Photographing Kingfishers - Mike Dunlevy Hide

[@gimlley666]

Amazing 😱😱

[@michaelchapman6691]

Brilliant, just brilliant.

[@andywhiteside16]

Absolutely beautiful what a stunning bird the kingfisher is and cracking shots

[@MarkusGebhard]

Wow such stunning images and footage! The perch, the lighting, and fully grown kingfishers. Absolutely beautiful 👏

[@Daves_lens]

Fantastic video and photography hi from Portugal

[@chrismc2090]

Spectacular!......they just keep getting better :))))

[@peterosborne9802]

And another beautiful fantastic video, thankyou I really enjoy watching your work. That last shot, Private no fishing brilliant. 😅

[@joanhuggett5164]

You and your photography are truly amazing, Ashley. To say 'stunning' for what I have just seen is an understatement. The live action, the slowmo, closeups, stills, all-inclusive environment (you're the man). The way you described your setup and the triggers... I would love to see you in action. We don't have the Common Kingfisher here, so this was super special. Thanks so much.

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Hi Joan, hope you and your family are well, thanks for the like. 😀 I will be doing more behind the scenes stuff whilst on the isle of Arran next week, looks like it is going to be wet weather, but no pain no gain. 😂

[@joanhuggett5164]

I told the family to expect something special this evening and I'm looking forward to seeing it again with them. We are all well and wishing you lots of success for the Isle of Arran. BTS, just what the doctor ordered :)

[@davespriggs6170]

Another fantastic video, great work.

[@Seemples]

A fantastic series of images,Ashley 👏👏👏👏

[@leehanley71]

Hi Ashley, what a video 😎 that looks a great set up that hide, just brilliant. You got fab images and footage of the amazing Kingfisher, what a bird. See you on the next one 📸

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

cheers Lee, yeh a fab hide this one I have to say, a great day out for anyone wanting some Kingfisher hide photos. 👍

[@FFLENSA-gf5mc]

The color is perfect and real

[@Trish12303]

Gorgeous shots!! Thanks for sharing!

[@joanhuggett5164]

Love the thumbnail :)

[@ashstubbings2603]

Absolutely stunning! My name is Ashley too, by the way!😁

[@markk1873]

Lovely video, with great images. Not a fan of hides, far too easy IMHO. Prefer to find them in the wild and photograph them in there natural habitat.

[@frankinblackpool]

You truly are having a cracking year.😀 Won't belong before your subs count goes spiraling in an upward trajectory, because your episodes are outstanding.

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

cheers Frank, glad you liked it, yeh its nearly been a year now, with my first video going up on October the 21st, with a trip to the Isle of Arran, so I am repeating my trip this weekend for 5 days back to Arran with a 1 year ago video. Looking forward to going back with a lot more knowledge and wildlife experience. 😜👍

[@frankinblackpool]

@@WildlifePhotographerUK Arran sure is a long way from Bispham. You be careful, with all this rain, we may get washed away by the time you get back.🤣🤣🤣

[@karengardner5524]

As I found this week on Wednesday, 9/5. It is a brilliant setup. After looking forward to going there to do some beautiful photography, I was extremely disappointed as the hide was overbooked even though I had planned and paid prior to going. To say I am upset about this mishap is an understatement. I would advise anyone thinking of going to make sure that when you get there, you will have a seat in the hide and NOT be turned away.

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

sorry to hear you got turned away, did he offer you a refund or another date? I hope you get to go back as it is a great little hide, not good though that it was over booked 🤔

[@karengardner5524]

I was offered a different hide looking at jackdaws, Robins, Jays.... I suggested to Mike the FIVE of us could ALL take turns so we can get a few images each. NO, told to come back another time for FREE!!! but it's not free. I'd already paid the £100.

[@pofrani]

@@karengardner5524 That sucks to hear- how did he manage to mess up your booking in the first place? Have you been since to do your session then? I'm still contemplating whether to do it or not. It's 100 miles away from me each way.

[@dalemews1]

The remote camera set worked extremely well. The action shots of the kingfisher diving into the water are awesome. I'm assuming you must have pre-focused for these?

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

HI Yeh a pole was set to where abouts the KIngfishers would more or less dive in and set a manual focus point, camera settings 2500 sec, f/5.6 ISO 2000, I however should have used around 3000 sec, but we live and learn. I was able to change the settings of the camera ISO ect by using my Canon app as conditions changed. The triggers I used were the Hahnel Captur Remote- amzn.to/3ro79B7 which can be bought for canon, sony and nikon, and worked amazingly well.

[@52gmsila]

Truly some stunning shots. I wanted to ask what AF settings you were using, particularly to get the diving shots? Do you have to pre focus? I know each of those cameras you were using has animal tracking but i assume the king fisher is too quick for the cameras AF.

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

For the actual shot of the kingfisher hitting the water yes you have a manual focus point to set on, then leave the camera outside the hide and take the shot remotely from inside the hide.

[@Lens-legacy]

@@WildlifePhotographerUKcan you setup the outdoor diving shots at different points in the day if your only shooting one main camera

[@Bird_in_camera]

Brilliant set up and some great shots. Definitely on my bucket list as it's only 1 1/4 hours away from me. Think I will have a similar setup to yours, using a 500, 300 and a 105 Nikon lenses on a D850, Z9 and Z6ii ( or maybe a Z8 by then) using remotes and Nikon smartphone apps etc. How far away was the perch from your seated position, how did you set the outside cameras. Looking forward to more videos from you in future. Can I just add, you are sometimes quietly spoken and with background music going off, it's a bit difficult to hear you (from my perspective as I am partially deaf). But having said that, your footage and images speak for themselves.

[@WildlifePhotographerUK]

Hi, and Many thanks for your comment and like, The perch is approximately 3 meters away from the hide, and as for the camera that is situated outside, Mike has the setup that enables you to position your camera exactly where it needs to be unfortunately I cannot give too much information away as it is his unique setup which is just one of the best I've ever seen. Noted on the music and audio, I will make a note of making sure that the music is quieter when I'm speaking. 😀👍

[@Bird_in_camera]

I dare guess I will be able to set up for trapping/remote quite easy enough with either 1 or 2 cameras and still have 1 for in the hide, have done that before in a similar scenario. Mat leave it till next year as am quite busy from now on. Thanks anyway

[@roadsey7012]

Ash, stick to the photography and leave the wood & diy to other people !