In a cooperation with Rollei, photographer Daniel Spohn had the opportunity to Tripod head Lion Rock Gimbal L to test in practice. In this post, you can learn how the photographer went about his work and what his experiences were with the Lion Rock tripod head could collect.
“splash! Something fell, dived, jumped into the water right next to my camouflage stash. From the narrow observation window, the photographer could only slowly see the concentric wave movements on the water surface pushing into his field of vision. Except for a few chirping birds high up in the trees, it was completely silent on the slowly flowing creek. His bird hadn't shown up yet: the kingfisher, the jewel of the air. This evergreen the der wildlife photography been mostly lately very rare to see.
Extensive preparation leads to the goal
„The wildlife photography is certainly one of them, depending on the animal species targeted most complex sectors of photography., according to Daniel Spohn. In order to get animals in the wild at a usable distance in front of the camera, he extensively researches the habitat requirements and the mostly seasonal differences in the behavior of the animals.
Among other things, he finds out about questions such as:
- Which body of water structures does the kingfisher prefer
- When does the hoopoe feed its young and what does a typical breeding site look like
- Are there places in the forest where the brown bear regularly looks for food in late summer??
Whether it's specialist literature, online research or exchanging experiences with other photo colleagues or biologists: from the photographer's point of view, there are many sources. Although this is very time-consuming, it is ultimately the key to success. Of course there are unique chance encounters, in which great photos can succeed. But just relying on that is grueling in the long term, according to Spohn's experience. There are also only a few places in Europe where individual wildlife species have lost their shyness somewhat through regular human activities, so that stalking leads to useful results.“
Mostly be him Hide in camouflage hiding places the better alternative, especially since in this way he does not affect the everyday life of the animals and witnesses absolutely natural behavior. As a photographer, just be guest in the habitat of the wild animals and shouldn't be allowed to come close to them in their few remaining habitats. In addition to aspects of nature conservation law, the selection of suitable locations for the hide photography the central theme of the photograph naturally also plays a role: the light. Too little, too hard, from the wrong direction, in the wrong place. But all the photographer's theoretical preparations and his observation tours with binoculars instead of a camera and the countless, fruitless test hides fade away the moment everything fits: the animal shows itself with its natural behavior in usable photo distance. The light of the whole scene is almost perfect. It is precisely these moments that make the photographer addicted and that are worth every effort.
Most of the work at the wildlife photography invest Daniel Spohn before the actual act of photographing. When the time has come and the desired motive shows up, then nothing should stop him. The one used technology and equipment should support this often fleeting moment as best as possible and not slow it down under any circumstances.
A main task is the assembly of the camera, because up to this moment, whether after 20 minutes or after 4 hours, you can do it e Camera and lens combination impossible to hold completely still. A mobile camouflage tent or a hide hut comes with stools, seat cushions and sufficient batteries stable tripod for use. Since the photographer can never know when the time will come, the camera should be taken at any time pivotable and completely operable be. Which is why conventional ball heads are rather unsuitable from his point of view. For him, therefore, no path leads to one gimbal head like that „Lion Rock Gimbal Head L“ over. Completely balanced and sensitively pivotable at all times, the camera awaits the photographer together with the photographer perfect moment.
The advantages of a gimbal tripod head
If his subject suddenly appears in front of the lens, the pulse will go faster. If Spohn finally wants to write the reward for staying in the camouflage on the memory card, then he doesn't want to first try to stabilize the camera and lens with one hand. At the same time, loosen the ball head with the other hand and grab it in order to operate or release the camera. Valuable time that elapses, which you as a photographer often don't have at this moment and during which the camouflage could be blown and the subject flee before you could even get your hand on the shutter button. The first takes some getting used to strong cushioning in the axes of rotation of Lion Rock Gimbal L I also help Daniel Spohn at this critical moment to keep calm and not to scare the animals away with hectic movements of the lens. For film records from Spohn's point of view, this damping is in any case ideally suited to extremely soft tracking shots to allow.
So that gimbal Spohn satisfactorily supported in every position and perspective, he had to for that mounted camera-lens combination be balanced. The width Arca Swiss clamp with the safety lock of the Lion Rock Gimbal L enable safe and balanced Attachment of the lensto avoid tipping forward or backward. So that the system does not always remain in the horizontal position when it is at rest, it is important to also relative height to the vertical axis of rotation of the gimbal help of the sled set correctly.
So Daniel Spohn can do it in any position release camera and she at this exact spot let rest, without having to turn the locking wheels of the gimbal's rotation axes. In the eyes of the photographer, this is the only way to make use of a gimbal head Makes sense and keeps the camera ready for use at all times, no matter what system weight is installed.
Most of the time, the motif doesn't appear exactly where the photographer had hoped. After fine positioning for a perfect composition, he can fully capture the kingfisher on the branch or the bear chasing between the trees with the gimbal effortlessly and absolutely silently follow in flowing movements. This allows him to fully concentrate on his subject and the operation of the camera perfect moment to capture, towards which all preparation was aimed.
| focal length | cover | ISO | exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800mm | F/5.6 | 640 | 1/500 |
The conclusion of the nature photographer
Since the balanced gimbal never has to be fixed, it makes no difference to Spohn whether he the gimbal alarm mount to the right or left of the camera. He doesn't have to hold the camera with his right hand while loosening or tightening the gimbal's locking wheels with his left hand, because these always remain open. However, he always chooses the position to the right of the camera for two reasons. And the gimbal does not block in this way his field of view to the left of the camera. With a slight sideways movement of his head, he can comfortably look forward past the camera to the left and at the same time keep his hand on the camera handle. According to Spohn, changing the view between the surroundings and the viewfinder is much faster than with a gimbal mounted on the left side. On the other hand, the gimbal on the right side also hides the movement of his hand towards the camera handle. Especially if he's sitting in a camouflage hide with larger observation openings or with only a camouflage suit outdoors. Following this movement of the hand to the camera, the animal could be irritated and startled before a picture could even be taken.
Birds in particular have an excellent sense of sight that is optimized for movement reveal subtle movement could. Depending on how long a hide lasts, it is not possible to keep your hand on the camera all the time anyway. This posture quickly becomes uncomfortable and the risk of the camera being moved slightly back and forth all the time is too great. Or even scanned the surroundings with the camera out of boredom and through this movement would unconsciously reveal the camouflage to the animal. Wild animals observe very closely what is happening in their environment and whether they can approach it safely. Even the brown bear, which does not have the very best sense of sight, observes the behavior of the birds in the forest very closely in order to benefit from their excellent sense of sight as an early warning system. At the hide be the most important thing that one quiet and comfortable wait until the targeted target species show up So hands off the camera and let the gimbal do the work. With the Lion Rock Gimbal L your camera is in the best hands., says Daniel Spohn in his final conclusion about then Lion Rock gimbal head.
| focal length | cover | ISO | exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400mm | f/2.8 | 3200 | 1/2000 |
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