Waterfowling: Behind the Scenes

 Waterfowl in my area are normally quite wary.  Getting good photographs requires getting close.  Long lenses certainly help but even with the big glass the photographer must still be inside hunted waterfowl's comfort zone. 

This winter has been much milder than normal and with the temp at 37 before dawn this morning, I decided to check out a local wetland in hopes of finding some early migratory ducks.  Walking in through the early morning gloom I spotted a white dot sliding along the surface of the water, the unmistakeable white crest of a male hooded merganser.  As the morning passed I could hear the Canada geese and mallards fly out to feed and the hoodie occasionally calling, but nothing swam by my position.

And then suddenly a female hooded merganser was in front of the blind.  Success!

Now here are the "behind the scenes" views:

Frontal View

View from inside

I sewed the die-cut camo material around the window to break up the hard line of the window edge and to help conceal movement inside the blind.  To break up the outline of the camer & lens I drape a piece of camo die-cut blind material over the camera and tripod.

Rear,interior view

This year I added a pair of decoys to my gear 

I'm hoping that the sight of the decoys will give the real ducks added confidence in aproaching my setup.  I'll let you know later if they are a worthy addition.

The complete rig ready to travel

Camera, tripod, folding chair, camera bag, blind, and decoy bag

With the blind on my back, chair on the right shoulder, camera bag & decoys on the left, and the tripod/camera rig over the shoulder, the entire rig can be carried into the field in one trip.

Hiding Out

In recent posts I have mentioned using a blind to conceal myself from wary waterfowl.  Pictured here is the Ameristep Outhouse blind that I am currently using; note the camo material wrapped around the camera and lens.  This material helps to conceal the camera, the camera movement, and any movement inside the blind.  I feel that it also helps in total concealment by breaking up the hard bottom line of the front opening.  Shortly I will be adding a strip of this material around the top and sides of the window.

Normally I set the blind in a position to take advantage of brush and other vegetation to break up the hard outline of the blind itself.

The photographers view from inside the blind

With the back open you can see the tools of the trade; note the folding camp chair, this is what makes the long waits totally comfortable.  After shooting this series I realized that I had missed one important image, that of the rig stowed ready to travel.  With the blind in its shoulder bag and the chair folded I can sling the entire rig, cameras included, on my shoulders taking only one trip to carry it all in to a shooting location.

It may seem like a pain to carry so much equipment but when a gorgeous little gal like this comes calling it makes it all worthwhile!