Photographing Pied-billed Grebes from a Floating Hide!

Join me from the planning stages to setup and being out on the water in my floating hide to photograph Pied-billed Grebes.

[@mikekerr3242]

Brilliant video, Great dedication to getting some fantastic photos.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much for watching and commenting.

[@joakimolsson1024]

Wow! Stunning light! And good work!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks a lot!

[@peterlittle6651]

Great work as usual Ray...

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Peter, always appreciate it.

[@stans6582]

Nice work, Ray............thanks for posting

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Stan!

[@bradjames31]

Great job man and thank you for taking us along with you.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Brad.

[@srsconnect6916]

It's an awesome video Ray and the pics are really really incredible. Thanks for sharing such beautiful video... From India...

[@RayHennessy]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@amaedesign]

Amazing results! Thanks for taking us on the journey with you.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@vinikrish]

This is so wonderful Ray... really enjoyed it... looking forward to seeing more of these!!!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Vineeth, I will try to continue to share videos like this.

[@michaelwallwork7482]

Another great vlog Ray👍.You live an adventurous life. I'm envious. I see what you mean about the shutter noise on the D4s.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Michael, it is certainly a blast what I do and yeah that camera is so loud!!

[@nicks.7296]

Very cool video, Ray, thanks for taking us along! I've been wanting to make a hide like that, the shots you can get like that are incredible.

[@RayHennessy]

Best of luck if you do make one, it sure is fun!

[@caspersj1165]

Absolutely superb! Looks like a blast to be in that floating hide Great work Ray :)

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Casper, it is a blast in that thing!

[@zfisher]

Really enjoyed seeing your floating hide. I always like to see the creative ways photographers find to get the shot. Great images!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Zach, glad you enjoyed it.

[@stevemartin239]

what a great insightful, exciting tube Ray. just watched it having my evening meal (17.30 pm UK) Lovely shots of a lovely bird, & worth all the getting up & setting up! Thanks for sharing

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching as always Steve, glad you enjoyed it.

[@abelleipardo]

Very fun to watch this behind the scenes Ray, keep up the good work in this channel. I think it's great how you show edited images in the middle of the video. Loved the mute swan image!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Andrés, appreciate the feedback.

[@arieltapanes]

Hi there Ray! Super useful content and you’re absolutely right, it’s a lot of work. This kind of videos are really interesting! Thanks

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Ariel, glad you enjoyed the video.

[@ilaiporat626]

awesome video man! really enjoyed it. such cute little grebes!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and the comment.

[@joekwasniewski9407]

Another great video, thanks for the detailed information! Might have to investigate a floating hide...

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Joe, it's a lot of fun!

[@phooesnax]

Awesome job! Wow! Jim

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Jim.

[@22arrows]

Very cool, I'm gonna try and build my float hide over the winter. Also enjoyed see how you cull your photos...i keep way to many😉

[@RayHennessy]

That's great, hope you have fun making a float hide and I'm also glad you enjoyed the culling video.

[@MDMiller60]

Well done.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks.

[@towee70]

Awesome shots ! And this video answered my question about the footwear used with the drysuit. That D4 sure sounds loud when you fire the shutter, i bet you are enjoying the silent shutter on the new Z6ii.

[@RayHennessy]

Glad to hear it and yes that D4s is incredibly loud! The silent shutter is certainly nice for some things.

[@tonymorrison5023]

Really awesome video man, super cool getting the bts! I don't know why more people don't use dry suits they are so effective! quick tip to get the air out- pull outwards on the neck sleeve so that you have room for air to get in and out and then squat down as far as you can go, gets all the air out of the suit and makes it much more fit and you won't blow up like a balloon if you fall in the water haha!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks Tony. Yeah, that's exactly what I did with the suit when I got in to get the air out. I left some in since it helped keep me more buoyant and made it easier to float around in the really shallow water. I think most people don't use them because they aren't cheap, plus most people don't take their expensive cameras and lenses in the water either.

[@tonymorrison5023]

Ray Hennessy oh nice! Yeah they aren’t cheap! Gotta risk it for the wildlife! They’re swimming around in the cold water why shouldn’t we? 🤣

[@LitchiSam]

Amazing video Ray, it's really useful to see that hide in action! Thank you very much. I'd be very interested in a similar video with your kayak, I wonder how one can shoot low over the water without falling into it xD

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much Samuel, glad you enjoyed it. I'm not sure when the next time I'll be using my kayak will be. I very rarely shoot out of it, basically only the Common Loons are when I shoot from it. There isn't much to it other than I bend over and get low, or I lay prone in the kayak and shoot off one side, not much more than that to show. It's an inflatable kayak which is incredibly stable so that helps.

[@LitchiSam]

@@RayHennessy Thanks Ray :)

[@KandiKlover]

One thing I always hated about being in a blind is when I have to get out go to the bathroom. Not a problem with one! >:)

[@RayHennessy]

Yeah it's great when in my wetsuit, doesn't work so well in the dry suit hahaha.

[@KandiKlover]

@@RayHennessy hehe good man

[@mikehunt5626]

G'day Ray, great video mate. I have been thinking about a similar setup and am about to make my own floatation system but the dry suit has me stumped. Have looked a t a variety of them and my main concern is finding 1 that has the feet included in the design so no water gets to my feet, throwing rubber boots over them to protect the rubber at the feet is critical. I am struggling to find a suit that can justify the price here in Australia but If you could add a link (or mention) the suit you decided to go with it would be much appreciated. Happy New Year mate.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks, I use the Stohlquist Ez Drysuit but I don't think it's available anymore but anything like it should work. Best of luck and have fun!

[@PhillipJ]

Great video!! Doesn’t the slap slap of the shutter make these ducks skiddish!

[@RayHennessy]

Sure does, it's certainly louder in this video since my recording equipment was right next to the camera but it's not great. Thankfully the new mirrorless cameras are silent and help this out a lot.

[@SomeonewithaSony]

What a great video. How go you have this great location all to yourself? Wonderful. If this was Toronto there would be 30 photographers on the shoreline and if you tried getting in the water you’d get yelled at for “disturbing the wildlife”. Superb backlit shots, Ray. I want to build myself something like this. Had no idea what a dry suit was. Had no idea you could pee in a wet suit. Cheers.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much. It's the same here in New Jersey, any location that is well known is mobbed with photographers. I work really hard and spend a lot of time trying to find location without other people. It's not easy but it's possible and it usually requires more work to get to because if it's easy there will be other photogs there.

[@zlymarek]

Thank you for this very interesting video. Floating Hide is the next step that I gonna try in wildlife photography. I've one question about your hide, did it will support you if you lose ground under your feet? BTW great photos! Your're inspiring me! :)

[@RayHennessy]

Glad you enjoyed the video. My float will certainly hold me if I swim behind it, which I’ve done many times. I can put a lot of weight on it and it’s fine.

[@timzgonina7873]

Great video. Very informational. Do you ever wear any kind of camo over your face when you are in the blind, or do the birds not notice?

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and commenting Tim. I've never felt a need to add additional camo to my face since I'm inside the camo draped over the entire hide.

[@raziour]

Great video and photos Ray but you have to go mirrorless in this situation for one key reason - that shutter. It sounds like a gun blast in this video and it is disturbing the grebes and they are swimming away - Silent mode on my A7rIII has allowed me to take shots without disturbing the birds, I'd recommend the Nikon equivalent body for situations wear silence is required - should be able to autofocus just fine in those conditions as well.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for the feedback. As soon as Nikon's mirrorless offerings fit my needs I will be purchasing one, it's not quite there yet for me. I recently shot one for a week, check out my thoughts at kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZyoiHptZ8ema5o Also I'd like to point out that while my shutter is incredibly loud with these birds they almost immediately got used to it and weren't swimming away or disturbed by the shutter sound. They swam away much more anytime I moved the blind too fast. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@patsfan71771]

Awesome video! Question. Are the boots connected to the dry suit?

[@RayHennessy]

Yeah, they are stocking foot booties attached to the dry suit, I use very thick wet suit boots over the dry suit to provide protection while walking around in the water and on land.

[@joesaraceno5052]

@@RayHennessy Fantastic! Thank you so much for getting back to me, I greatly appreciate it.

[@davidshertzer501]

Brand of drysuit? Nice hide. Like the eye level captures. Any concerns for gators? And I do like this kind of video. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching David, the drysuit is by Stohlquist and no gators in New Jersey thankfully!

[@davidshertzer501]

@@RayHennessy Gators in Texas.

[@Zurbert82]

Awesome behind the scenes video and beautiful photos. Are these guys usually pretty skittish? I came across one at a local duck pond just before sunset last week. I managed to lay prone on the shore and got some pretty good shots (for me), but it didn't seem to be disturbed by my presence at all. I wish I could have taken advantage of a floating hide to get closer!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and congrats on getting some Pied-billed Grebes yourself recently. In my experience they are usually very skittish and tough to get close to but I've seen some occasional ones in ponds with lots of people around where they are more tolerant. This was my first time ever trying for them in my float hide, I usually shoot them from the shore as well but knew this would be a fun one.

[@Zurbert82]

@@RayHennessy Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah, I figured the fact it was in a duck pond may have had something to do with it.

[@KrishnaPrasadKotti]

Is the Blind custom design ?

[@RayHennessy]

My own design yes, I created it about 3 years ago.

[@justintheurer9437]

Camera just laying on the floor🤣

[@RayHennessy]

I usually keep it in bed with me but thought that would be weird in the video haha.

[@MDMiller60]

You need an SUV Ray. You could take your hide assembled. I recommend the Toyota Highlander. The others are too small for luggage and camera gear and the hide.

[@RayHennessy]

That would be great if I could afford that on a wildlife photographers salary. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@MDMiller60]

@@RayHennessy Understood.

[@RayHennessy]

@@MDMiller60 maybe once I'm making a lot of money from these KZbin videos haha!

[@MDMiller60]

@@RayHennessy It's tough. To succeed, you need to market all possibilities, fine art photography (shows and online), teaching, at least portraits (children, adults, pets). Of course, weddings, but I stopped years ago. I did sports teams and action sports, photography. Of course wildlife photography, and host field trips. I know you are supposed to have a specialty, if if you do, include as many angles of it as you can (field trips and teaching).

[@RayHennessy]

@@MDMiller60 It definitely is tough. I've been a full-time photographer for over 20 years with 10 of those running my own wedding and portrait photography business with my then wife, and now for the last year I have been full-time wildlife. It's going great and I'm so happy with the direction it's heading but you are right, it is a lot of hard work to keep it going!