Digiscoping - Digiscope pictures, images, techniques, advice, equipment

27.01.08 | Not the best conditions here this weekend for digiscoping.

I spent Saturday morning walking round my local Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve of Leycett, I took the digiscoping gear but conditions were poor, the light was dull and very strong winds made it difficult, also Leycett was very quiet today, I didn't take a single shot.

On Sunday, after completing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch survey (12 species today, not bad for an urban garden, but I was down on a few species compared with last year) I had an hour in my back garden testing out digiscoping using the Olivon TRH-16 heavy duty tripod head which you can read a review of in the my gear section. Lighting was not great again today but got a couple of shots done.

A big thank you to everybody who has sent in their pictures for inclusion in the readers gallery so far- keep them coming!

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Goldfinch

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Wood Pigeon

Have you uploaded your results yet?

05.01.08 | It's been a great start to the new year...

The weather was fantastic this weekend with bright blue skies and cold clear conditions.

On Saturday, my friend Anthony and I went down to Belvide Reservoir to get some shots. Conditions were perfect and we both got some good images, my self digiscoping and Anthony using his Sigma 50-500 and Canon EOS 30D.

Sitting in the hide we were able to take pictures of Reed Bunting, Tree Sparrow plus lots of Tits and Finches visiting the nearby feeding station. At one point a Sparrowhawk swept through looking for a meal but was not successful. The excellent light gave us both some great results. The Ricoh Gx100 really is producing the goods.

On Sunday we went walking in DoveDale in the Peak District, again the weather was superb, I didn't take the scope, although I wish I did, as we climbed high above the tree level, we had a superb view of a Heron perched at the top of a tall tree overlooking the river. I did have my SLR with me and got a shot, have a look at the pics below, I took one shot at 19mm, one at 450mm and one with the aid of a teleconverter at 900mm. Although trying to hold a camera steady with no tripod at 900mm is impossible!


Click thumbnail for larger picture Heron at 27mm	Click thumbnail for larger picture Heron at 300mm	Click thumbnail for larger picture Heron at 900mm

I also got a great sighting of a Dipper which seemed at home with human contact and allowed to me to get up close. Both would have made great additions to the gallery if I had been carrying my digiscoping gear.

I also took the Ricoh GX100 with me along with a 19mm wide angle adapter, I got some good landscape shots of the dramatic surroundings, it just shows what a great all round digital camera the GX100 is, from digiscoping to wideangle landscapes.

After a year of learning the digiscoping method, in 2008, rather than just getting a picture of a particular species of bird or mammal, I want to think more about the picture itself, the composition, the lighting the colours etc, so that it becomes a picture in its own right. I only want to take pictures of the birds in there natural surrounding, not on feeders to hopefully give the picture a more natural feel.

I'm looking for new ways to develop this website for 2008 possibly with the introduction of a digiscoping forum and a readers gallery, any ideas from you would be appreciated, if there are any features you think would enhance the site that I could include - please drop me an email.

Wishing you all the best for the New Year ad happy Digiscoping!