Hello Glenn, thank you for telling your experiences. Do you know a good birding Guide for the highlands in Panama? We are there in 2 weeks and need some help to find good birding spots.
If you have a morning to spare while in Panama City, let me know. We can take you for a boat tour to the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake. Great for wildlife sighting! It would be our treat!
The best thing I ever did was to start traveling business or first class. If you only do I or 2 trips a year it might be feasible. It relieves all the stress I used to have before and during boarding.
Super cool video are always. I live in Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, and photographing birds in tropical forests is really a challenge. Very interesting tips for those planning to travel to photograph birds. Good luck Glenn!
I have an F-stop tilopa and once I have had someone weigh it because its a big backpack… good thing is that you can just pull out the ICU, and have the other less valuable things in the backpack if it needs to get side checked and take the ICU with you in the plane.
Great stuff as always fellas. Hope you get your antbird Glenn! Would love to see you guys do a couple episodes on fieldcraft and maybe even take the viewers out in the field with you for one of these episodes.................would be awesome to see Glenn standing in the middle of an army ant swarm ;-)
You should stop by Bocas del Toro when you are in Panama, full of regional endemics, just give me a call. I hope you enjoy Panama, a wonderful destination for natural history, culture, wildlife and adventure.
Best of luck in Panama Glen! Such an awesome episode! Super helpful and inspirational too! I spent some time in Peru years ago and always wanted to go back to that region! Thanks for sharing all this - I picked up some great gear tips from y’all! Love your show!
Great timing with this, thanks! I’m taking my R6 for its first trip to Costa Rica in January- my RF 100-500 +1.4 is tagging along too. I’ll not be too far from Panama (Talamanca Mountains, Piedras Blancas and Osa for 3 weeks) so looking forward to seeing more about your trip. I’m sticking to road and boat travel when I’m there because their internal flight bag weight limits are pretty restrictive.
Great video and very recognizable stuff! I am just back from a trip in Ecuador and Bolivia and had the opportunity to test out the R5 in the rainforest combined with the 100-400II. Personally I have avoided taking pictures above ISO 3200. When reviewed them afterwards on the computer I was happy with that choice. In my experience you can indeed go to pretty crazy levels if you don't crop, but as soon as you do I at least noticed a big quality difference between 3200 or 6400 or higher. In my experience with small birds in the rainforest there is often a need to crop things a lot and the R5 allows you to with the 45MP. So I sometimes ended up taking pictures at 1/30 of a second all handheld. However with 20fps I very often still got sharp images even if I had only a fraction of a second to take them. In my experience many animals are very good at freezing up for fractions of a second even if they move around a lot which will often allow you to still get that sharp head shot. Personally I prefer taking 10 pictures with one super nice and the rest a bit blurry opposed to 10 shots that maybe are all sharp, but dissapoint you when you are behind the computer. This might not work for everyone though, but give 1/30 a go, you might be pleasently surprised! I actually finally have my 100-500 as well and I have been getting sharp images at even 0.4 sec but doing that in the field might be pushing it :).
It depends on your editing workflow and programs as well. You can shoot much higher ISOs with ease. Of course lower is better, but personally, I prefer 10 sharp ones with noise :)
My husband and I were fortunate to visit Panama in 2017 at the end of a 3 months tour of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We stayed in the town of Gamboa and saw a huge variety of birds along the Pipeline Road/Ammo Ponds and Soberanía National Park. We moved on to El Valle de Antón, a small town in the mountains located in the central province of Coclé and again the bird life here was awesome. We saw so many birds too numerous to count - we hope to return one day to this beautiful country so special for wildlife and are sure Glenn that you will have a brilliant journey - good luck and happy spotting. Sheila Anne Williams
I’m heading to Brazil for a few months right after Christmas. I’ve been a few times and love the wildlife there. Taking a Nikon D500, 60mm macro lens, a 18-105mm, a 200-500 f5.6, and a 300mm f2.8, with a 2X teleconverter. I’ll mostly be doing static photography.
Interesting video, and lots of excellent advice! Hadn't thought about the lens hood around the tripod legs. I've only had my hand luggage checked for weight once, and that was in Norway, but they let me through in spite of the pack being too heavy. The least friendly airport personnel I've encountered were at Heathrow though, back in the analog days. They simply refused to do manual checks of film.
I was expecting more details on the assortment of bodies and lenses Glen will be taking, as well if he could post details of his back back because as far as I can see the "Pro Trekker 450 AW the top part doesn't come off leaving a fanny pack" [min 20:12].
Glenn, that was a great suggestion to take the dividers out of the pack and use thinner lens pouches. Let us know how the new Swarovski work out. Those eyecups don't look eye glass friendly. Thanks for a great interchange of ideas.
Travelled so much as a birdwatcher and tour guide, so many good tips. I also always bring: duck tape! And zip locks too actually. Off to Suriname (a non-Spanish speaking South American country with great birds) with my R6 and 100-500. Still a bit of stage fright as switching from the 7dmk2 to R6 feels like having to learn to walk again. I love my current Lowepro Protactic AW 450 as i love the design and build quality. I do have a tiny pouch with a microfiber cloth hangin from my Swarovski's which i often have used for my lenses too. Simple and very handy little piece of gear. Great vid, love gear talk, can do it forever, but nothing beats actually being out there!
Really good tips guys, Glenn, I really liked the tip about removing the dividers from your camera bag and using those small lens pouches. Have either of you had hassles with transporting your drones?
Hey Jan and Glenn, yet another great show which I liked a lot. Upfront I feared it would mainly serve to make a jealous of Glenn, but it was actually very practical and down to earth, thanks !! I travelled twice through Mexico including a drive through the rainforest from the pacific to Oaxaca (and in the middle of nowhere the car's clutch broke down). But it was in the 90's, I was using my dad's Pentax film camera with 50mm lens, and we had back then more attention for the 'birds' in the discotheques of Acapulco rather than the birds of the rainforrest. shame on me ! I should recall this video, and separate the foot from my 100-400Lii on our trip to Iceland next summer! Good tip to avoid it looking like a weapon, haha ! The RF 24-105L should come along, I'm just not sure yet about 100L macro .. A key thing of my favorite backpack is that it has a little loop on each strap, allowing me to slide in the foot of the 100-400 with the camera attached .. its much easier to carry the weight on a hike compared to lifting it all with the neck via the normal strap.
@@GlennBartley Party was just 2 nights, most of the time we were exploring those great historical sites. And back then birding was not much fun: imagine your R5 at 20 fps, but without any AF and non-reusable memory cards taking only 36 frames per card :-P Something else which cannot be stressed enough: when travelling south of the Trump wall, it's very important to respect the local people and speak at least a little Spanish! When you do, they open up and nicely help you in English, but they don't like at all (US-)Americans acting as if Latin America is their holiday resort and the local people are only there to serve them. You did mention language briefly, and the last seconds of each of your shows testifies of your awareness. Good on you!
@@jan_wegener Because we were 4 engineers, we owed it to ourselves to find a workaround: Starting in second gear with the guys from the back row pushing the car and then jumping in while driving. And shifting gears without engaging the clutch .. it was adventure for 50km, certainly when passing plenty of 10kmh speedbumps.
It's really funny how non-photographers react to us bringing these huuuuuge packs and it's all gear XD thanks for all the great advice, loved the episode & can't wait to see glenn's photos!
One thing I didn't hear mention was a backup camera. When I go on a long and expensive trip I normally take a second camera. I like the Senderos Los Quetzales trail near Boquete Panama. Also Harpy Eagles in that area which I have been after for 6 years. If in or near Colon watch your wallet and that big 600mm
Excellent episode, and timely too. I'm off to Colombia in early January. Something I bring on trips like this is a backup pair of small compact binoculars. For connectivity I use a GlocalMe portable WiFi instead of buying a SIM card. It allows me to purchase a data plan for the country or region I'm visiting. I'm still using a 7D II but will be upgrading to an R5 next year.
Ha ha! This was certainly an episode that gave me so many recognizable moments, almost a stroll down memory lane. At least as soon as Glenn started talking... I also gleaned a good piece of info from you, Jan, about no good cellphone coverage outside cities in Australia. So, maybe the old way of finding your way is the way to go, eh? (paper maps) My fave south American country must be Ecuador, where I've been the most. Otherwise I've only been to Brazil and Bolivia. I'm not *that* widely traveled...
Ohhh I got spoilers. Glenn has delivered. Some amazing ocellated antbird photos. Looking forward to seeig those edited. Some years back you would be totally fine travelling with whatever weight photography backpack here in Brazil, but it got more restricted since, max 10kg for the carry on. Tripods have given me some trouble too though, because of the size limitation for the carry on, but you can always wrap those in clothing and send them to the belly of the airplane inside a bigger case. Anyways, great episode!! I take it Glenn will tell us how his current trip is going on the next one? Id love to hear about that!
Thanks, that was very informative. I look forward to hearing about Glenn's trip. I agree about not taking too many lenses, usually I made do with one and I have been happy using a telephoto lens for macro work (to photograph butterflies and dragonflies), but I am planning to add an extender for the few cases when a bird we want to identify is too far away. I have been to Costa Rica and Ecuador and hiring a guide for at least a few days is great, especially if you are not going to drive far yourself. I agree about packing few clothes and planning to use layers.
I forgot to say that I had one experience in Ecuador where a guide found us a fairly rare bird (we think it was a Peruvian Antpitta) in the forest near the end of a very long hike, and my camera (I think it was a Canon T3i) refused to take the bird's picture. So I could see it and was trying to take the shot, but the camera wouldn't focus (it was probably having trouble in dark light). With more experience I would have tried to focus manually, but at the time it was just frustrating.
Great show guys! I've followed Glens channel and his escapades for quite some time and If you haven't watched the old travel birding blogs you have to do it, they are epic!!! I can't WAIT to get off traveling once more, borneo and Thailand next june/july so hopefully that comes off! but south america is amazing, Costa rica / Panama is where i'll head off back to after South east asia, dead jealous Glenn wish i was hitting panama with you too! have fun stay safe!!! JP
Great episode guys, thanks you. I am using Canon R6 and i am amazed by its high ISO capabilities. I was able to shoot at 25600 ISO and my images cane out bot too bad at all.
Glenn: Zeledonia... seen it, no photo 😬the same goes for the Oscellated antbird! The Snowy-bellied HB I do have a few *unbelievably* shitty photos of. On slides 400 ASA with nasty grain, so scanning them was so un-funny. Would love to be able to return to Central America for a re-run with my nice R6 and 100-500 mill!
Very good video, as usual. Related to this topic it would be good if you could create an episode on binoculars from the bird photography point of view. There are loads of videos about binoculars for birdwatching, but it would be good to hear your opinion and experience using binoculars as a complement or tool for a bird photographer. Keep the good work!
I have never spend much money on binos. Glenn has some very nice ones. I still rock an older Minox pair. All I really need is something small and light that allows me to see a bird easily
Another great job. I think a country which is overlooked is Uruguay, it is small, but bordering Brazil and Argentina has decent diversity. Especially for people starting out in South America I would recommend looking into it. Not many organized photo tours but some great birding guides who can quickly learn what you want. The hassles of air travel are the worst part. What I don't like is not knowing if your backpack/carry-on is going to be weighed. I have tried the tricks you mention, but I would rather just pay extra if necessary to take my gear. Have either of you ever used a Pelican case for your 600? I am anxious to hear about Panama because I have always considered it more of a birding destination rather than photo destination. Keep up the good work.
forehead rest, yeah! I've t thought it would be a great accessory especially if you wear glasses(to help with smoking) and/or to. help steady the camera. I approached Smallrig about it but they didn't seem all that interested. I wonder if that bin rest would work on a cam?
I’m always amazed at how much carry-on baggage is allowed on flights in and from North America. The check-in procedure in Europe is way more restrictive and stressful to the point that I very rarely travel with my heavy 500mm prime lense. The exception is EasyJet that does allow a heavy backpack to be carried on ‘legally’. Switching to a 100-500 or 200-600 will probably get over this problem to a large extent. My advice about binoculars is that those 10x Swarovskis are excellent but not necessarily the most appropriate for use in rainforest where a wide field of view is more important than magnification. I would probably go for 8x or even 7x.
I had a trip of a lifetime to Colombia just as I really started getting interested in bird photography I managed to do a couple of birding trips while there, ( bird photography was not the main reason for the trip) highlights was a guided bird tour near Popayan and day on the Amazon and photographing a Pygmy Marmoset the smallest monkey in the world It didn't fly very well though.
Glenn, you mentioned having Lens coat on your all your gear and not using dividers in your bags. Does the Lenscoat provide cushioning like the dividers do? How much weight do they add to your gear? I'm such a klutz and am afraid if I tripped and fell or dropped my bag, my gear might get damaged.
Hey Glenn! If possible, would you mind posting the exact LowePro bag you are using? I am looking for something that I can carry into the field that holds a 600 and bodies
Do you use flash? I just bought the R5+ 100-500mm and i see i can use high ISO with this camera… because in the jungles of south america it is so dark… how can i render the colors like in your tropical birds (antpittas etc)?
I really enjoyed this video and agree with all your recommendations. However, one of Glenn’s was concerning. He says he has had good luck asking a flight attendant if s/he could story a bulky camera bag in the coat locker at the front of the plane next to the main entrance . This plan is frightening to experienced wildlife photographers who have traveled to Africa. Theft rings can operate where the flight attendant spots a safari bound photographer boarding the plane and offers to put the camera bag in the entrance closet. Once deposited and the photographer is seated, a ground crew person removes the camera bag as if it needed to go in the cargo hold. Instead, it is smuggled off the airport to a fence. Meanwhile the photographer is totally unaware s/he no longer has camera gear on the plane. You can imagine to shock and helplessness the photographer experiences on departing the plane hours later. This has really happenes.
Thanks for the show, Guys. Do viewers of your 'displayed skills' (i.e.photos) ever consider the real requirements to obtain the amazing images being viewed? I know that I didn't. "Thanks" seems such a light word to express their gratitude, or mine, for the (hopefully only occasional) tortures endured to achieve them and make them available. May you achieve your desired goals this time in Panama. Be well! And good luck!
i am still curious what your back-up plan is if the agent does not let you in with all your carry-on. Plenty of flights around the world i have faced where the rules are the rules, and as much charm as you can have you still want to catch your flight.
How do you prepare for such challenging light conditions?, Like I would like to do some bird photography, I use micro four thirds so probably high iso is just a distant dream 😂, any good advice?, Also I love in Costa Rica but es born in Panama.
Costa Rica always multiple distance by 3 in your mind to calculate time lol, this last weekend I drove 120km took 4 hours with light to no traffic... It's just how it is
We hope you enjoy the show everyone. I'm still in Panama for another week and look forward to telling you all about my trip!
Hello Glenn, thank you for telling your experiences. Do you know a good birding Guide for the highlands in Panama? We are there in 2 weeks and need some help to find good birding spots.
If you have a morning to spare while in Panama City, let me know. We can take you for a boat tour to the Panama Canal and Gatun Lake. Great for wildlife sighting! It would be our treat!
Pop up to Costa Rica. Greetings from there!
Greetings from Colombia 🇨🇴 👌🏻🤩 - Maybe one day you will come here and enjoy our amazing bird diversity.
I hope so!
The best thing I ever did was to start traveling business or first class. If you only do I or 2 trips a year it might be feasible. It relieves all the stress I used to have before and during boarding.
If you can afford to why not!
Yes, it takes a lot of the pressure off
Best of Luck Glen, will be eagerly waiting to see hearing from you.
Super cool video are always. I live in Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, and photographing birds in tropical forests is really a challenge. Very interesting tips for those planning to travel to photograph birds. Good luck Glenn!
Awesome, thanks for sharing
lucky you....stay safe...and bring back lots of great bird pictures...
I will! Thank you!
I have an F-stop tilopa and once I have had someone weigh it because its a big backpack… good thing is that you can just pull out the ICU, and have the other less valuable things in the backpack if it needs to get side checked and take the ICU with you in the plane.
Good tip!
ha good tip!
Great stuff as always fellas. Hope you get your antbird Glenn! Would love to see you guys do a couple episodes on fieldcraft and maybe even take the viewers out in the field with you for one of these episodes.................would be awesome to see Glenn standing in the middle of an army ant swarm ;-)
You might just get your wish ;-)
Yes, covid has forced us to be very studio heavy
You should stop by Bocas del Toro when you are in Panama, full of regional endemics, just give me a call. I hope you enjoy Panama, a wonderful destination for natural history, culture, wildlife and adventure.
Once again, great content and information, as well as entertainment. When are two shows a week coming?? Waiting to see what Glenn gets on his trip!
When we can have days with more than 24 hrs :D
Best of luck in Panama Glen! Such an awesome episode! Super helpful and inspirational too! I spent some time in Peru years ago and always wanted to go back to that region! Thanks for sharing all this - I picked up some great gear tips from y’all! Love your show!
Awesome! Thank you!
Great video gents, I hope your trip is going well. Carry on can be a giant pain depending on the carrier that is for sure. Cheers, Duade
Excellent episode again! I'm going to Costa Rica in April and appreciate your tips and tricks so much! Thank you guys 😊
Cheers Daniel. Enjoy Costa Rica!
Have fun!
Great timing with this, thanks! I’m taking my R6 for its first trip to Costa Rica in January- my RF 100-500 +1.4 is tagging along too. I’ll not be too far from Panama (Talamanca Mountains, Piedras Blancas and Osa for 3 weeks) so looking forward to seeing more about your trip. I’m sticking to road and boat travel when I’m there because their internal flight bag weight limits are pretty restrictive.
Thanks for sharing. The 1.4 will require some quite high ISO
So entertaining when you share your immense knowledge and your experiences. These videos are great.
Thank you!
Glad you enjoy it!
Great video and very recognizable stuff! I am just back from a trip in Ecuador and Bolivia and had the opportunity to test out the R5 in the rainforest combined with the 100-400II. Personally I have avoided taking pictures above ISO 3200. When reviewed them afterwards on the computer I was happy with that choice. In my experience you can indeed go to pretty crazy levels if you don't crop, but as soon as you do I at least noticed a big quality difference between 3200 or 6400 or higher. In my experience with small birds in the rainforest there is often a need to crop things a lot and the R5 allows you to with the 45MP. So I sometimes ended up taking pictures at 1/30 of a second all handheld. However with 20fps I very often still got sharp images even if I had only a fraction of a second to take them. In my experience many animals are very good at freezing up for fractions of a second even if they move around a lot which will often allow you to still get that sharp head shot. Personally I prefer taking 10 pictures with one super nice and the rest a bit blurry opposed to 10 shots that maybe are all sharp, but dissapoint you when you are behind the computer. This might not work for everyone though, but give 1/30 a go, you might be pleasently surprised! I actually finally have my 100-500 as well and I have been getting sharp images at even 0.4 sec but doing that in the field might be pushing it :).
It depends on your editing workflow and programs as well. You can shoot much higher ISOs with ease. Of course lower is better, but personally, I prefer 10 sharp ones with noise :)
My husband and I were fortunate to visit Panama in 2017 at the end of a 3 months tour of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. We stayed in the town of Gamboa and saw a huge variety of birds along the Pipeline Road/Ammo Ponds and Soberanía National Park. We moved on to El Valle de Antón, a small town in the mountains located in the central province of Coclé and again the bird life here was awesome.
We saw so many birds too numerous to count - we hope to return one day to this beautiful country so special for wildlife and are sure Glenn that you will have a brilliant journey - good luck and happy spotting. Sheila Anne Williams
Thanks for sharing :)
I’m heading to Brazil for a few months right after Christmas. I’ve been a few times and love the wildlife there. Taking a Nikon D500, 60mm macro lens, a 18-105mm, a 200-500 f5.6, and a 300mm f2.8, with a 2X teleconverter. I’ll mostly be doing static photography.
awesome!
Interesting video, and lots of excellent advice! Hadn't thought about the lens hood around the tripod legs. I've only had my hand luggage checked for weight once, and that was in Norway, but they let me through in spite of the pack being too heavy. The least friendly airport personnel I've encountered were at Heathrow though, back in the analog days. They simply refused to do manual checks of film.
Thanks for sharing &watching :)
I was expecting more details on the assortment of bodies and lenses Glen will be taking, as well if he could post details of his back back because as far as I can see the "Pro Trekker 450 AW the top part doesn't come off leaving a fanny pack" [min 20:12].
600, 100-400 II and I assume 24-105 plus an R5
not sure about the pack
@@jan_wegener Tnx
Fabulous video! Thank you! Super helpful. Great idea to cover this topic.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great Travel Trips, Thanks for all the links to find the gear!
Cheers Janet!
No problem!
Glenn, that was a great suggestion to take the dividers out of the pack and use thinner lens pouches. Let us know how the new Swarovski work out. Those eyecups don't look eye glass friendly. Thanks for a great interchange of ideas.
I am from Costa Rica, the highlands of Cartago, and San Jose, Dota, is incredible for birds!, If you come here contacme, I glad to help
Gracias Alvaro. Pura Vida!
Awesome!
Another entertaining and informative episode, a glimpse into the world of the pro bird photographer. Bon voyage and stay safe!
Glad you enjoyed it
Travelled so much as a birdwatcher and tour guide, so many good tips. I also always bring: duck tape! And zip locks too actually. Off to Suriname (a non-Spanish speaking South American country with great birds) with my R6 and 100-500. Still a bit of stage fright as switching from the 7dmk2 to R6 feels like having to learn to walk again. I love my current Lowepro Protactic AW 450 as i love the design and build quality. I do have a tiny pouch with a microfiber cloth hangin from my Swarovski's which i often have used for my lenses too. Simple and very handy little piece of gear. Great vid, love gear talk, can do it forever, but nothing beats actually being out there!
Going to mirrorless will be an easy transition, since it's so much better, going back would be the real challenge!
@@jan_wegener 😅 can’t see that happening! But who knows in this current world 😱
Really good tips guys, Glenn, I really liked the tip about removing the dividers from your camera bag and using those small lens pouches. Have either of you had hassles with transporting your drones?
I havent travelled with one. Maybe Jan has?
I have not travelled with it, but I would probably out it in my suit case, just take the batteries as carry on
Hey Jan and Glenn, yet another great show which I liked a lot. Upfront I feared it would mainly serve to make a jealous of Glenn, but it was actually very practical and down to earth, thanks !! I travelled twice through Mexico including a drive through the rainforest from the pacific to Oaxaca (and in the middle of nowhere the car's clutch broke down). But it was in the 90's, I was using my dad's Pentax film camera with 50mm lens, and we had back then more attention for the 'birds' in the discotheques of Acapulco rather than the birds of the rainforrest. shame on me !
I should recall this video, and separate the foot from my 100-400Lii on our trip to Iceland next summer! Good tip to avoid it looking like a weapon, haha ! The RF 24-105L should come along, I'm just not sure yet about 100L macro ..
A key thing of my favorite backpack is that it has a little loop on each strap, allowing me to slide in the foot of the 100-400 with the camera attached .. its much easier to carry the weight on a hike compared to lifting it all with the neck via the normal strap.
Cheers Werner!
I hate breaking down in remote spots!
@@GlennBartley Party was just 2 nights, most of the time we were exploring those great historical sites. And back then birding was not much fun: imagine your R5 at 20 fps, but without any AF and non-reusable memory cards taking only 36 frames per card :-P
Something else which cannot be stressed enough: when travelling south of the Trump wall, it's very important to respect the local people and speak at least a little Spanish! When you do, they open up and nicely help you in English, but they don't like at all (US-)Americans acting as if Latin America is their holiday resort and the local people are only there to serve them. You did mention language briefly, and the last seconds of each of your shows testifies of your awareness. Good on you!
@@jan_wegener Because we were 4 engineers, we owed it to ourselves to find a workaround: Starting in second gear with the guys from the back row pushing the car and then jumping in while driving. And shifting gears without engaging the clutch .. it was adventure for 50km, certainly when passing plenty of 10kmh speedbumps.
@@WernerBirdNature sounds like I need to bring you on my next trip :D
The birds are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked them
It's really funny how non-photographers react to us bringing these huuuuuge packs and it's all gear XD
thanks for all the great advice, loved the episode & can't wait to see glenn's photos!
Cant wait to share them!
Our pleasure!
go back out there and get some more! :D
One thing I didn't hear mention was a backup camera. When I go on a long and expensive trip I normally take a second camera.
I like the Senderos Los Quetzales trail near Boquete Panama. Also Harpy Eagles in that area which I have been after for 6 years.
If in or near Colon watch your wallet and that big 600mm
We have a couple of Harpy Eagle nests for reliable sightings! If you are still after them, reach out!
Definitely a second body is a must!
I go everywhere with a least 2 bodies, so it was too normal for me to think of it haha
Yes I'm still interested in photographing a Harpy Eagle
Can you supply your Contact info
Oh, yes, I've experienced seeing a great bird and missing the shot. Those moments do haunt you!
That's for sure!
forever!
Excellent episode, and timely too. I'm off to Colombia in early January. Something I bring on trips like this is a backup pair of small compact binoculars. For connectivity I use a GlocalMe portable WiFi instead of buying a SIM card. It allows me to purchase a data plan for the country or region I'm visiting. I'm still using a 7D II but will be upgrading to an R5 next year.
I'm sure you will love Colombia!
I recommend Pantanal! The best place in Brazil for wildlife. It's like the Okavango delta with diferent spicies
Yes the Pantanal is awesome! Cant wait to get back.
Have to see it one day, especially those macaws
@@GlennBartley it's my favorite place on Earth! If you need tips, I'm a guide here
@@jan_wegener the hyacinth macaws are just unbelievable. They are awesome!
Thanks to the hyacinth macaw project they are really easy to see at the lodge where I work. If you need any tips, let me know
Ha ha! This was certainly an episode that gave me so many recognizable moments, almost a stroll down memory lane. At least as soon as Glenn started talking... I also gleaned a good piece of info from you, Jan, about no good cellphone coverage outside cities in Australia. So, maybe the old way of finding your way is the way to go, eh? (paper maps) My fave south American country must be Ecuador, where I've been the most. Otherwise I've only been to Brazil and Bolivia. I'm not *that* widely traveled...
Yes Ecuador is fantastic!
I should've said download Google Maps offline maps, that's a good helper!
We like to go south afrika every year :)
Just back from afrika 2 weeks ago.
Have like 150 diferend bird species photographed
Awesome!
amazing
Ohhh I got spoilers. Glenn has delivered. Some amazing ocellated antbird photos. Looking forward to seeig those edited. Some years back you would be totally fine travelling with whatever weight photography backpack here in Brazil, but it got more restricted since, max 10kg for the carry on. Tripods have given me some trouble too though, because of the size limitation for the carry on, but you can always wrap those in clothing and send them to the belly of the airplane inside a bigger case. Anyways, great episode!! I take it Glenn will tell us how his current trip is going on the next one? Id love to hear about that!
Can't wait to share a gallery from this trip. It has been quite productive!
I always check my tripods
Thanks, that was very informative. I look forward to hearing about Glenn's trip. I agree about not taking too many lenses, usually I made do with one and I have been happy using a telephoto lens for macro work (to photograph butterflies and dragonflies), but I am planning to add an extender for the few cases when a bird we want to identify is too far away. I have been to Costa Rica and Ecuador and hiring a guide for at least a few days is great, especially if you are not going to drive far yourself. I agree about packing few clothes and planning to use layers.
I forgot to say that I had one experience in Ecuador where a guide found us a fairly rare bird (we think it was a Peruvian Antpitta) in the forest near the end of a very long hike, and my camera (I think it was a Canon T3i) refused to take the bird's picture. So I could see it and was trying to take the shot, but the camera wouldn't focus (it was probably having trouble in dark light). With more experience I would have tried to focus manually, but at the time it was just frustrating.
Yes, always hurts to miss a great bird!
Thanks for sharing :)
Great show guys! I've followed Glens channel and his escapades for quite some time and If you haven't watched the old travel birding blogs you have to do it, they are epic!!! I can't WAIT to get off traveling once more, borneo and Thailand next june/july so hopefully that comes off! but south america is amazing, Costa rica / Panama is where i'll head off back to after South east asia, dead jealous Glenn wish i was hitting panama with you too! have fun stay safe!!! JP
Thanks mate, hopefully we all get to travel to more places again
@@jan_wegener I hope so I’ve not seen my family in Australia for years too 😕
Great episode guys, thanks you. I am using Canon R6 and i am amazed by its high ISO capabilities. I was able to shoot at 25600 ISO and my images cane out bot too bad at all.
Its crazy isn't it!
Yes, real game changers
@@GlennBartley
It is absolutely insane 😅
Ornate Hawk Eagle the most amazing creature in that area..
Excellent information. Thank you.
Our pleasure!
Glenn: Zeledonia... seen it, no photo 😬the same goes for the Oscellated antbird! The Snowy-bellied HB I do have a few *unbelievably* shitty photos of. On slides 400 ASA with nasty grain, so scanning them was so un-funny. Would love to be able to return to Central America for a re-run with my nice R6 and 100-500 mill!
Cant wait to share my shots with you!
You should come along on one of my photo workshops one day!
Very good video, as usual. Related to this topic it would be good if you could create an episode on binoculars from the bird photography point of view. There are loads of videos about binoculars for birdwatching, but it would be good to hear your opinion and experience using binoculars as a complement or tool for a bird photographer. Keep the good work!
I have never spend much money on binos. Glenn has some very nice ones. I still rock an older Minox pair. All I really need is something small and light that allows me to see a bird easily
Another great job. I think a country which is overlooked is Uruguay, it is small, but bordering Brazil and Argentina has decent diversity. Especially for people starting out in South America I would recommend looking into it. Not many organized photo tours but some great birding guides who can quickly learn what you want. The hassles of air travel are the worst part. What I don't like is not knowing if your backpack/carry-on is going to be weighed. I have tried the tricks you mention, but I would rather just pay extra if necessary to take my gear. Have either of you ever used a Pelican case for your 600? I am anxious to hear about Panama because I have always considered it more of a birding destination rather than photo destination. Keep up the good work.
Pelican is definitely a last resort that I hope to never have to use!
I have thought about it because it would be more hassle free, but it's a lot more risky
@Jan, would you mind put some linked to your favourite backpack, especially the one that can fit the 600mm?
It's a F-Stop Ajna with a large ICU
@@jan_wegener the large pro can fit 600mm?
@@DoronHoffman you'd likely need the XL ICU to fit the 600 inside an ICU
forehead rest, yeah! I've t thought it would be a great accessory especially if you wear glasses(to help with smoking) and/or to. help steady the camera. I approached Smallrig about it but they didn't seem all that interested. I wonder if that bin rest would work on a cam?
Ya its a cool accessory for sure.
I’m always amazed at how much carry-on baggage is allowed on flights in and from North America. The check-in procedure in Europe is way more restrictive and stressful to the point that I very rarely travel with my heavy 500mm prime lense. The exception is EasyJet that does allow a heavy backpack to be carried on ‘legally’.
Switching to a 100-500 or 200-600 will probably get over this problem to a large extent.
My advice about binoculars is that those 10x Swarovskis are excellent but not necessarily the most appropriate for use in rainforest where a wide field of view is more important than magnification. I would probably go for 8x or even 7x.
Yes, I found flying in the US also the most relaxed.
I had a trip of a lifetime to Colombia just as I really started getting interested in bird photography I managed to do a couple of birding trips while there, ( bird photography was not the main reason for the trip) highlights was a guided bird tour near Popayan and day on the Amazon and photographing a Pygmy Marmoset the smallest monkey in the world It didn't fly very well though.
Sounds fun!
sounds great, thanks for sharing
Glenn, you mentioned having Lens coat on your all your gear and not using dividers in your bags. Does the Lenscoat provide cushioning like the dividers do? How much weight do they add to your gear? I'm such a klutz and am afraid if I tripped and fell or dropped my bag, my gear might get damaged.
Hey Glenn! If possible, would you mind posting the exact LowePro bag you are using? I am looking for something that I can carry into the field that holds a 600 and bodies
Will you do one session on new firmware 1.5.0. , wether it is helpful in bird photography.
I dont think there is anything revolutionary. Just go ahead and update and enjoy!
It seems to be better from what I have seen. Updating mine today
im off to SA for the first time this january... peru!
awesome
do u guys use callers ?
Do you use flash? I just bought the R5+ 100-500mm and i see i can use high ISO with this camera… because in the jungles of south america it is so dark… how can i render the colors like in your tropical birds (antpittas etc)?
in most cases not, but sometimes you have to.
Let's meet in Costa Rica, Jan!
I really enjoyed this video and agree with all your recommendations. However, one of Glenn’s was concerning. He says he has had good luck asking a flight attendant if s/he could story a bulky camera bag in the coat locker at the front of the plane next to the main entrance . This plan is frightening to experienced wildlife photographers who have traveled to Africa. Theft rings can operate where the flight attendant spots a safari bound photographer boarding the plane and offers to put the camera bag in the entrance closet. Once deposited and the photographer is seated, a ground crew person removes the camera bag as if it needed to go in the cargo hold. Instead, it is smuggled off the airport to a fence. Meanwhile the photographer is totally unaware s/he no longer has camera gear on the plane. You can imagine to shock and helplessness the photographer experiences on departing the plane hours later. This has really happenes.
Good point, that advance might be only suitable in certain countries
Thanks for the show, Guys. Do viewers of your 'displayed skills' (i.e.photos) ever consider the real requirements to obtain the amazing images being viewed? I know that I didn't. "Thanks" seems such a light word to express their gratitude, or mine, for the (hopefully only occasional) tortures endured to achieve them and make them available. May you achieve your desired goals this time in Panama. Be well! And good luck!
Thanks Alex. As you say I think most people have no clue what it takes to get some of these shots...
There's always haters on the internet, would be boring otherwise lol
Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua.
Nice!
@@jan_wegener I have a relative in Sydney.
i am still curious what your back-up plan is if the agent does not let you in with all your carry-on. Plenty of flights around the world i have faced where the rules are the rules, and as much charm as you can have you still want to catch your flight.
I have never been denied.
I have always gotten through. In the end you will have to check it and pray
How do you prepare for such challenging light conditions?, Like I would like to do some bird photography, I use micro four thirds so probably high iso is just a distant dream 😂, any good advice?, Also I love in Costa Rica but es born in Panama.
Costa Rica always multiple distance by 3 in your mind to calculate time lol, this last weekend I drove 120km took 4 hours with light to no traffic... It's just how it is
@@emudojo So true!
Flash can help to level the light at times, otherwise a high ISO capable body will help
What happened to your own channel Jan?
nothing?
I m the first one again..😀😀♥️♥️
Cheers!
Yo Panama is middle america, not south america, oh boy :/
Haha....yes some say Central, Middle, South. Whatever you prefer!
That's why I wrote exactly that in the description.
4 bags an no clothes? 🤔