Bird Photography in Spain with the OM-1 and 150-400mm lens

Spain probably offers more opportunity for specialist bird photography hides than any other country. On this trip I try out the hides at Monegros in a desert like area of spain.
The trip is organised by Rene de Heer and is drastically cheaper than going through a normal tour company. See Rene's web site at www.naturepics....
It was a very successful trip with photographs of many species of birds. This film is part one of two films and concentrates on the raptors we photographed.
Mike Lane wildlife photography www.nature-pho...
Music by www.bensound.c...
License code: AAOVDFOQ64S3IJHJ
Music credited to KZbin
State drive

[@ravineelakantan6417]

Absolutely fantastic video footage of the kites and snaps as well.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you like them!

[@danw4930]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mathiaskrause_blunkerbach]

Well Captured, Mike ! Quite some juvenile Kites in Focus, probably a Hybrid as well.

[@duncancookdrummond3273]

Stunning close-up footage and photos Mike. Thanks for posting.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@carolinewiggins2803]

Oh my goodness, so beautiful 😍. Envy you. My husband who's no longer here would have thought he was in paradise! Be careful with the heat in these situations. Don't want you keeling over. That sort of heat in a confined space seems dangerous to me.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Cold places suit me better.

[@EricTempelaars]

Great video Mike, so nice to watch! It was a great pleasure to meet you at this trip.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks, you too!

[@tapsahtip]

Fantastic !

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you like it!

[@MartinJSmithPhotographyUK]

Thank you Mike that is one of the best videos of raptors that you have done. Thanks for sharing.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Echoesofwild]

Very well done. I do appreciate your transparency on talking about your camera settings and other details. Thank you for sharing.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad it was helpful!

[@micktoulmin4616]

Lovely slow mo Mike and beautiful raptors 👍

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Yes they are!

[@cliftonwhittaker260]

Another enjoyable video, Mike. Thanks.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks again!

[@stevevickers2844]

Wow some stunning video and stills Mike. You’re certainly making the most of the OM1 and 150-400mm lens.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Yes I am!

[@junerobinson8169]

Fantastic photographs Mike..i really thought they were fantastc..well done to you..

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thank you.

[@antonoat]

Wow that was a treat Mike, thanks for sharing the photos and all the info!👏👍😀🦦

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@David-rc8fb]

Great Footage, useful information thanks. Keep well & stay safe 👍🇬🇧

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks, you too!

[@simonpendleton6005]

Amazing pictures again !!😊

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you like them!

[@sabyasachibanerjee124]

Beautiful slow motion videos. The ones with water droplets are fascinating.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you like them!

[@davidosborn3356]

Excellent . Splendido indeed senor Mike.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@spongebobvader]

Lovely video Mike. We were there just after you, the crows have some amazing calls

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Yes they do

[@amaimani]

Your videos are convincing me more and more to get OM-1 ❤

[@georgeewart52]

Superb video Mike! I'm very impressed with the quality of 240fps HD video on your OM1. It looks great upscaled at 4k. Gorgeous photos of the Hobby. Congratulations!

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Many thanks!

[@brucegraner5901]

I liked all the photos but was very impressed with how you mentally steered one bird towards the poppies:)

[@PeteCroft1]

Stunning raptor shots Mike! I will have to put this one on the to do list along with Bulgaria, thanks for all the info, much appreciated.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Please do!

[@rogerhance5883]

Nice video, and cracking images and footage.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Many thanks!

[@mikesphotography7185]

So impressive and stunning video and photos love it 😎😎

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks so much!

[@philgowerbirdphotography]

Terrific video Mike. I love the slow motion footage.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks. Slow montion is addictive.

[@murphyorama]

Another great video Mike. Thanks.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@FraggleHammer]

Amazing photos and video!

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks so much!

[@pablo-fotoprzygoda]

Exelent video Mike. Good luck on another adventure

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks 👍

[@tukkl00]

Stunning footage, Mike. Great shots!

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@eljayr4669]

Great video. Looking forward to some more Goshawk video and images.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Coming soon!

[@camloff]

Superb birds wildlife and water. WOW video great. Very hot weather temperature in Spain. Many thanks; MIKE. I have nice stuff (not as good as yours ) taken in TEJO river estuary in Portugal, 20 km from Lisbon close to Alcochete.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@RichardCookphotography]

Lovely video Mike. Some stunning birds. Well done😀👍🙏

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@MicaVoitek]

Your pictures are amazing, Mike. I've just bought an OM-1 and a 150-400 pro, now I still need to buy the spare time for practicing to do such breathtaking photos as you someday.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Have fun!

[@foto-spective]

Lovely video! Always enjoy your content.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@tonystamp9491]

Superb!!

[@TatraScrambler]

Splendido, senior Mike 😁

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thank you.

[@alexandreentenzablanco6454]

Me encantan esos planos bajos,son una maravilla,bienvenido a España el mejor país en biodiversidad

[@Beak_to_lens]

That is some incredible work Mike. Really beautiful photos and footage. I need to go to a drinking pool hide… just in the uk maybe as i cant drive yet.🤣

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

You should!

[@TheGazzadj]

Superb video Mike, I would love to do a trip next year, I am off to Spain next month - first time abroad in 14 years due to health problems so hopefully it won't be too hot and I can maybe book a trip away under Rene's guidance. Fingers crossed.

[@brianchandler1365]

Great shots Mike, you mention 1600 ISO, sounds high for the OM -1. Do you put them through noise reduction programme or are you happy with some noise, they good excellent to my eye

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

When I settled on 1600 I was not using any noise reduction software. Now I use Topaz Photo AI on all so probably should be shooting higher.

[@booga2007]

Wow the Hobby. Such a gorgeous bird but so hard to approach.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Very!

[@thimoschreiber4275]

Very nice photos, dont see photos of these birds at water very often. Did you use a teleconferter, or what focal length did you use? I ask because the pond or puddel seemed quiet far for the shown close up shots. Was it like 10-15 meter?

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

I used the 150-400mm OM lens which has a built in 1.25 extender when I need it. 10-15 meters is about right.

[@thimoschreiber4275]

@@MikeLaneFRPS wow, did you have to cropp in a lot?

[@theflyingdutchman7127]

hi mike I am very impressed with your beautiful images, what did you do in post-processing, or are they straight out of the camera? yours sincerely

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

I put all images through Topaz Photo AI. Then do as little as possible in photoshop. I prefer being outdoors

[@theflyingdutchman7127]

@@MikeLaneFRPS hi Mike I am very impressed by the sharpness and the beautiful, colorful and noise-free images. they are not inferior to images from a full - frame camera . The high prices and the high weight of my Canon Full Frame system force me to look for another camera system. The Om system may then be an attractive alternative. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful images.❤️👍

[@georgep5032]

Another informative and entertaining video. If I were shooting from the first hide, I'd find the dark horizontal band in the BG very distracting. Did you notice its presence? Thanks for sharing your excellent videos. 👍

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Yes noticed.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

Cheers for this Mike. I'll be sure to be contacting my countryman (I am guessing) René for my next trip to Spain.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Rene is Dutch.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

@@MikeLaneFRPS cheers Mike, I thought I heard a Dutch accent.

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

Ever done any birding in The Netherlands. Some good spots around.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Yes many times. I am not able to travel as much as I once did.@@jeroenschoondergang5923

[@jeroenschoondergang5923]

@@MikeLaneFRPS we have some interesting stuff happening on the bird front, with (global warming) new nesting species and some exciting new spots, with the Marker Wadden as the jewel in the crown, right in the middle of the IJsselmeer.

[@ashstubbings2603]

Brilliant video as usual Mike! I thought at first that the Booted Eagle was a Benelli's Eagle. I'm obviously not as good at identifying them as I thought! 🤨🤨

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks 👍

[@digger360]

Am i watching perfection ? if not its a close call an amazing video in an amazing country for wildlife photography ...i dont know what editing software you use to edit video but in Davinci Resolve 18 you can use Optical flow / speed warp to slow your footage with no loss of quality so you could film in 120fps 4K and slow your footage to whatever you want but you do need a good PC ...keep up the amazing videos 👍

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thanks.

[@philipgowdy]

Super Vid Mike, the Booted are great little Eagles, I have seen them many times and always look so good. Beautiful images of the Hobby. Spain is Magic for Raptors. Rene, helped me find Yanni a few years back and gave me the best Bonellis Eagle viewing ever. I love "the behind the scenes" shooting you do to give an idea into all that goes on. Just wanted to know do you switch of the image stabilisation when shooting at these high speeds on the Olympus.? I went to Sony the opposite direction of you and find better results with the IS off at over 1/1600th. Keep up the great work...regards.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

I never switch the IS off.

[@stephenbarlow2493]

Look at 9:15, and you can see the eye spots on the back of the Hobby's head. Believe it or not, that seems to have been my discovery, although I find it difficult to understand why no one had noticed it before. See The Eurasian Hobby, by Richard Sale and Anthony Messenger. I'd noticed it myself a few years earlier and had a good pair of photos illustrating it. So when I spoke to Richard, I asked him about it (this was before the book came out). He said I don't know anything about this. Then I found a letter to raptor research in 2004, suggesting Hobbies might have eyespots on the back of their heads, because American Kestrels did, and they are closely related species. That some skins in museums suggested they might have, but no one followed it up.

[@williansparra3549]

Bello el agula

[@murphyorama]

I have the OM1 which I love, but I can't push it to the 150-400 lens. I have the 300mm which I use with the 1.4 converter for great results. Would that be a suitable setup for this type of birding trip or would I need more reach?

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Reach is fine, but I find a zoom so useful.

[@bricoschmoo1897]

These are some amazing moments you captured! On a more technical note, I think that OM System should really do something to enhance slow motion footage. Normal speed looks good, but as soon as you go into slow motion, colors get somewhat washed out, and the low bitrate shows. That's a real bummer !

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Once you start using 240fps yes, but so does the Lumix GH6. Lumix is okay at 120fps 4K

[@bricoschmoo1897]

@@MikeLaneFRPS Yes, I'm using my Lumix G9 for slow motion stuff, it's good enough for me. But It's not, feasible to change fom the OM-1 to the G9 with a lens swap in the middle of a shooting haha.

[@jeffslade1892]

Did I misunderstand? At about 4:00, you had to manually focus video? With possibly the best AF system on the planet? Why was that? Do you shoot MOV or MP4? There are so many sub-formats. Which is easier to work with? Which gives best results for you?

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

As far as I know AF with video is very poor on all cameras. Nothing like stills photography. The OM-I is producing MOV files. If you Google what is the difference between the two it is unlikely you will understand it. I don't. I only concern myself with trying to shoot 4K and ignoe the rest.

[@jeffslade1892]

@@MikeLaneFRPS That's odd because I find the G9 pretty good at focusing video and keeping it focused. (I did a lot of "stage" video with e GH4 but am experimenting with the G9 for wildlife video with shotgun mic). Video focus cannot do all the fancy tricks that stills AF can so one trick is to - AFC, movie Continuous AF On, tracking Off, recognition Off, central focus area and aim the camera. You can see the obvious problems here, the subject moves; if the camera's view of the subject is interrupted, focus is lost of may be transferred. Even without tracking, Lumix do try to stay with the "actor" which is both a blessing and a curse. Tracking may work but both tracking and recognition seem to slow the AF system down, it has to think.

[@kate_drolya]

Lonely head 60

[@sathishkumarrathinaswamy5142]

i wish he uses Nikon z9 and Nikon z lens

[@ThomasWeiskirch]

Lovely video! Always enjoy your content.

[@MikeLaneFRPS]

Thank you so much!