive got some modest equipment so the clarity of the pics won't be as good as yours, but I'm sure the bird will be recognised , I missed a pair of breeding ospreys that must have cleared off a day before I got to the location were they nest on the outskirts of coventry, every yr apparently ,, people in the hide were showing me pics to tease me, l o l Brandon Nature Reserve , coventry , I believe they have 8 or 9 hides there and one being called the kingfisher hide ,,,, cheers Shane in the midlands uk
Hope the day goes well.
@ thanks for the reply Mike , love your vids , watched a lot of them , and always learn stuff , and I’m 60 thanks Shane
That hide is nicer than my apartment! We get the same species of kingfisher here in Japan BTW.
I have seen them in Japan. Been three times.
Fabulous Mike !
Thanks.
Fantastic Mike, really enjoyed the video and stills. 👍
Glad to hear it
Beautiful shots! :-)
Thank you so much 😀
My favorite birds. Enjoyed your video.
Glad you enjoyed
Truly a wonderful video and some perfect video shots. Must make a visit to this hide it looks fantastic.
Please do!
Wow what a Hide, lovely shots...love the Kingfisher on the GoPro..Regards..
Glad you enjoyed it
stunning
Thanks
Absolutely fantastic Mike 👍 you've got some stunning slow mo clips in there and cracking pictures, I like how she wanted to check your camera 😂👍
I've seen a few videos from this hide now and saved the contact details, but I've not made a booking yet, I'll have to get in touch with them sharpish 👍
Thanks for sharing, ATB Andy
You are welcome.
Lovely Mike
Thank you.
Many thanks!
Great stuff Mike, thx
Glad you enjoyed it
Hi Mike I was in the hide the day after, it was -5 degrees overnight and the pool did actually freeze over, even with the fire we never got warm all day as the temp did not get above 1 degrees. Tim was ecstatic to leave your branch in for me, I have been Christmas Eve and I’m back again in Feb all the best and keep up the great work. Tony
Glad you enjoyed it.
Brilliant video, fantastic Mike👍📸
Glad you enjoyed it
Bonsoir
Superbe Merci
Thanks.
Magnificent 😊
Many thanks!
Going next weekend, Cannot wait now.
Hope you get good weather. Makes a difference.
Very well done sir. I'm almost your age and I too prefer zoom lenses; I haven't had a prime lens (except for macro lenses) for about 20 years.
Thanks for sharing
Very nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
Stunning Mike, how are you going to top that one this year.
I could have done with better light, putting a bit of colour in it. Photographers are like farmers, never happy with the weather!
Great video Mike. Looks a fantastic hide and set up , and I`ve certainly never seen a hide as `plush` as that. Any idea where he got the rubber clamps on the side of the pool ?
Thanks. Not i don't know. Sorry
@@MikeLaneFRPS No problem.
Wow Mike, those were really wonderful shots and videos you got there. Definitely worth going. Was that 4K 60p on the Mark II? - Mick Thompson, Tucson, Arizona.
Yes that is my usual setting so I can slow it down a little when I want to.
'Thanks for watching', always comes along too soon.
Leave them wanting more!
One more an unique video. Kind regars Dieter Diering
Thanks.
Mike, Couple of questions, looking at focal length of lens, will the Sony 200-600mm be too much? Perches look quite close to the hide. Secondly, natural light, better morning or afternoon?
Thank you!
The 200-600mm will be perfect. The hide is facing north and slightly east. I saw no sun while I was there so do not know how the shadows and colours play on the water. It is a hide you normally book for the day.
Nice action and shots, pity about the white background. With extensive experience of the kingfishers in my local river (SW France) I suggest it unwise to generalise about kingfisher behaviour. The birds here are extremely sensitive and timid, they scarper at my approach, when 100m distant.
If you were using a DSLR to photograph the diving, instead of the action camera, how would you set it. Would it have any chance of getting pictures?
Bird photographers used DSLR camera for years so yes you can get pictures. Modern mirrorless cameras just make it easier. Aim for 2500th with the lens wide open and use the maximum fps. Your camera might have 8 fps max, with a modern camera it can be 50 fps. Just makes it easier.
@@MikeLaneFRPS Thank you Mike- this is very encouraging.
I'm wondering what equity minimum is for a kingfisher model? ;-) Nice images and video, thank you for sharing!
A lot
If you are over this way again Mike let me know, I will take you out for the mountain hares..
What is the carbon footprint of that blind?
Someone has put in a lot of effort to build that hide. First the location scouting, building the hide, installing electric power, building the infinity pool, ensuring the birds are regularly fed, topping up the coffee bar(!), providing the camera mounts and massage “armchair”, preparing perches and perch mounts, not to mention the maintenance of the whole setup. Some hides actually provide pre-configured continuous light and flash setups, so the photographer doesn’t actually have to do anything at all. I have to question who can actually take credit for the resulting photos? The only skill the photographer needs is the ability to find the hole in the camouflage to point his lens through. All the work has been done by someone else. This is nothing like your other kingfisher videos where you searched for the location and set up your own hide. Using a commercial hide maybe fun, but this is not wildlife photography as I know it. Many look down on zoo photography, but at least in a zoo you have to select your own subject, location, light and background. Using a hide like this really takes armchair photography to new heights!
Perhaps you’d like to voice your own opinions on this subject in your next video?
Hi, Not something I would like to talk about in a video. There is obviously more satisfaction in doing it yourself and before I started Youtubing I had only done one paid for hide in the U.K, but doing a weekly film is challenging so I have done several now. It gives me a new film and people like to watch them. I also enjoy it. I like being close to wildlife and despite being there all day I wanted more and better images. That suggests there is something more to it than finding the hole in the camouflage. Putting the time in is the most important thing.
Similar points are made about all aspects of photography. African safaris. Who gets the picture? The photographer or the driver guide? I have self driven in several African parks and do very poorly. I would do much better using someone who knows what he is doing, but I stubbornly want to do it myself. You want pictures of Leopards and Cheetahs use a guide and you only have to press the button. I would enjoy it if I did, but i enjoy all of it.
I am very much in favour of paid for hides. There are far too many photographers today all wanting pictures. Very few have the opportunity due to time, access to suitable land or knowledge, but they want to have the fantastic experience that these setups provide. The more people interested in wildlife the better. Tim who owns this site mentioned how pleased he was to have had 3 father and son visitors in the short time he has been going. He knows the impact that had on those young people.
It reminded me of when we used to rent a Kingfisher hide out decades ago. My friend and I only did this on a casual basis, but we had a father bring his son along and when I collected them from the hide at the end of the day the joy and excitement that young person showed was great to see. Watching a Kingfisher catch fish close up yourself rather than on the TV would be an experience he will never forget and will have made him very respectful of nature and the countryside.
@@MikeLaneFRPS Thanks for responding. The “finding the hole” was a little tongue in cheek, I should have added a Smilie, but I think you probably followed what I meant. I understand the attraction of being close to wildlife and you clearly record and therefore declare how the images/video are taken, so I have no problem with that. It does however make me question every other kingfisher (and jumping squirrel etc.) photo I see. In my opinion, it puts every other similar, or perhaps less optimal image taken under more “natural” conditions into question. Some years ago, a jumping squirrel could probably have won a photo competition but that’s probably unlikely now, even if it were taken under completely natural and “uncontrolled” conditions. In this sense it’s similar in some ways, but obviously not as extreme, as the question of AI.
Yes, ALL photographers want great images but I feel they should make the time, gain access to suitable areas and attain the necessary knowledge. It’s not just a case of buying the newest and greatest camera and expect to become a great photographer. That’s how the best photographers learn and make the very best images (I’m certainly not one of them 🙂).
I’ve also made several trips to Africa but with just my wife and myself with a driver. Clearly the driver offers advice on where the best spots are, but when we arrive, we all look out for wildlife and I direct the driver to position the Land Rover in the best position, when and how to move, and when to leave the animals in peace. No animals are baited, and the environment was completely natural. I personally don’t see the two situations as being comparable.
I can’t argue with the father and son aspect, that’s obviously great to see. It’s more a question of what happens to the flood of near perfect images that would otherwise require far more knowledge and effort to attain.
Regards
Step
@@CNCTurboStepI have to disagree with you, hide photography is a great thing, especially as you get older, or are less able to walk for miles, or crawl about on river banks. It also enables you to hone your technical photography skills with an almost guaranteed subject. I do a mix of hide and “free-range” wildlife photography, just like some meals I make from scratch, sometimes I eat out at a restaurant, it’s nice to have choices. If it’s not for you don’t do it.
@@sue.Hoo123It looks like someone might be deleting my responses - that‘s a pity