FLOATING BIRD HIDE PHOTOGRAPHY - Capturing Rare and Dramatic Bird Action

We love photographing birds. This was a surprising and productive day of bird photography in a floating hide. We captured a few showcase-worthy photos, and the day after, we woke up to the song of seven great northern divers and a black-throated loon-probably the only black-throated loon ever seen in Iceland.
This channel is all about our wildlife and landscape photography adventures. In this video, we use our floating hides to get close to the birds.
Einar Gudmann and Gyda Henningsdóttir live in Iceland, and wildlife photography is our passion, but landscape photography keeps our photography business going. We strive to be creative in our photography and put our hearts into what we do.
✦ OUR BOOKS:
BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY IN ICELAND: Our 40 Favorite Locations (eBook and map)
PHOTOGRAPHING ICELAND: A Photo Guide To 100 Locations (A must-have for trips to Iceland)
GRIMSEY: The Arctic Wildlife Wonder (Our latest book about our favorite bird-island)
ICELAND: Wild At Heart. (Our bestseller)
(The books are available at www.ggart.is with worldwide shipping.)
✦ WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
• Our blog and website: www.photographingiceland.is
• Online store (Books): www.ggart.is
• Einar Gudmann gallery: www.gudmann.is
• Gyda Henningsdottir gallery: www.gyda.is
• Instagram (Gyda) gydahennings
• Instagram (Gudmann) einargudmann
• Facebook: gudmannandgyda
You are welcome to send us a line through one of our websites if you have questions about our photos or ideas about collaboration.

[@brianrae1624]

Loons are one of the coolest birds in the world! That call is so iconic!

[@gotophotoarchive9131]

Great video...

[@birds_by_Zabugin_V]

Great photo shoot and interesting adventure! I also took photos from a floating hide and know what a pleasure it is when the birds are not afraid of you. Good luck in the new year and new interesting meetings with animals

[@christianwetzel1862]

The footage of the divers displaying and calling is incredibly wonderful. Thank you.

[@marshalhedin7538]

i love you guys :)

[@peterbowler6524]

Wonderful from start to finish.

[@OwenEDell]

I appreciate the photos and the videos, of course. You are masters of the art. But I also appreciate your inner calm, your spirit of kindness and respect, and your affection for the beautiful environments that you work in, and for each other. It's a privilege to travel and learn with you, even at a distance. Thank you for all you do.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Wow, thank you Owen Dell. It warms our heart to read your nice comment. Thank you for watching.

[@richardhilton2000]

Wow!! Great footage and images. The absolute caring for the birds and environment are to be commended!

[@1Adventures2]

Excellent…. Thanks

[@FuatUler]

Beautiful video; as always, a great pleasure to watch. Thank you.

[@BayouJosh]

You are living the good life! Awesome experience. You two are fantastic. Beautiful footage and incredible images.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Glad you enjoyed it. We try to do our best... and yes, this was a good day. Last summer was the warmest summer for years here in Iceland and we really enjoyed it.

[@riedelpedrosa2934]

NICE......

[@antonoat]

Fantastic photos and videos, thank you for sharing 👏😀👍

[@jairocruz-rua9079]

Thank you for this video! It’s was so enjoyable! I just started watching your videos and they are very informative. I will suscribe! Thanks again.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@davidsharkman]

Great video guys

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thanks for watching David.

[@PapunBhattacharya]

Beautifully filmed. Thank you for sharing.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thank you very much!

[@atishbhavsar5178]

very nice

[@RobJorg]

12:01 great image

[@MLJ7424]

This is Amazing , I've been trying to think of ways to make something like this to try . Very nice video , glad i found your channel today

[@stephaneolivier7688]

Another amazing video that makes us miss Iceland ! The photos are awesome and the duck sounds are a really great bonus !

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Iceland is also missing you! ;-) Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@scottgarriott3884]

the sound of those loons alone was worth clicking on this video!! Fabulous!

[@denischasse3567]

Adorable 🎥🎥🎥merci

[@robertverbeek9751]

Fantastic footage 👍📸

[@gerardvincenot7573]

It's just amazing what you are doing👏

[@GeoffCooper]

Fantastic video - really enjoyed the footage of the divers! I think their sound is one of my favourites in nature :)

[@vupham.wildlife]

Beautiful and so welcome

[@t.papillon1968]

beautiful pictures and footage

[@janinymanwildlife4563]

Amazing video😃 stunning photos 👍 now i cant wait to spring and worm weather to photograph birds swimming on the lakes 😃

[@seandavis6458]

Beautiful footage of some magnificent birds. Thank you

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thank you too Sean Davis!

[@williamlee9789]

amazing love it ... 🤩

[@hans-olofsvensson4567]

Hallo! As usual a fantastic nice an interesting video. A little bit scary in the water. Not for me!! Best regards from Sweden and Skövde.// Hans-Olof

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thanks for watching Hans-Olof! Using the hides can be scary if you don´t reach the bottom, but if you do, it´s just a great tool for photography.

[@martinbyrne6643]

@@GudmannAndGyda great video and look forward to to seeing more , tell me what happens if the water is deeper than you , does the floater hold you up or do you just stay in the shallows , how about the cold especially at that latitude, we have many lakes here in Ireland with all types of water birds .

[@tcchen6885]

Absolutely deicated and creative.

[@mustafakasapoglu]

What an amazing experience that you shared with us. It is a joy to watch impressive Great Northern divers. Thank you for sharing. All the best for the new year.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Glad you enjoyed it Mustafa, happy new year to you.

[@shirleyandrews1152]

Beautiful! I’ve done photography & wanted to do exactly what u r doing. Your pics gave me goosebumps🥰

[@banarne71]

Great video and I loved watching it. Bought myself a floating hide last autumn and waiting to use it this spring. Love your videos. 👍🏻🇸🇪

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Hopefully you will enjoy your floating hide also. The hides can be useful for the right circumstances. Thank you for watching 😀

[@chantaljacques7664]

Fabulous work as usual... and yes I have had a few experiences of photographying birds in the water and the experience is unforgettable! Thanks for sharing your experience! Very envious of the great opportunities you have in Iceland to be safely in the water with the birds, not too many places like this in the world. If you two ever decide to organise floating photography trips in your neck of the world, I will sign in.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thank you Chantal, the floating hides can be a great tool for bird photography. There are no plans at the moment to offer photography trips, but who knows what the future holds.

[@DanimalJ3666]

Morton Hilmer would be proud! (Or Bayou Josh) Love when people are quietly enthusiastic. Great job. Do you mind me asking what brand hide you use?

[@GudmannAndGyda]

hehehe... thank you Danny. Those two are masters in what they do, and they do it well. We follow both Morten and Bayou Josh. Bayou Josh as already commented here, but I am not sure Morten has ever seen our videos. He is probably busy freezing in Dovrefjell, photographing Musk ox. :-)

[@GudmannAndGyda]

...forgot the brand question. The floating hide is from www.floating-hide.com - (we are not sponsored).

[@nerajesh]

Thank You Both. Another fantastic video. 💐💐

[@nerajesh]

How do you guys shoot yourself while photographing ? GoPro ? Or another tripod with another dslr or Mirrorless system ?

[@bessondidier1286]

Amazing divers

[@davidcox2499]

Nikon should give you two Z9s. You do phenomenal work with their cameras.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

That is one great idea! It would be great if someone would whisper this great idea into the ear of the Nikon marketing manager. :-) All joking aside, Nikon probably does not know about our work. Switching to a mirrorless system is on our to-do list. It is though not easy with many lenses and bodies to get rid of - In Iceland - where Canon is the dominant brand for some strange reason. The Z9 would fit our needs just perfectly. Considering that the new Nikon Z mirrorless system is probably the dream system for wildlife stills and videos it is amazing that we have not seen any marketing material aimed in that direction except the Morten Hilmer videos.

[@thebirdschannel2811]

Excellent job. I have just started using my floating hide and every single day using it is a unique experience, being so close to these amazing creatures.

[@ianpawson1356]

Have only recently come across you both. I did come to Iceland a long long time ago, but it was always on my return list. When I do get back the wildlife is one of the things I want to photograph so your images are inspiring for my return

[@GudmannAndGyda]

The wildlife is one of the reasons some travel to Iceland. You are welcome back! Thank you for watching Ian.

[@lisingreece]

What am amazing video especially of the Divers, my favourite birds, which I see sometimes here in Ireland in the winter. Thank you for this wonderful video.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dlanska]

The loon footage was fabulous.

[@alaskajdw]

Amazing!!!!

[@franzlipowsky2231]

Top Video.

[@udowei7499]

Fantastic Video !!!!

[@victorlim5077]

Amazing. Great video.

[@kevinhollmann]

I’m currently watching all of the videos you are making with the photographs in it. I love all the work! It’s truly amazing! I’m planning to visit Iceland myself and considering buying two of your book for a good plan. But I was wondering are there multiple loon locations covered in the books?

[@boalkestrup]

So nice

[@williamzaca6280]

Amazing!! Great photos. Greetings from Brazil

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thank you so much 😀

[@cantodelbosque11]

Hello from Costa Rica, a new subscriber

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Hello from Iceland! Thanks for subscribing.

[@AndyGustavsson]

Such great video and amazing photos, well done! Can't wait to go out with my floating hide in the spring! Went to iceland a couple years back in february, but can see now that I need to go back in summer time! Beautiful country!

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Thank you Andy. Yes, February is not the month I would recommend as a first visit to Iceland. Summer and winter is two different worlds here.

[@peterb.7437]

What a dedication I wish I can do the same in our area

[@nikonid80]

ht an inspirational video, I love your channel, the videos are excellent, photos are out of this world. I can't stop watching your videos😊. would you like to share information about the floating hides

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Glad you like them! The link to the floating hides is somewhere in the comments of the video. If I remember correctly it is from www.floating-hide.com/

[@nikonid80]

@@GudmannAndGyda thank you so much

[@Banjmedina]

another amazing video, always enjoy your adventures, I've seen a lot of floating hides, but this one you guys are using looks really cool.. is there a link you can share on where to purchase them? thanks :-)

[@kfleunghk7365]

如此享受大自然⋯真係羨慕死啊！

[@robertlawrence7958]

Stunning imagery once again. Do you ever struggle to get permission to use this type of hide? Are the lakes you shoot on private or publicly owned? I have to say I'm quite envious; not only for the fantastic locations and subjects but also that absolutely delicious looking fish at the end 😋. What a way to end such a wonderful day. All the best.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Most of the time we use the floating hides on public land. Fortunately most landowners are also very cooperative. Finding lakes where it is possible to use the floating hides is sometimes difficult since conditions are not in our benefit. Many lakes are too deep, no chance to approach birds without disturbing them. The arctic char was delicious... :-)

[@samm8135]

Great videos !! Where can you buy the floating blind from?

[@GudmannAndGyda]

We got ours from www.floating-hide.com - (not with an s). This was not a sponsored video. - there are more options out there and some of them include inflatable floating hides. They might be a good option for some since traveling with our hides is sometimes troublesome, but they are good and today we have not seen "better" options out there. Of course it would be great to be able to walk for longer distances with the hides - so if this is the case I would consider some of the inflatable options. Otherwise we have nothing but good experience from using our floating hides. The most important factor is safety for you and the gear.

[@bessondidier1286]

Is it the mivatan lake?

[@caspermarly5992]

How do you stay WARM enough in the water? What kind of dry suit, insulation or whatever to keep from getting too cold?

[@GudmannAndGyda]

You do not really stay warm. The waders are made of 5 mm neophrane. It protects from the cold, but it depends on the weather how long you last. During the summer when the air temperature is over 10 C it is not a problem to be in the water for one or two hours. If it is colder it often happens that after 30-45 minutes - the cold gets to you.

[@ricki-bobby]

What is the deepest water you can use this setup in?

[@GudmannAndGyda]

You want your feet to reach the bottom. This way you can control it much better. For the sake of safety it is better to reach the bottom at all times. It is possible to swim, using your legs like a dog, but if there is wind you move very slowly and it is difficult for longer distances. Not recommended, you should reach the bottom at all times.

[@djack4125]

Wonder if there is a way to get the camera even lower?

[@GudmannAndGyda]

It is possible to lower the camera even more on the gymbal. The low position is not always better. Sometimes the reflection of the bird disappears if the lens is very low, depending on the angle of view. It is possible to lower the lens, but it has pros and cons. Being too low can also be risky, since water might get on the lens in the lowest position if the water is not calm.

[@publictoilet7832]

if you can you share the size and the dimention of the floating like boat? thank you

[@GudmannAndGyda]

Weight: 12kg - Packaging: 670mm x 840mm x 350mm - Size (ready for use): 1.300mm x 840mm x 780mm - this is according to the website´s manual.

[@robertshafer8865]

Great stuff? Where did you aquire or purchase your floating hide? Is there a way to purchase this in the United states.

[@GudmannAndGyda]

We got two of them from www.floating-hide.com/ Since then more brands have appeared, but this floating hide has worked great for us.

[@robertshafer8865]

@@GudmannAndGyda thank you. Beautiful work. Kudos.

[@nodramalama9531]

Are you finnish