As a senior (82) with limited mobility, my photography is confined to my back yard, winter and summer. Due to my living in Canada, (BC) it is wet and cold in winter. To overcome this I take pictures of birds through the open kitchen window, where I sit, watch and and have a cup of coffee. My set up that attracts as many as 18 different species of birds on a good day. I appreciate your tips very much and will try to emulate them as often as I can. Because my backyard is quite small, with a complete wall of trees and bushes I am working on Bokeh backgrounds. I admire the beautiful shots you have shown in this video.
I am always impressed by how nicely you organise your content and how clearly you present it. The video was very informative as your other videos and it was just a delight to watch. At a time when many RUclipsrs are about blowing themselves up and overselling a mediocre content, your humble attitude and useful content are refreshingly different. Thank you, Duade.
Thank you so much for sharing this video! I have always wondered how to make a staging area for the birds. I really enjoy your videos ad love listening to your presentations. Easy to follow and easy to understand your style of presentation. Thank you and keep up the quality videos.
I've just seen this video, 2 years old, but spot on, this summer I did exactly this trick, using a large branch I picked up when walking the dog, put it into an old plant pot near our birth bath, sitting in the garden hand holding the camera I got some great shots, also setting up the camera on a tripod then sitting in the sun room and firing the camera remotely worked, starlings and blackbirds bathing. Love it. We do all have 120 acre gardens unfortunately, in the UK that's called a county..... with 300k people living in it.
I keep coming back to this video. Love the instructional part of it. I like your idea of moving towards a more natural/habitat photography style. I recognize the beauty of bird portraiture but at the same time they can easily become unnatural and cheesy. Love your work and your easy going style.
Great Stuff. This has given me 'food for thought'. As I have only a small back yard, I may try taking a bucket and bird bath etc with me and setting something up out in the field as another option.
i'm from East Tennessee. my husband is outside right now making me a perch just like this. thank you so much! we're expecting snow Monday and i'm just trying to get ready. yay!
@@Duade yes…huge birder here. Multiple feeders and a water feature. I just couldn’t think of how to set up my yard and your video really helped. He actually made 4 areas for photos. Some with pine branches that are nice and full, 1 with just the plain sticks, one with larger branches with lots of moss and that fluffy kind of lichen, plus he dug up an evergreen sapling that’s about 4ft tall from our woods and replanted it next to our water feature. Rootball and all. So ready! We used to get a lot of snow here when I was kid and even up to around 1998 but climate change put an end to that. I have to take advantage of snow and be efficient about it when it comes to photos.
Where I live there is a huge population of birds! They fly too high in my tall trees so this video will be very helpful. I have bird feeders but I can see where a water bath and this type of set up will really help me get them on nice branches. I have gorgeous flowers and I can get great photos using your techniques! I am going to try that out tomorrow. I have lots of buckets and scrap lumber. I will get this going and have such fun! My zoom lens is just a 70mm to 300mm lens so this will really help me. Its been very hard to get these small birds up two stories in my trees! I still managed to get some cool ones but this will be so much better! Thank you for simple suggestions to help us take things up a notch. Where I live I can go walking but the birds stay up in taller trees!!! This will help them come down to a closer range. The best birds I have gotten so far are the Bald Eagles below my home, Spotted Towhees and Ravens...some little birds as well. I am so looking forward to using your techniques!
This is one of those ideas, "why didn't I think of that?". Easy, portable, and gets the background exactly how you would like it. Thanks, off to find the drill.
Terrific ideas, Duane. I'm fortunate to have a small urban backyard with some nice trees in close proximity to my house. With a couple of bird baths and feeding stations, I attract numerous birds throughout the year. And yes, the many of my bird photos are taken in that environment. Now it's time to confess: a good number of my photos are taken from inside the house - while laofing on my living room recliner. I make the supreme effort to keep the window spotlessly clean!
I just want to say how much I am enjoying your videos. I find them to be clear and concise without a lot of waffle present in some RUclips content. I am semi retired and looking forward to improving my bird photography. I spend a fair bit of time in the bush down here on the south coast of NSW prospecting but will be carrying my camera for when the yellow stuff is playing hard to find. I was a Wedding videographer in a previous life so I appreciate the time and effort it takes to produce your videos. Thanks.
Good stuff! I'm coming to this a couple years later, but this video has been an inspiration. I built a couple of the bucket perches and placed them on opposite sides of a birdbath, near some trees. (My wife suspected I had lost my mind, I think.) Some of my best images have been made with birds taking the "stair steps" down those perches to the water. Much better images. Backgrounds selected ahead of time and suitably blurred. And another benefit -- the trees near the perches have become a favorite staging ground for birds as they work their way toward the perches. Many, many birds now use the trees and I have made a lot of images of them there -- perhaps a dozen species that have never made their way to the perches, but have come close enough for good pictures. Thank you, Mr. Paton.
Thanks so much for the feedback Bill, that is great to hear. It is incredible how creating a ladder really does help and creates those opportunities. Have fun, Cheers, Duade 👍
Hey Duade, I saw your perch bucket in one of your previous videos and went out and bought the gear to make a couple of them up. They work beautifully, when the birds want to play of course. Thanks for finally making my buckets 'legit' and not 'borrowed' property. . . Bruce
Keep up the great work! I watched this a couple of years ago. Had built myself a blind out in the AZ desert, had a stroke, blind got destroyed by youngsters, etc. Got it built again and setting up the feeding stations and perches. Thanks!!
I use a Christmas tree stand which has 4 bolts in it to clamp the post in place, instead of a bucket full of rocks, it is easier to move or change out. Also the four bolts screw in and out so it works for different size posts. I also like using real tree limbs for a post in case a woodpecker wants to visit it too.
So, I bought a Christmas tree stand before watching the video lol but this is an amazing setup!! I’m actually looking at a spot with Northern Bobwhite here in NC USA. I plan to use a larger log like perch for them to land on instead. I think since they are larger birds, they might look better on more of a thicker log or rock. But these perches you have here are excellent!! Great setup Duade, thanks sir!!
As a beginning birding nut and wildlife, this by far is my favorite channel to learn from. You sir are top notch! Thank you for sharing your experience. Look forward to binge watching your channel.
I have a bird feeder in my backyard but there are trees everywhere. Your backyard huge lol! I have the same female and male cardinals, one squirrel, one Robin, 1 pigeon, random finches, and some grackles that come to my feeder.
I’m glad to see you got the habitat shot. My eye prefers those over the guidebook portraits. I also watched a more recent video in which you discuss both more in depth. Thank you.
This video was exactly what I was looking for Duade, perfect solution for my small backyard to attract a bunch of birds without having to use a manufactured style bird feeder/perch type to attract our feathered friends. Cheers mate!
Awesome! Next year I’m finally moving to a countryside house with space and a big garden, so I’ve been doing some research on how to build perches and bird feeders. I’ll save this for the future! Your videos are always smooth to watch and well structured, I guess you don’t have many subs yet because bird photography is a small niche, but the quality is very high. Congrats!
Morning Duade, a great video which shows what can be achieved by constructing your own garden set up. I’ve been taking photos of garden birds in the UK on feeders but it’s not a good look. After all this time I’ve got a dose of covid which is pretty unpleasant. But this gives me something to look forward to doing after I’ve shaken the bugger off! As for equipment,I started a couple of years ago with a Canon 800D and a Tamron 150 to 600 mk 1. Once I’d got the bug I got a Canon 100 - 400 mk 2 lens with teleconverters. But the real game changer for me was buying the R6. I use it with the other lenses and a Canon RF 600 F11. Thank you for this video it’s given me a goal to achieve once I’m well.
Thanks for this video! I just bought my first house and want to photograph birds that come into my backyard, so this gave me a ton of great information on how to successfully create a setup!
Hi there, Duade! What a difference a season makes... this is the first video of yours I see with green background, full of flowers :-) When it comes to my preferences: I like horisontal photos best. And I do like photos of birds in their natural habitat, like yours Red-capped Robin in the Eucalyptus, but the reason might just be that those are the *only* photos I take. I saunter around, and when I see a bird I photograph it, willy-nilly. No dicipline or setups whatsoever ;-) When it is a special bird (when going on birding tours abroad) that's new to me, I take a photo whatever the distance. The results are, as you might guess, not exciting for anyone but myself. Sometimes the dratted bird is so far away anyone will have to take my word for what species it is, if it isn't of the nice category "Unmistakable". Once in a blue moon I get a nice shot, but not in yours or Jan's eyes, I suspect.
Thank you so much for your comment, what you say is so important and one of the keys in photography. That is take photos that bring "you" joy, not somebody else. Once I stopped taking photos for likes on social media my enjoyment greatly improved. I take many shots that I don't share with anyone as I just enjoy being out with my camera. Great to hear you love being outdoors with our wonderful birds. Cheers, Duade
Wonderful ideas Duade. I’ll try to set this up in my backyard one of these days. I need to find a hide though because there is no place in the backyard to hide.
I copied this great idea when visiting a local nature reserve. With permission from the nature reserve, I temporarily set up this kind of perch but to keep weight down for my mobile setup, I used scraps of wood to stabilise the base of the upright 2x4 inside the bucket. At the end of the day it was easy to put in the car boot for future use. It works so well as it lets you offer the birds perches that give you a much improved angle on the subject and with a suitable background .
@@thomaseriksson6256 Once you try you will never go back ;-) But in all seriousness it is interesting how we find a niche in photography and usually stick with it. Cheers, Duade
I think this is an important topic. When we start at young age we cannot afford allot of equipment but build it up during the years. Then we start working and can afford allot of lenses and often trying to cover all aspects of photography. Some are stuck at this level and always hunting for the latest equipment. Others are slowly building up the art knowledge and start reducing the equipment to a minimum and concentrate on a smaller aria on photography. It takes time to know your equipment and that time you can better use out in the field taking pictures
Just found your channel and joined, Mr. Paton. Great job on this video. These are neat techniques with setting up your bird studios. I plan to set one up tomorrow. :)
Oh dear! 😹 There I was thinking you were the 'King of Stealth', with muscles like Schwarzenegger toting a mighty lens through 'the Bush' to bring us amazing photos! P.s., e.g. the Robin... 700mms, Strewth!
G'day Alex, sorry to disappoint 😀, I use a range of methods to obtain photos, I have done plenty of stalking and sliding around in the mud. The key is to be adaptable to a range of situations. Cheers, Duade 👍
Great photo of the bird in the tree. I've been using a thick branch in a bucket of gravel for greater spotted woodpeckers, near peanut feeders. I've never tried thinner perches, great idea. Thanks. It's a great channel.
As I always say, " Love your teachings". From today, I'd address you as 'Professor Paton' Thanks for including the Outtakes. Regards, Rajesh (from India)
Thank you, Duade for sharing your techniques. I tried setting up perches with an old tripod with some success. The great thing about using 2x4s is the stability that its width and weight provide. It also makes it easy to attach the branches to it with a zip tie. Can’t wait to try it soon. Love the background music by the way. More power to you. Cheers!
Excellent, love your videos. You spend so much time and effort breaking everything down for us and it's greatly appreciated. I am blessed with a ton of backyard birds but was tired of just getting pics of them on the feeders. My daughter has a 6 foot round garden in our yard and we have numerous staging trees, like you mention in the video. I have a friend I work with that had a few old, antique cedar fence posts so I put them up and it seems to be working quite well. I have it in the garden, between the trees and the feeders and find the birds often sit on the posts as their waiting for a turn at the feeders. I also put a little food in the fence post tops so they stay longer and focus on the food rather than me taking their pics, and you don't see the bird food in the pics which is perfect. Never thought of this idea though, may be something I consider as we do have a bird bath in another part of the garden..
Most enjoyable! I'm glad to have found your channel! You speak very simply and directly; a sign of a great teacher. I've watched three so far and plan on watching some more. I am brand new to bird photography. I have landscape and plant shooting as a background. I've much to learn. Thanks!
G'day, I'm glad you found the channel, I hope you find some of the videos helpful in your birding journey. Bird photography can be very hard but is rewarding with unlimited possibilities and so many birds to photograph. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade Thank you for the reply! My gear is sub-par, so I liked your video on how to use sub-par gear to take fine photos! I will practice your 6 steps to up my game. Cheers!
I've been using a rebar with tie wraps to hold my perches. This looks a lot easier and the ability to move it to different locations is a big plus. Thanks for the video.
Thanks Ian, I agree, all styles have their place and the beauty is we can engage in whichever one we enjoy the most. My preference is for waterbirds and shorebirds but If they are not about I try some other styles. Cheers, Duade
Awesome video! I really appreciate that you show the raw file. Didn't think I'd want to photograph birds, but this definitely makes me want to give it a go
Your videos are so interesting and they all have so much useful info. I have put an old timber fence post in each cattle water trough on the farm and most birds use these perches instead of the side of the trough.
@@Duade Halfway between Lismore and Ballina. Usually pretty green here. I like your Regent Honeyeater cap. My nephew photographed a Regent Honeyeater in his front yard in town in Dubbo and got a lot of bird people excited.
Hi Thanks for the Ideas , i have tried a few options to create a nice background for my photos and watching this video gave me food for thought. Thank you Duade
Hi Duade, thanks for another informative video! I think in a garden setting using perches makes a lot of sense and many of us that are in lockdowns etc have a had a chance to photograph more at home. When you are out and about, I prefer natural “habitat” photography and as others have said it adds the fun element of not knowing what you will get. Cheers
Thanks for the feedback, yes, I have a few setups around the property, and they can be difficult to do in the field and get them to work. Yes, the unknown is fun and one reason I enjoy photographing waterbirds and shorebirds so much. Cheers, Duade
I have actually tried this before (shepherd's bush in melbourne) but failed because it rained the night before. The birds didn't land there but they did get within 5 metres of me. Perhaps I will succeed next time :) Thanks for your tips! And unfortunately I can't join (kids don't get much pocket money these days) but will keep watching your content ^o^
Keith, yes, habitat shots are on my to improve list, I am hoping to pick up the 100-500 which should allow for many more habitat shots in the future. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade I am fortunate to have the 100-500 for a few months now, and use it every day. In fact, I traded in my 600 f4, and very seldom miss it:) Some closeups and environmental shots if you are interested in seeing the lens in action, paired with either the R-6 or R-5 at different times. instagram.com/dotsson92/
As a senior (82) with limited mobility, my photography is confined to my back yard, winter and summer. Due to my living in Canada, (BC) it is wet and cold in winter. To overcome this I take pictures of birds through the open kitchen window, where I sit, watch and and have a cup of coffee. My set up that attracts as many as 18 different species of birds on a good day. I appreciate your tips very much and will try to emulate them as often as I can. Because my backyard is quite small, with a complete wall of trees and bushes I am working on Bokeh backgrounds. I admire the beautiful shots you have shown in this video.
Thanks for leaving a comment Bob, I appreciate it, sounds like you have a wonderful back yard. Glad to hear the videos are helping. Cheers, Duade
I am always impressed by how nicely you organise your content and how clearly you present it. The video was very informative as your other videos and it was just a delight to watch. At a time when many RUclipsrs are about blowing themselves up and overselling a mediocre content, your humble attitude and useful content are refreshingly different. Thank you, Duade.
G'day Mansour, you are too kind, I really appreciate your lovely comment and I am happy to hear you are enjoying the videos. Cheers, Duade 👍
Well formulated Mansour - I agree. Please do not copy others Duade and continue with your style and personality.
@@sverreedin4229 G'day Sverre, I'm too old to change😉
Thank you so much for sharing this video! I have always wondered how to make a staging area for the birds. I really enjoy your videos ad love listening to your presentations. Easy to follow and easy to understand your style of presentation. Thank you and keep up the quality videos.
I've just seen this video, 2 years old, but spot on, this summer I did exactly this trick, using a large branch I picked up when walking the dog, put it into an old plant pot near our birth bath, sitting in the garden hand holding the camera I got some great shots, also setting up the camera on a tripod then sitting in the sun room and firing the camera remotely worked, starlings and blackbirds bathing. Love it. We do all have 120 acre gardens unfortunately, in the UK that's called a county..... with 300k people living in it.
I keep coming back to this video. Love the instructional part of it. I like your idea of moving towards a more natural/habitat photography style. I recognize the beauty of bird portraiture but at the same time they can easily become unnatural and cheesy. Love your work and your easy going style.
Awesome! Thank you!
I’ve really been enjoying your videos and as a beginner learning quite a lot. I have become a member to contribute in a small way. Thank you
Thanks Albert, again I really appreciate the support, Cheers, Duade
Great Stuff. This has given me 'food for thought'. As I have only a small back yard, I may try taking a bucket and bird bath etc with me and setting something up out in the field as another option.
Good luck Ian, any system should work as long as the perch is over the water they should land on it first. Good luck, Cheers, Duade
i'm from East Tennessee. my husband is outside right now making me a perch just like this. thank you so much! we're expecting snow Monday and i'm just trying to get ready. yay!
Good luck Kellie, it works well if you have seed or water to attract the birds, Cheers, DUade
@@Duade yes…huge birder here. Multiple feeders and a water feature. I just couldn’t think of how to set up my yard and your video really helped. He actually made 4 areas for photos. Some with pine branches that are nice and full, 1 with just the plain sticks, one with larger branches with lots of moss and that fluffy kind of lichen, plus he dug up an evergreen sapling that’s about 4ft tall from our woods and replanted it next to our water feature. Rootball and all. So ready! We used to get a lot of snow here when I was kid and even up to around 1998 but climate change put an end to that. I have to take advantage of snow and be efficient about it when it comes to photos.
Great to hear Kellie, sounds like a birds paradise, have fun. Cheers, Duade@@kelliesharpe1067
Thanks for showing the original Raw files - really helpful to see (along with including your settings). Great stuff!
Gday Ben, my pleasure, a great way to learn and I am happy to share, Cheers, Duade
This video only has 4K likes it deserves way more thx for the help
I love sitting in my yard taking pictures of birds, and wildlife in general. I also enjoy finding cool looking sticks I can use as perches.
Thats great Andrew, the perch is key and finding them can be difficult. Cheers, Duade
Where I live there is a huge population of birds! They fly too high in my tall trees so this video will be very helpful. I have bird feeders but I can see where a water bath and this type of set up will really help me get them on nice branches. I have gorgeous flowers and I can get great photos using your techniques! I am going to try that out tomorrow. I have lots of buckets and scrap lumber. I will get this going and have such fun! My zoom lens is just a 70mm to 300mm lens so this will really help me. Its been very hard to get these small birds up two stories in my trees! I still managed to get some cool ones but this will be so much better! Thank you for simple suggestions to help us take things up a notch. Where I live I can go walking but the birds stay up in taller trees!!! This will help them come down to a closer range. The best birds I have gotten so far are the Bald Eagles below my home, Spotted Towhees and Ravens...some little birds as well. I am so looking forward to using your techniques!
This is awesome! I live in the plains and there is not too many trees in my yard this may get the birds to stop passing our yard for the neighbors!
Sean, good luck, Cheers, Duade
This is one of those ideas, "why didn't I think of that?". Easy, portable, and gets the background exactly how you would like it. Thanks, off to find the drill.
Thanks J H, its just one method you can try, star pickets, old tripod can all work as well. Cheers, Duade
Now hubby knows what I have been trying to explain what I want. Hopefully next week I'll have my perch.
Great to hear Annette, good luck with it. Cheers, Duade 👍
Great and a very useful video Duade, once again!
Thanks Niilo, Cheers, Duade
oh my gosh this video has so many good tips and information. i must give this a try.
Good luck Judith, Cheers, Duade
You are a great photographer, presenter, helper. Take love
Thanks Arnab, Cheers, Duade
Way to go Duade
Thanks Ian, Cheers, Duade
Terrific ideas, Duane. I'm fortunate to have a small urban backyard with some nice trees in close proximity to my house. With a couple of bird baths and feeding stations, I attract numerous birds throughout the year. And yes, the many of my bird photos are taken in that environment. Now it's time to confess: a good number of my photos are taken from inside the house - while laofing on my living room recliner. I make the supreme effort to keep the window spotlessly clean!
Wow Ray, sounds like heaven, thanks for sharing, Cheers, Duade
Great ideas on setups. Thank you for sharing
My pleasure Tim, Cheers, Duade
Excellent … The more I view the more I learn … it takes some time to view all your videos mate !!! Great work ❤
Great to hear mate, it is my pleasure, have fun, Cheers, Duade
Great video - Thanks. Dave in Scotland.
Dave, my pleasure, hope it's not too cold and wet up your way. Cheers, Duade
Very impressive. Learned a lot. Thank you
Thank you, glad it helped, Cheers, Duade
I just want to say how much I am enjoying your videos. I find them to be clear and concise without a lot of waffle present in some RUclips content. I am semi retired and looking forward to improving my bird photography. I spend a fair bit of time in the bush down here on the south coast of NSW prospecting but will be carrying my camera for when the yellow stuff is playing hard to find. I was a Wedding videographer in a previous life so I appreciate the time and effort it takes to produce your videos. Thanks.
Thanks Bevan, glad they are helping, what part of the South Coast are you on? I used to live and work in Nowra. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade We moved to the Batemans Bay area around ten years ago.
Well done! Ive grown tired of trying to catch photos of birds in my backyard at the feeders. I am going give this a go. Thanks a lot.
Hi Nancilee, good luck with it, Cheers, Duade
Good stuff! I'm coming to this a couple years later, but this video has been an inspiration. I built a couple of the bucket perches and placed them on opposite sides of a birdbath, near some trees. (My wife suspected I had lost my mind, I think.) Some of my best images have been made with birds taking the "stair steps" down those perches to the water. Much better images. Backgrounds selected ahead of time and suitably blurred. And another benefit -- the trees near the perches have become a favorite staging ground for birds as they work their way toward the perches. Many, many birds now use the trees and I have made a lot of images of them there -- perhaps a dozen species that have never made their way to the perches, but have come close enough for good pictures. Thank you, Mr. Paton.
Thanks so much for the feedback Bill, that is great to hear. It is incredible how creating a ladder really does help and creates those opportunities. Have fun, Cheers, Duade 👍
Hey Duade,
I saw your perch bucket in one of your previous videos and went out and bought the gear to make a couple of them up. They work beautifully, when the birds want to play of course. Thanks for finally making my buckets 'legit' and not 'borrowed' property. . . Bruce
Great to hear Bruce, thanks for the comment. Cheers, Duade 👍
Keep up the great work! I watched this a couple of years ago. Had built myself a blind out in the AZ desert, had a stroke, blind got destroyed by youngsters, etc. Got it built again and setting up the feeding stations and perches. Thanks!!
Good luck Mike, I hope you health is improving. Cheers, Duade
Thanks Duade, very helpful video. I've had luck using an old christmas tree stand for supporting the perch post
Thanks Mark, great idea, thanks for sharing, Cheers, Duade
I use a Christmas tree stand which has 4 bolts in it to clamp the post in place, instead of a bucket full of rocks, it is easier to move or change out. Also the four bolts screw in and out so it works for different size posts. I also like using real tree limbs for a post in case a woodpecker wants to visit it too.
That sounds like an excellent idea, I will have to keep an eye out for a christmas stand. Cheers, Duade
Thanks for sharing. Your videos are really great instructional material
Oliver, my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
So, I bought a Christmas tree stand before watching the video lol but this is an amazing setup!!
I’m actually looking at a spot with Northern Bobwhite here in NC USA. I plan to use a larger log like perch for them to land on instead. I think since they are larger birds, they might look better on more of a thicker log or rock. But these perches you have here are excellent!! Great setup Duade, thanks sir!!
Excellent video!
Thank you, Cheers, Duade
What a Beautiful Environment
Thank you, I am lucky to live where I do, Cheers, Duade
Very good, some great ideas and very good tips.
I am glad you enjoyed them. Cheers, Duade
As a beginning birding nut and wildlife, this by far is my favorite channel to learn from. You sir are top notch! Thank you for sharing your experience. Look forward to binge watching your channel.
Joe, thanks for the kind comment, I appreciate the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Ooh! Like those ideas - had never thought of setting up spots to assist with capturing birds.
Thanks Denise, it is helpful for certain species for sure. Cheers, Duade
I just love the way you put this up, unfortunately at home they prefer the trees, and there are many of them !!! :) Best for you Duade!
Thanks Daniela, yes, if there are many other trees they can be reluctant to come down. Cheers, Duade
Nice work mate! Love those buckets, and they’re a good workout too when moving 😆
Thanks mate, yes they are. Cheers, Duade 👍
subscribed and liked your video.. more than anything i like the way you explain.. simple and very honest.. keep going.. All the best..
Tanuku, thanks for the feedback, I am glad you enjoyed it, Cheers, Duade
I have a bird feeder in my backyard but there are trees everywhere. Your backyard huge lol! I have the same female and male cardinals, one squirrel, one Robin, 1 pigeon, random finches, and some grackles that come to my feeder.
G'day Tommy, sounds interesting, yes I do have a large yard that is for sure. Cheers, Duade 👍
@@Duade never thought of making a nice perch so will use your advice and see what kind of shots I can get. Thanks!
Good video duade ‘ some good ideas there ‘ them little birds down there are lovely with beautiful colors
Thanks Martin, yes we are very lucky to have such beautiful birds, Cheers, Duade
I’m glad to see you got the habitat shot. My eye prefers those over the guidebook portraits. I also watched a more recent video in which you discuss both more in depth. Thank you.
Thanks Todd, yes, it is fun to try these different things and find the styles that best suits you. Cheers, Duade
Thank you - very useful.
Thank you so much Sverre, I really appreciate the support. That little Red-cap looks great. Cheers, Duade 👍
I just found your page your videos are great 👍 I don't have to back up the video all the time most talk so fast.. Thank you
Hi Debbie, that is great to hear, I'm glad you are enjoying them. Cheers, Duade
Thanks so much for your openness in sharing all of these great tips for those of us trying to learn
G'day Michael, it is my pleasure, I hope it helped, Cheers, Duade
This video was exactly what I was looking for Duade, perfect solution for my small backyard to attract a bunch of birds without having to use a manufactured style bird feeder/perch type to attract our feathered friends. Cheers mate!
Keith, my pleasure, good luck with the birds. Cheers, Duade
Awesome! Next year I’m finally moving to a countryside house with space and a big garden, so I’ve been doing some research on how to build perches and bird feeders. I’ll save this for the future!
Your videos are always smooth to watch and well structured, I guess you don’t have many subs yet because bird photography is a small niche, but the quality is very high. Congrats!
Gday Fernando, congrats on the new house, I moved to this property 2 years ago and really enjoying the birdlife, Cheers, Duade
Thank you for the good idea 💡 really appreciate 😊
My pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Thanks for the tips!!!
Aaron, my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Morning Duade, a great video which shows what can be achieved by constructing your own garden set up. I’ve been taking photos of garden birds in the UK on feeders but it’s not a good look. After all this time I’ve got a dose of covid which is pretty unpleasant. But this gives me something to look forward to doing after I’ve shaken the bugger off! As for equipment,I started a couple of years ago with a Canon 800D and a Tamron 150 to 600 mk 1. Once I’d got the bug I got a Canon 100 - 400 mk 2 lens with teleconverters. But the real game changer for me was buying the R6. I use it with the other lenses and a Canon RF 600 F11. Thank you for this video it’s given me a goal to achieve once I’m well.
That is great to hear Robert, great to hear the video was helpful and congrats on the gear, Cheers, Duade
awesome Duade! and I agree, birds often ignore the nice flowering shrub perches i set up and they go for fallen trees or thick branches etc.
Thanks Caleb, yeah I often use wooden perches for that reason. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Duade 👍
Thanks for this video! I just bought my first house and want to photograph birds that come into my backyard, so this gave me a ton of great information on how to successfully create a setup!
Great to hear Kyle and congrats on the house, have fun with the birds that visit. Cheers, Duade
Brill! Drill at the ready! Many thanks
Great to hear Catherine, good luck, Cheers, Duade 👍
I've gotten some awesome action shots from my feeder. Some of my favorites.
Great to hear Brett, Cheers, Duade 👍
Awesome stuff !
Duade, thank you, very much. I apreciate the way you explain your ideas, very nice.
Fernanda, my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Hi there, Duade! What a difference a season makes... this is the first video of yours I see with green background, full of flowers :-)
When it comes to my preferences: I like horisontal photos best. And I do like photos of birds in their natural habitat, like yours Red-capped Robin in the Eucalyptus, but the reason might just be that those are the *only* photos I take. I saunter around, and when I see a bird I photograph it, willy-nilly. No dicipline or setups whatsoever ;-)
When it is a special bird (when going on birding tours abroad) that's new to me, I take a photo whatever the distance. The results are, as you might guess, not exciting for anyone but myself. Sometimes the dratted bird is so far away anyone will have to take my word for what species it is, if it isn't of the nice category "Unmistakable".
Once in a blue moon I get a nice shot, but not in yours or Jan's eyes, I suspect.
Thank you so much for your comment, what you say is so important and one of the keys in photography. That is take photos that bring "you" joy, not somebody else. Once I stopped taking photos for likes on social media my enjoyment greatly improved. I take many shots that I don't share with anyone as I just enjoy being out with my camera. Great to hear you love being outdoors with our wonderful birds. Cheers, Duade
Simple, but brilliant. Love it!
Robert, thanks for the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Very useful content, I'll stick around for more ;).
and welcome to the channel, I hope you find the videos helpful. Cheers, Duade
Really enjoyed this. Very pleasant video and some great tips
Loved the content. I have a west facing backyard. I need to come up with something. Good ideas.
Thanks, good luck with the setup, Cheers, Duade
Another great video Duade, I’m really enjoying them. Thank you
Thanks Paul, it is my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
I definitely like the environmental shots v. the portraits. Like both - but prefer shots in the natural habitat.
Robert, thanks for your feedback and support, I am trying to get more habitat type shots in the future. Cheers, Duade
Wonderful ideas Duade. I’ll try to set this up in my backyard one of these days. I need to find a hide though because there is no place in the backyard to hide.
I copied this great idea when visiting a local nature reserve. With permission from the nature reserve, I temporarily set up this kind of perch but to keep weight down for my mobile setup, I used scraps of wood to stabilise the base of the upright 2x4 inside the bucket. At the end of the day it was easy to put in the car boot for future use. It works so well as it lets you offer the birds perches that give you a much improved angle on the subject and with a suitable background .
This video was very helpful. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Interesting video even for a landscape photographer as me, I appreciate all information
Thanks Thomas, glad you found it helpful, Cheers, Duade 👍
@@Duade I like your work and I'm not a bird photographer
@@thomaseriksson6256 Once you try you will never go back ;-) But in all seriousness it is interesting how we find a niche in photography and usually stick with it. Cheers, Duade
I think this is an important topic. When we start at young age we cannot afford allot of equipment but build it up during the years. Then we start working and can afford allot of lenses and often trying to cover all aspects of photography. Some are stuck at this level and always hunting for the latest equipment. Others are slowly building up the art knowledge and start reducing the equipment to a minimum and concentrate on a smaller aria on photography. It takes time to know your equipment and that time you can better use out in the field taking pictures
Very helpful. Thank you for doing this video!
You are so welcome!
Awesome creativity my dear friend duade👌👌 great effort and experiments..I love it and definitely I'm try myself on coming days
Great to hear Asif, good luck with it, Cheers, Duade
Fun video. I never thought about setting up in the backyard. I always just wait for birds to land somewhere. I will definately try this. Thank you.
just found your site great ideas many thanks Dave ,Essex uk
My pleasure Dave, glad you found the channel. Cheers, Duade 👍
Thanks for putting this out there and I appreciate that you shared your settings.
Thanks for the great video!
Thanks Pascal, it is my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Just found your channel and joined, Mr. Paton. Great job on this video. These are neat techniques with setting up your bird studios. I plan to set one up tomorrow. :)
Terry, thanks for the follow, good luck with the setup, Cheers, Duade
Oh dear! 😹 There I was thinking you were the 'King of Stealth', with muscles like Schwarzenegger toting a mighty lens through 'the Bush' to bring us amazing photos!
P.s., e.g. the Robin... 700mms, Strewth!
G'day Alex, sorry to disappoint 😀, I use a range of methods to obtain photos, I have done plenty of stalking and sliding around in the mud. The key is to be adaptable to a range of situations. Cheers, Duade 👍
So, No Duade 'Raptorman' Paton fighting off eagles etc. to get that 'killer' Honeyeater photo. I'm crestfallen! 😹
Great photo of the bird in the tree.
I've been using a thick branch in a bucket of gravel for greater spotted woodpeckers, near peanut feeders.
I've never tried thinner perches, great idea.
Thanks.
It's a great channel.
Thanks Eileen, good luck with it, Cheers, Duade
As I always say, " Love your teachings". From today, I'd address you as 'Professor Paton'
Thanks for including the Outtakes.
Regards,
Rajesh (from India)
Thanks Rajesh, I appreciate the feedback, Cheers, Duade 👍
Brilliant!
Moshe, thanks for the feedback, Cheers, Duade
Thank you, Duade for sharing your techniques. I tried setting up perches with an old tripod with some success. The great thing about using 2x4s is the stability that its width and weight provide. It also makes it easy to attach the branches to it with a zip tie. Can’t wait to try it soon. Love the background music by the way. More power to you. Cheers!
Thanks Ray, glad to hear you are having some success and good luck when you try this method. Cheers, Duade
Excellent, love your videos. You spend so much time and effort breaking everything down for us and it's greatly appreciated. I am blessed with a ton of backyard birds but was tired of just getting pics of them on the feeders. My daughter has a 6 foot round garden in our yard and we have numerous staging trees, like you mention in the video. I have a friend I work with that had a few old, antique cedar fence posts so I put them up and it seems to be working quite well. I have it in the garden, between the trees and the feeders and find the birds often sit on the posts as their waiting for a turn at the feeders. I also put a little food in the fence post tops so they stay longer and focus on the food rather than me taking their pics, and you don't see the bird food in the pics which is perfect. Never thought of this idea though, may be something I consider as we do have a bird bath in another part of the garden..
You could easily attach a perch to your fence post on the way to the feeder. Great to hear you have some birds coming in. Cheers, Duade
Incredible content. I must admit I'm new to bird photography. I really like the way you talk and describe all those topics.
Thanks Jakub, glad you found it helpful, Cheers, Duade
Most enjoyable! I'm glad to have found your channel! You speak very simply and directly; a sign of a great teacher. I've watched three so far and plan on watching some more. I am brand new to bird photography. I have landscape and plant shooting as a background. I've much to learn. Thanks!
G'day, I'm glad you found the channel, I hope you find some of the videos helpful in your birding journey. Bird photography can be very hard but is rewarding with unlimited possibilities and so many birds to photograph. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade Thank you for the reply! My gear is sub-par, so I liked your video on how to use sub-par gear to take fine photos! I will practice your 6 steps to up my game. Cheers!
I've been using a rebar with tie wraps to hold my perches. This looks a lot easier and the ability to move it to different locations is a big plus. Thanks for the video.
G'day Don, my pleasure. Cheers, Duade 👍
Spectacular.
Thanks Mehmet, Cheers, Duade
Such a simple but excellent idea, not a bird photographer myself but have passed on you link to a friend who is.
Thanks Dave, I hope he finds it useful, Cheers, Duade 👍
Brilliant tips thanks
Thanks John, my pleasure, Cheers ,Duade
Set up shots have their place and fun to create but I have a firm preference for in habitat shots especially when some behaviour is also captured.
Thanks Ian, I agree, all styles have their place and the beauty is we can engage in whichever one we enjoy the most. My preference is for waterbirds and shorebirds but If they are not about I try some other styles. Cheers, Duade
Awesome video! I really appreciate that you show the raw file. Didn't think I'd want to photograph birds, but this definitely makes me want to give it a go
Sam, thank you, be careful, bird photography becomes an addiction :-)
Sam - bird photography is _addictive_ !
Your videos are so interesting and they all have so much useful info.
I have put an old timber fence post in each cattle water trough on the farm and most birds use these perches instead of the side of the trough.
Great to hear, what part of Australia are you in?
@@Duade Halfway between Lismore and Ballina. Usually pretty green here.
I like your Regent Honeyeater cap. My nephew photographed a Regent Honeyeater in his front yard in town in Dubbo and got a lot of bird people excited.
@@MoreliaAustralia That is great to hear, what a highlight for your nephew, I have only photographed them once. Cheers, Duade
Very interesting video Thanks so much
My pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Lovely.... I'm from Srilanka and I got lot of birds coming in to my garden. I started doing it during C19 lockdown..
G'day Dilan, great to hear, birds are a lovely distraction from Covid. Cheers, Duade
Great ideas. Thanks
Nettaya, it is my pleasure, Cheers, Duade
Hi Thanks for the Ideas , i have tried a few options to create a nice background for my photos
and watching this video gave me food for thought. Thank you Duade
G'day Steven, my pleasure, good luck, Cheers, Duade
Hi Duade, thanks for another informative video! I think in a garden setting using perches makes a lot of sense and many of us that are in lockdowns etc have a had a chance to photograph more at home. When you are out and about, I prefer natural “habitat” photography and as others have said it adds the fun element of not knowing what you will get. Cheers
Thanks for the feedback, yes, I have a few setups around the property, and they can be difficult to do in the field and get them to work. Yes, the unknown is fun and one reason I enjoy photographing waterbirds and shorebirds so much. Cheers, Duade
I have actually tried this before (shepherd's bush in melbourne) but failed because it rained the night before. The birds didn't land there but they did get within 5 metres of me. Perhaps I will succeed next time :) Thanks for your tips!
And unfortunately I can't join (kids don't get much pocket money these days) but will keep watching your content ^o^
Thanks for your ongoing support, I appreciate your comments and feedback. Cheers, Duade 👍
The habitat shot is extraordinary. I have started doing more of these myself.:)
Keith, yes, habitat shots are on my to improve list, I am hoping to pick up the 100-500 which should allow for many more habitat shots in the future. Cheers, Duade
@@Duade I am fortunate to have the 100-500 for a few months now, and use it every day. In fact, I traded in my 600 f4, and very seldom miss it:) Some closeups and environmental shots if you are interested in seeing the lens in action, paired with either the R-6 or R-5 at different times.
instagram.com/dotsson92/
@@keithdavis9784 Great to hear Keith, yes, the weight is amazing, lovely shots you are getting. Cheers, Duade
Enjoyed!
Thanks Tate, Cheers, Duade 👍
Really good video I am going to make this and see how I go only new at bird photography
Angela, good luck, Cheers, Duade
Great idea. I’ll set one up.