# Well here it is... my wildlife instructional video debut



## coastalconn (Jun 26, 2013)

My friend has an e-book about photography and he decided to include me in a wildlife segment with him and his fiance..  So here it is, the face behind the Photo of the year  I'm the guy in the middle  I was kind of nervous and twitchy and kept scanning for Ospreys


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## Tony S (Jun 26, 2013)

You've really gotta relax, you look like some guy in witness protection looking over his shoulders for the hit man.


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## coastalconn (Jun 26, 2013)

Tony S said:


> You've really gotta relax, you look like some guy in witness protection looking over his shoulders for the hit man.


LOL I know, and I swear I'm still sober...


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## Tony S (Jun 26, 2013)

Well there's your trouble.  :cheers:


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## coastalconn (Jun 26, 2013)

Lol, almost 3 years without a drink, I obviously need one.. at least I can laugh at myself


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## TonyDee (Jun 26, 2013)

coastalconn said:


> Lol, almost 3 years without a drink, I obviously need one.. at least I can laugh at myself



Stay sober. Nice video, thanks for sharing.


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## Derrel (Jun 26, 2013)

The very first fish shown in the shot of Chelsea's (spelling?) Canon 400/5.6 intro is a hickory shad.


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## wackii (Jun 26, 2013)

Good stuffs.  Thanks for sharing.


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## JacaRanda (Jun 27, 2013)

That is really cool.  Nice to put a face to the man behind the pictures!  I feel all connected as I have Tony's book and have watched many of his and Chelsea's videos.  

I love how you kept getting distracted by whatever was flying overhead (ospreys).  I would have been much worse by yelling out and pointing "there goes one!"

BTW yes I am sickly jealous of the deal you got on that lens.  I am still running around with he 70-200 f4 with a 1.4 tc.  It is driving me crazy making a decision on the next step up in length.


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## sm4him (Jun 27, 2013)

Awesome!  And I learned something very important in that video--that your last name is NOT pronounced "Row" like I've pronounced it in my head all this time. 

I did keep wondering what you'd do if a big ole Osprey with a fish came flying right at you. I kept expecting you to step back a few steps and aim your camera up at the sky while the other two were still talking.


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## TonyNorthrup (Jun 27, 2013)

sm4him said:


> Awesome!  And I learned something very important in that video--that your last name is NOT pronounced "Row" like I've pronounced it in my head all this time.
> 
> I did keep wondering what you'd do if a big ole Osprey with a fish came flying right at you. I kept expecting you to step back a few steps and aim your camera up at the sky while the other two were still talking.



Haha, I mis-pronounced Kris' name for about the first year I knew him... he finally broke the news to me in the nicest way, "For some reason, my family pronounces it R-oww." ... as if I was right and his family was wrong .

Despite our scanning eyes, we all did a great job of resisting temptation. The osprey were really taunting us, flying low over our heads with huge fish... and every time we took a break from filming everyone grabbed their cameras for some quick shots.


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## coastalconn (Jun 27, 2013)

Thanks everyone! Welcome to the forum Tony! This is the best photo forum on the web because its actually about photography.  There are many great people here eager to learn and eager to coach...  other forums argue about gear... 
Sharon now you know the secret pronunciation of my name . 
My Osprey shot in my other thread was right after we stopped filming..  Too bad we couldn't catch that on film to see how far back my neck was bent


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## runnah (Jun 27, 2013)

No forum shout out, disappointed. 


Tony was a natural on camera.


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## dxqcanada (Jun 27, 2013)

Very interesting video. Honestly I just watched just to see you ... and then realized that the information that was given was real life experience.
Not bad ... though your rolling eyes did kind of make an unconscious statement about your buddy.

I assume you like the 300mm f/2.8 + teleconverter over the Tamron.


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## Aloicious (Jun 27, 2013)

nice to put a name to a face. like dxqCanada, I really only watched it to see your debut. looks like you were a little nervous, but nothing to worry about it didn't seem overly distracting to me. Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that, it was an interesting watch. Sound like you had fun doing it.


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## DarkShadow (Jun 27, 2013)

Great job Kris,I really enjoyed it.I was wondering lately about camo and the video touched on that.Congrats on the sobriety a day at a time.I have 22 years of sobriety but what a mess I wash 22 years ago and believe I wouldn't be here today if I had not stopped.


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## coastalconn (Jun 27, 2013)

runnah said:


> No forum shout out, disappointed.
> Tony was a natural on camera.


Tony is a great photographer, he has been doing it for a long time and has many videos out there.  His ebooks have direct links to video so it is a pretty cool concept..  I first met him a little over a year ago.  And he was a big part of my Osprey quest last year, but he missed the morning of my now infamous shot 


Aloicious said:


> nice to put a name to a face. like dxqCanada, I really only watched it to see your debut. looks like you were a little nervous, but nothing to worry about it didn't seem overly distracting to me. Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that, it was an interesting watch. Sound like you had fun doing it.


Oh I'm just controversial and love a good debate  We filmed a second one about finding birds, I think I was more relaxed by then...



dxqcanada said:


> Very interesting video. Honestly I just watched just to see you ... and then realized that the information that was given was real life experience.
> Not bad ... though your rolling eyes did kind of make an unconscious statement about your buddy.
> 
> I assume you like the 300mm f/2.8 + teleconverter over the Tamron.


I think the rolling my eyes was more a nervous thing and that I would have rather been shooting the Ospreys that kept cruising overhead 
I'm loving the Tokina, she's an old girl and has a few quirks.  The biggest one is the arm controlling the Aperture blades has some play in it.  So anything over F4 I actually have to start at -.7 EC to adjust for it.  So F5.6 is really F4.5, but F2.8 is F2.8 lol..  I've been mostly shooting in manual now so it doesn't effect me too much.  But being able to shoot at F2.8 is pretty amazing on rainy days or in low light.  The Tamron weighs half as much, but as you can see the weight of the Tokina doesn't bother me too much..



DarkShadow said:


> Great job Kris,I really enjoyed it.I was wondering lately about camo and the video touched on that.Congrats on the sobriety a day at a time.I have 22 years of sobriety but what a mess I wash 22 years ago and believe I wouldn't be here today if I had not stopped.


My sobriety is more based on a bird at a time   If I hadn't stopped drinking I certainly would have never started my photography.  I'm still amazed at all these wonderful images I have captured of birds I never even knew were around...


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## Aloicious (Jun 27, 2013)

coastalconn said:


> Aloicious said:
> 
> 
> > nice to put a name to a face. like dxqCanada, I really only watched it to see your debut. looks like you were a little nervous, but nothing to worry about it didn't seem overly distracting to me. Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that, it was an interesting watch. Sound like you had fun doing it.
> ...



oh nothing controversial, not really anything you said either, just a few bits of advice that I found odd in it.


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## TonyNorthrup (Jun 28, 2013)

Aloicious said:


> Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that



Why not? I'm certainly open to discussion. I'm not batting 1000 in life, certainly, and if I'm wrong about something, I'll happily amend the video. It's going into my book, too, so I want it to be accurate.


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## Starskream666 (Jun 28, 2013)

Wow asif Tony N is on this forum


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## sm4him (Jun 28, 2013)

Starskream666 said:


> Wow asif Tony N is on this forum




Why wouldn't he be on this forum? It IS a Photography Forum after all; seems like a pretty good spot for a guy like Tony. 
If you're truly questioning whether it's really him, he and Kris (the OP) are good friends, so yeah, it's actually him.


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## sm4him (Jun 28, 2013)

TonyNorthrup said:


> Aloicious said:
> 
> 
> > Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that
> ...




^ This. Nothing wrong, I'd think, with mentioning what you find "odd" about the information. Some of the information undoubtedly COULD be debated, as much of it isn't about cold, hard facts, but about what Tony and Kris and Chelsea have found works best for them. For instance, their opinions about NOT using either a tripod OR a monopod--some people would likely disagree with that and it certainly depends on the circumstances (if I'm shooting deer that are standing still in a field at Cades Cove, the tripod or monopod might be worthwhile), but they're just saying what they've found works well for THEM. I tend to agree with that assessment by the way, Tony-- I initially tried a tripod, but that never lasted more than just a few minutes. Then I recently bought a monopod, and while I like it a lot more, and actually DO use it sometimes, I *do* often find myself doing the "lift the camera AND the monopod straight up in the air" maneuver! I tend to use the monopod more if I know I can focus on one particular area, like a particular tree that some birds are in. But if I'm tracking birds in flight, I always end up just hand holding.


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## CherylL (Jun 28, 2013)

Congrats on your video debut  I have great respect for your work, but after watching the video it has jumped tenfold.  I didn't realize all that went into getting those great bird shots.  Informative video and nicely done.


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## TonyNorthrup (Jun 28, 2013)

sm4him said:


> For instance, their opinions about NOT using either a tripod OR a monopod--some people would likely disagree with that and it certainly depends on the circumstances (if I'm shooting deer that are standing still in a field at Cades Cove, the tripod or monopod might be worthwhile), but they're just saying what they've found works well for THEM. I tend to agree with that assessment by the way, Tony-- I initially tried a tripod, but that never lasted more than just a few minutes. Then I recently bought a monopod, and while I like it a lot more, and actually DO use it sometimes, I *do* often find myself doing the "lift the camera AND the monopod straight up in the air" maneuver! I tend to use the monopod more if I know I can focus on one particular area, like a particular tree that some birds are in. But if I'm tracking birds in flight, I always end up just hand holding.



Fair enough . It actually sounds like we mostly agree about the tripods and monopods. I will add this video, which regrettably doesn't feature Kris but does have me in a silly jacket, because I demonstrate the one scenario where I do use a tripod--close-range setup photography, where even lifting the camera would disturb the birds:


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## Overread (Jun 28, 2013)

Tony welcome to the site and its fantastic to see a new member and experienced photographer so willing to jump in and start providing advice and guidance. I hope we can convince you to stay a while and engage with the community and look forward to many discussions in the future!


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## DarkShadow (Jun 28, 2013)

Total agree on tripod and monopods not needed on birds.Like kris had mentioned how far back his neck went to capture a shot or a sudden turn.I can't even imagine swinging a heavy tripod up in the sky or doing 360 turns besides how stupid it would look.The shutter speeds are up high enough anyways to avoid motion blur.I actually got a good laugh when Tony mentioned lifting the camera with the monopod,I could see that happening easily in the spur of the moment to capture a Osprey on the move.Might even take out your shooting partner doing so.


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## MSnowy (Jun 28, 2013)

Nice video. Kris I'm surprised you admit to the "spray and pray technique"


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## Aloicious (Jun 28, 2013)

TonyNorthrup said:


> Aloicious said:
> 
> 
> > Some of the information given by the overall video could be debated, but this isn't the place for that
> ...



I mainly didn't want to derail the thread since it was about Kris just sharing his experience, not necessarily about discussing the video information. but if he's okay with it I don't mind a little discussion...

Overall I think its a good video and I enjoyed watching it. I don't really think you presented anything 'incorrectly', I just thought there were a few odd omissions. And the few issues I see, it might just be the editor in me over analyzing it, which I tend to do sometimes since that is what I'm doing in my work outside the forum quite frequently. So take or leave what you want, this is just my thoughts on it all.

Mainly the issue I see is in how it is presented. I don't know how you're prefacing the video it in your book, but the video is very opinion based, which is fine if its being presented as an opinion piece, however, it seems like its being presented as an informational piece geared towards beginners who are trying to learn about equipment specific to wildlife. In which case I think you're doing a dis-service to your readers to not explore the various options available even if they're not something you specifically use because situations, techniques, and backgrounds will vary so dramatically, what works for one person may not be the best for others....like I mentioned though, if you're presenting it as an 'this is what I like/use' opinion piece than that isn't an issue.

For example, here are a few things that I think are lacking informatively or just omitted in the video...

mainly the tripods/monopods thing...while I totally agree that they're bulky and can be an issue depending location and situation, I too prefer hand holding when I can, but there are definite situations and times when I wouldn't be caught dead without some kind of support setup. Rather than presenting tripods and monopods as being useless overall, it would be beneficial to discuss situations where they will be extremely helpful (especially since the video is geared towards beginners trying to learn and understand). For example, I found it odd that you said you typically can't shoot with your 500f4 for longer than ~20s without a rest, but then a few minutes later you laugh at gimbal heads, when a gimbal is an amazing piece of equipment for the heavy super telephoto lenses like the 400f2.8/500f4/600f4, especially for birds and birds in flight (granted most beginners won't be using the exotic superteles that gimbals shine with, but since you already spent a good amount of time talking about lens weight concerns and your 500f4, it stands to reason that you'd touch on equipment that can help immensely with those weight concerns). 

Another thing is specifically about the monopods. I was wondering why you didn't like monopods with your 500f4 until I saw the picture of Chelsea (I hope I got her name right) at 10:41, which to me looks like she's got the pod mounted directly to the lens foot. Doing that is great for sports shooting or anything that you're just panning without needing to tilt, but for birds, mounting it like that would be extremely frustrating to use just like you describe in the video. There are options available though, like using a tilt-only head setup, which helps out with this kind of monopod use immensely. There are tilt heads that RRS make, as well as some by manfrotto, etc as well as some non-conventional methods (like what I use, which I can describe if you want, but I don't want to fill up this post with describing my gear) all of which can greatly improve monopod use for birds and wildlife for heavy superteles. These head setups allow movement only in the tilt axis allowing you to move the monopod to pan like you normally would, but also allow tilting without leaning back or lifting the monopod up or anything and still providing the stable support. Again, these thing are mainly beneficial for the very heavy lenses like the 400f2.8 or larger, but are options nevertheless. When I'm on foot, I never have my 600f4 without my monopod setup (or tripod, but thats really only if I'm staking out a spot for a period of time or in a blind or something, I never take the tripod just out hiking around or exploring) conversely, when I'm on foot with my 300f2.8, I never have my monopod, so there are times its useful, and times its not...

I also thought there were a couple omissions that would have been useful to touch on, mainly blinds (which you have since covered with your other video), but even in the blinds video you don't mention using a vehicle as a blind, which is a major benefit from my experience. Another useful piece of equipment missing is beanbag rests, I used to just rest my lens on whatever to stabilize it (mainly like resting it on the car door while shooting from inside a vehicle), but since I started using a beanbag, my percentage of keepers has improved dramatically, they're easy and cheap to make, or modify commercially available ones like what I use. 

so again, its really nothing that I think you did wrong, or anything like that, I just think its very much opinion based for a piece that, from what I can see, appears to be trying to provide equipment options information for beginners. at least that's my take on it. 

Welcome to the forum BTW, this is a great place, and we're glad to have you around.


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## BlackSheep (Jun 28, 2013)

Both videos are great! Lots of good tips in them. 

Tony, thanks for sharing the second one - we've been looking at getting one of those pop--up blinds and I found your thoughts very useful, especially the bit about putting the extra camo netting on the front.

Coastalconn - I got a kick out of watching you watch those ospreys fly by...lol. Nice debut - I bet you were nervous (I would have been!) but you spoke well.

I actually checked into buying your book, Tony, but sadly the $20 book down in the US is an $80 book up here in Canada before shipping. Bummer. But thank you again for posting the videos, so far I really enjoy them! And if I ever get down into the US for a visit, I'll try to pick up a copy of the book for sure!


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## TonyNorthrup (Jun 28, 2013)

BlackSheep said:


> I actually checked into buying your book, Tony, but sadly the $20 book down in the US is an $80 book up here in Canada before shipping. Bummer. But thank you again for posting the videos, so far I really enjoy them! And if I ever get down into the US for a visit, I'll try to pick up a copy of the book for sure!



Where did you see the $80 price? We sell the book directly to consumers here:

Store | Tony Northrup's DSLR Book

The eBook is $8.99 USD, no shipping of course.

Outside the US, shipping for the paperback is $14.99 USD, which would put the paperback shipped at $31.98 USD. The Canadian dollar is pretty even with the USD. 

Now, here's the catch: because my website sucks, I can only specify one worldwide shipping charge for any non-US country, and $14.99 is less than it costs to ship to most countries, but more than Canada. Canada is only like $8 shipping. So, here's a $7 off coupon code for the paperback: "SorryCanada". Enter it at checkout.

So your total will be $24.98. And I will try to get the shipping adjusted for Canada in the future...


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## TonyNorthrup (Jun 28, 2013)

Aloicious said:


> For example, here are a few things that I think are lacking informatively or just omitted in the video...



Good points all, and you're right that we're not trying to be comprehensive in that video, but just to share our own experiences and opinions. It's part of Chapter 8 of my book, which is intended to be much more comprehensive. The videos are designed to compliment, supplement, and extend the written text.

BTW, that monopod that Chelsea's using in the picture does have a tilt head. We still all hate it for that type of work. I mean, if you try to tilt it up, it's rotating around a point that's not your head, so you'd have to lower your head. That's true of any monopod or tripod... In our collective opinion, it's just easier to raise the camera, than to lower your head, and that's easiest without anything attached.

But I do have a whole section in chapter 8 that discusses the proper use of monopods and tripods for wildlife work, and there's also a detailed overview of different types of tripods, monopods, and heads (in Chapter 10, I think). I even cover flash with wildlife, even though I'm not a fan.


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## BlackSheep (Jun 28, 2013)

LOL...'SorryCanada" -that is awesome you are great!

I looked at amazon.com first (linked from your website, nice website by the way), which as you know is the US site, and your book cost $20-ish. Then I went to amazon.ca where I can order from, but your book was $80 there, which irritated me- not your fault because I bet you don't get that extra $60 (if you do then more power to you!), but it always bugs me when there is a big price difference like that. Here's the link to the Canadian side so you can see what I mean: http://www.amazon.ca/Tony-Northrups-Dslr-Book-Photography/dp/0988263408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372471543&sr=8-1&keywords=tony+northrup%27s+dslr+book+how+to+create+stunning+digital+photography+paperback

I actually have no problem paying the $31 USD, but I will take advantage of your coupon because I love how you titled it  And thank you very much!


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## Aloicious (Jun 28, 2013)

TonyNorthrup said:


> Aloicious said:
> 
> 
> > For example, here are a few things that I think are lacking informatively or just omitted in the video...
> ...



oh okay, yeah if its just supplementary to something more comprehensive in the book, then that makes a lot more sense.

I'm not a huge fan of the tilt heads either, I don't like the low pivot point below the lens, I don't like where you have to hold the monopod down below everything making it feel top heavy, etc. Personally I use a sidemounted gimbal with the panning axis completely locked down, and use the tilt axis with a slight drag on it, it allows a better pivot point, lets me grab and stabilize the pod laterally to the lens rather than below it, etc. it just is a lot more balanced and works well for me although its a bit unconventional. I still prefer handholding like most people here and for obvious reason, though with a 600f4 + body + TC (if used) its not an option a lot of the time, so monopod technique comes into play much more with that one, it takes some getting used to though.


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## coastalconn (Jun 28, 2013)

Looks like I have missed a lot today.  First thanks for all your kind words 



CherylL said:


> Congrats on your video debut  I have great respect for your work, but after watching the video it has jumped tenfold.  I didn't realize all that went into getting those great bird shots.  Informative video and nicely done.


This is only half of it, we didn't mention hiking for miles being covered in mosquitoes and horseflies and finding no birds  or the early hours... yuck 



MSnowy said:


> Nice video. Kris I'm surprised you admit to the "spray and pray technique"


LOL, MS, I know you shoot Ospreys and have seen their dives... I would love to be able to take 1 shot and catch the perfect dive shot and not spray and pray, not gonna happen lol.. It was funny I started mumbling about pay and spay and spay and ray, lol, It was like my conscious wouldn't let me say it   Of course I call it Fire and Admire 



BlackSheep said:


> Both videos are great! Lots of good tips in them.
> 
> 
> Coastalconn - I got a kick out of watching you watch those ospreys fly by...lol. Nice debut - I bet you were nervous (I would have been!) but you spoke well.


Thanks I was nervous for sure, but Ospreys kept flying around and I did laugh about my eyes (and my sketchiness, lol) when I saw the video 



sm4him said:


> Starskream666 said:
> 
> 
> > Wow as if Tony N is on this forum
> ...


I promise you it is Tony Northrup himself...


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## BlackSheep (Jun 28, 2013)

TonyNorthrup said:


> BTW, that monopod that Chelsea's using in the picture does have a tilt head. We still all hate it for that type of work. I mean, if you try to tilt it up, it's rotating around a point that's not your head, so you'd have to lower your head. That's true of any monopod or tripod... In our collective opinion, it's just easier to raise the camera, than to lower your head, and that's easiest without anything attached.



I totally agree with this, I have a monopod but rarely use it for wildlife. It's not only about when you need to shoot up, but also down. I've also done those upward shots where my monopod was flailing around in front of me like you guys mentioned in the video, but also have had a few times when I was trying to shoot a tern hitting the water to catch a fish or something similar, and my monopod was hitting me in the shins. Very awkward for sure!


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## SCraig (Jun 29, 2013)

There is no way I'm gonna bow down and pay homage to a "Movie Star" now, Kris   No matter what you're still "Just Kris" to some of use.

Good video.  Informative and well done.

I do carry a tripod with me most of the time though.  Not for in-flight shots, they most assuredly do not work for that, but when you reach a point that the hands start to shake a bit they are worth their weight in gold for the still shots.  I have a monopod but seldom use it since it doesn't provide the stability that I want.


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## Stevepwns (Jun 29, 2013)

I enjoyed that, thanks for sharing it.


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