What's Your Favorite Wildlife Photography "Gear Hack"?

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Ooops Landscape hack coming ….I sometimes shoot rough and ready, hand held, two frames for focus stacking. Compose, move focus point down to near foreground. Take shot 1. Keeping camera stable press subselector (or whatever button centres your focus point). Take shot two. It works very well e.g. on woodland. Apologies @Steve but I have fun with this one.;)
 
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I am using lens hood knob on Sigma 500 F4 and Nikon 300 F2.8 as an aiming iron sights.

To set it up in field I aim at a distant object (tree top quite often) and turn the hood to a position where hood knob is aligned with the object. Even if it is not "spot on", I find it useful when a scene is dynamic (e.g. following a swallow or an acrobatic plane).

The tricky part is to get used to using the other eye that is not on a viewfinder. It requires some training.
 
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Tibor Hrnko said:
I am using lens hood knob on Sigma 500 F4 and Nikon 300 F2.8 as an aiming iron sights.

To set it up in field I aim at a distant object (tree top quite often) and turn the hood to a position where hood knob is aligned with the object. Even if it is not "spot on", I find it useful when a scene is dynamic (e.g. following a swallow or an acrobatic plane).

The tricky part is to get used to using the other eye that is not on a viewfinder. It requires some training.
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That reminds me of Steve’s technique of looking at the subject naked eye and then slowly lifting camera and long glass up to the same place without moving anything else. It’s a great one… not really a hack… but excellent.
 
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NorthernFocus said:
Great idea for a thread.

1) For a secure, dry, unobtrusive long lens bag I use a 20 liter dry bag lined with closed cell foam from a camp sleeping pad. Two disks of the foam form the bottom of the bag. This bag is big enough for a 500mm f4 w/D850 attached. There are no "steal me" labels on the bag and I've always gotten away with claiming it as my "second personal item" in addition to my camera bag for carry aboard on US airlines.

2) I made a seat out of 3/4in plywood and closed cell foam to fit on a five gallon bucket. I use it as a seat and carry a roll of burlap material for impromptu hide, my lunch, bottle of water, etc. in the bucket. The large surface area of the bottom of the bucket works well for sitting on soft mud etc. I painted the bucket camo colors.

3) Closed cell foam tubing made for pipe insulation cost next to nothing and can be used for a number of things. When using a tripod aboard a boat use zip ties to attach foam to the bottom of the tripod legs to dampen vibration.

4) Similar to the foam insulation tubing but larger is closed cell foam swimming "noodles" for kids. Available in the toy section in most department stores. It makes for a light weight alternative to a bean bag for resting a long lens across the gunwale of a boat, out car windows, etc.

5) Zip ties. Don't leave home without them.
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Could you please share some pictures, it sounds very interesting
 
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forestB said:
I use the laptop compartment of my backpack to store a couple of thick pieces of cardboard. These come in handy when I want to sit on my knees to shoot low at the waters edge and avoid wet muddy pants at dawn!
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Try using a sheet of coroplast instead of cardboard. It's just as light, somewhat flexible and WATERPROOF. If you are not familiar with coroplast, it is pretty much plastic cardboard and can be found at some hardware and places like Home Depot, Menard's etc..
 
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When I remember to I put a plastic grocery bag in my backpack, then I can use it to sit on wet ground. I also use it to pack out trash I might find left in the area.
 
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When going on safaris to reserve parks I take my bean bag empty to save space in luggage. Once I reach the hotel close to the park I get it filled with rice. Empty it when I am done with the safari.
 
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A few of my simple field hacks:

1. Use several giant Ziplock bags to transition my camera rigs in cold weather, which in Buffalo is most of the time 🥶
2. Keep a small scrub brush in the car to wipe off sand & dirt from the bottom of tripod legs.
3. Have several small lengths of pipe insulation to use as easy, make-shift braces over my car windows.
4. Use the Gaia GPS app to record exact locations of landscape shots.
5. Always wear Depends when staying in blinds for long periods, so I don't disturb wildlife when taking a leak 🥴
6. Keep fly outfit in car, in case photography conditions go south, but trout are still biting.
 
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Anton said:
Could you please share some pictures, it sounds very
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D850 on 500PF with hood mounted.
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I keep quick release plates on my ground pod and lightweight tripod and ARCA-Swiss plates on my ball head and gimbal so I can make quick changes and reduce the possibility of cross threading when in a hurry.

In my pack I keep:
  • a small pill bottle wrapped in duct tape -- two layers are less expensive and better than moleskins in preventing hot spots from becoming blisters when walking long distances
  • a small rectangular closed cell foam pad to sit or kneel on -- keeps my seat and knees dry and clean
  • granola bar(s) to keep me going if I stay out longer than expected
  • a small bottle of water
  • chemical hand warmers in cold weather
  • two military mesh camo scarves (sniper's veils) (6' x 3', German camo pattern) for field expedient camo, either by draping it over me or on vegetation as a blind (a hide to you folks across the pond)
  • a small plastic bottle, or two, to collect small specimens for macro photos if I can't take the photos on site
  • part of a roll of toilet paper -- for, well you know
  • a plastic garbage bag for an emergency poncho
  • a large extra absorbent sanitary napkin and a couple of feet of self adhesive medical tape -- don't laugh, it's better than any bandage for a severe cut, especially if you're on anti-coagulants (blood thinners)
  • a small bottle of unscented hand sanitizer (not the jelled kind) to clean cuts -- yeah it stings -- and to clean battery contacts if needed -- use it and the cut end of a small twig to scrub the contacts
  • on the shoulder strap a canister of OC spray for the occasional really nasty dog or possibly a bad guy -- might even work on a bear, but it won't spray as far and doesn't have the oomph of real bear spray (but in over 200-250 encounters with black bears I've never had a problem)
At 80 I can carry all that stuff plus two cameras and two or three lenses -- because I use Olympus cameras and/or a bridge superzoom.
 
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I always carry a couple of large size rain cover that's used for backpacks but i use it to cover my camera with lens attached to avoid dust. Particularly useful for safaris and easier to use than a dedicated lens and camera cover.

Carry some coins in my camera bag to use it when the screws on the QR plate loosens up.
 
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PAUL50 said:
Steve, don’t forget removing the lens hood on long lenses in cold weather until the lens and hood cool down to prevent heat getting trapped in the hood causing heat distortion.
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Funny I was out shooting owls this past weekend and a lady brings up you shouldn’t use a lens hood in the winter. She sited Steve’s video. It made me smile. I encouraged her to join the forum.
 
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dtibbals said:
Funny I was out shooting owls this past weekend and a lady brings up you shouldn’t use a lens hood in the winter. She sited Steve’s video. It made me smile. I encouraged her to join the forum.
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LOL, that's funny. The thing is, I think people missed the part where I said to use the hood once the gear was acclimated. I think that video is going to cause a lot of scratched glass from no one using hoods in the winter anymore LOL!! :ROFLMAO:😂
 
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Woody Meristem said:
I keep quick release plates on my ground pod and lightweight tripod and ARCA-Swiss plates on my ball head and gimbal so I can make quick changes and reduce the possibility of cross threading when in a hurry.

In my pack I keep:
  • a small pill bottle wrapped in duct tape -- two layers are less expensive and better than moleskins in preventing hot spots from becoming blisters when walking long distances
  • a small rectangular closed cell foam pad to sit or kneel on -- keeps my seat and knees dry and clean
  • granola bar(s) to keep me going if I stay out longer than expected
  • a small bottle of water
  • chemical hand warmers in cold weather
  • two military mesh camo scarves (sniper's veils) (6' x 3', German camo pattern) for field expedient camo, either by draping it over me or on vegetation as a blind (a hide to you folks across the pond)
  • a small plastic bottle, or two, to collect small specimens for macro photos if I can't take the photos on site
  • part of a roll of toilet paper -- for, well you know
  • a plastic garbage bag for an emergency poncho
  • a large extra absorbent sanitary napkin and a couple of feet of self adhesive medical tape -- don't laugh, it's better than any bandage for a severe cut, especially if you're on anti-coagulants (blood thinners)
  • a small bottle of unscented hand sanitizer (not the jelled kind) to clean cuts -- yeah it stings -- and to clean battery contacts if needed -- use it and the cut end of a small twig to scrub the contacts
  • on the shoulder strap a canister of OC spray for the occasional really nasty dog or possibly a bad guy -- might even work on a bear, but it won't spray as far and doesn't have the oomph of real bear spray (but in over 200-250 encounters with black bears I've never had a problem)
At 80 I can carry all that stuff plus two cameras and two or three lenses -- because I use Olympus cameras and/or a bridge superzoom.
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I had never thought about the bad guy part until, this past December, when I was wandering around the Ramona Grasslands Preserve near San Diego and far from the trailhead and very much alone I heard a threatening voice from behind me - a flurry of truly vile things mixed in with the occasional, 'good luck getting out of here safely' kind of comment - that raised the hair on the back of neck and sent a chill down my spine (I've been in no doubt about it life threatening danger in my time without either of those things happening). Ultimately I just kept walking trying to not visibly react and never turning around and nothing happened but I was aware that while I'm reasonably big and reasonably strong I lacked any kind of defensive aid.
 
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