Wildlife Photography from the Car | Swiss Alps | Chamois

[@deborahhammond8576]

Hi Essen, great video and so good to feel there with you, watching and waiting and not flitting about

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much for joining me Deborah!

[@jlr3636]

So inspiring, I can hardly believe that I purchased the Canon 100-400mm ii last night. Ready to head out for my first bird shoot. That is some amazing landscape. I’m learning to slow down and find those little jewels no mater where you are in the world. Thanks, San Diego, California

[@EspenHelland]

Enjoy! I lived in Escondido for a year :)

[@RadioShackSeven]

Beautiful cinematography in this Espen...

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Dan :)

[@kushalsharma4086]

Hi Espen, Loved your patience which paid off well, happy for you...

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Kushal! Can't say it always pays off 😉

[@touchedbynature5445]

Great video, Beautiful Photos. Many thanks.

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you Paul 🙂

[@trondwestby]

Nice Espen! Looks like you having a great time. Great video and pictures you got. So nice to see your channel growth, well deserved. Keep it up!

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Trond :) Really appreciate it!

[@JohnFormstone]

Love that last image! Thanks for sharing, always a joy to watch. 👍

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much John 🙂

[@robertlawrence7958]

You really need a saddle type bean bag to assist with holding the camera steady on your car door / window. If you use stabiliser mode 3 on the lens with a good bean bag you can get away with much slower shutter speeds. I know slow speeds will not freeze subject movement but if you pick your moments when the subject is still it is surprising just how slow a shutter speed you can get away with. I use this technique on badgers in poor light. Obviously there are limits to all this but it certainly helps to extend the time you can shoot. Another nice video. It's a stunning setting that I would love to experience but I doubt if my knees would survive those hills now !

[@EspenHelland]

Thanks Robert! I'll probably get a saddle bean bag one day, just travelling a bit too much now so trying to keep my luggage weight down, and I actually didn't think I'd be using the car to photograph from in the Alps either 😅

[@isabellekoninckx5263]

YES you're so right Robert ! I got Grappler Bean Bag a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love for car photography !

[@LuciaHewitt]

@@EspenHelland Just recently found your channel and really loving it! I have a pool noodle which I've cut in half and scored from end to end so that it slides down over the window. Works perfectly for stabilising the camera.

[@EspenHelland]

Lucia Hewitt thank you very much 🙂 good tip 👌🏻

[@justinholding02]

Nice subjects. You'll be wanting a full frame option soon. 😁

[@EspenHelland]

justin holding absolutely! The ISO performance would be my number one reason for getting one.

[@justinholding02]

@@EspenHelland i must admit my 7d2 Hardy gets used now i also have a 5d4.

[@rolfsimonsson736]

Hello Espen! I really like your videos. This is partly because I am shooting with the exact same equipment that you do, and therefore everything is directly applicable to my gear. I absolutely love this lens. Sometimes I use it with my Canon 5D mkIII, but for the most part it sits glued on my Canon 7D mkIII. I live in Colombia since a few years, and I shoot a lot of bird photography.

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Rolf! Agree, the lens is brilliant. I used to have a Tamron 150-600mm and the loss of the extra reach was easily made up for in sharpness and performance :) Colombia must be amazing for bird photography!

[@AndrewTurpin]

Great video, Espen. I just discovered your channel and really glad I did. You video was a perfect demonstration of how much patience is really needed in wildlife photography and your final image was beautiful. Great work!

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much for that Andrew :)

[@perjensen6396]

Thanks Espen for a very good video, it shows that even in bad weather you can get great photos. I think that I also will have a go to use my car some day. By the way I am from Denmark 🇩🇰 and I enjoy to see your videos.

[@EspenHelland]

Takk for det Per :) I do quite like rain in my photos, but I don't think I managed a proper moody rain photo of the Chamois this time.

[@GeoffCooper]

Awesome video Espen! Looks like you had a great trip to the Alps. I remember my uncle's car was great as my first ever 'photo hide' for watching garden birds when I first got a camera 😊

[@EspenHelland]

Thanks Geoff! Was a brilliant trip, got to see some birds I'd never seen before as well :)

[@CurbSideManor]

Checked out this video to see what and how you were going to capture anything. And instead of me learning any of the before mentioned.... Your excitement became my excitement! It was like sitting in the movies watching a cliff-hanger! You are right about the 7D Mark ii and 6400. But I love the hell out mine anyway! Never fails me! And what I consider my toughest camera. "Enjoyed the movie!" :-)

[@EspenHelland]

CurbSideManor thank you very much! Appreciate it 🙂 I really like the 7Dii as well, hasn't failed me yet either and I've put it through some hardships over the years 😅

[@CurbSideManor]

@@EspenHelland Here's some hardship for you. I'm 6'1" and I'm reaching over my shoulder to put the 7D MArk ii with, battery grip(2 batteries), and the 70-200 L-lens F2.8 attached. I heard a weird noise right before dropping in the bag. I turn, not in time to catch it.... but to see it hit the ground. Straight down, lens first, and then I hear the breaking glass. Heart in my stomach, and without looking, I scoop up everything into the backpack until I get home. Sit down and have a little wine, and then opened the bag for inspection. Figuring the lens would be shot, the mount would be warp. The only glass broken is the filter with the filter threads bended in. Get the lens off body. good as new. Give it a few shakes... solid. Put the lens back on for a few shoots.... everything is still working perfect. Just had to replace the filter. MY 7D MARK II isn't just my go to camera... but defensive weapon in a crunch.

[@EspenHelland]

@@CurbSideManor 😱man that is lucky! I like your style, sit down for a glass of wine first before you check ;) Good to hear it's so solid!

[@ericswenson3125]

Hi Espen, I'm loving your channel. What you are doing is a dream of mine. Thank you for teaching me all of your tips. I've now purchased a 6D and Mark I 100-400 in an effort to live the dream myself. Keep up the great work brother!

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Eric, that's awesome to hear! Wish you the best of luck following your dream 👊

[@edwintowler2540]

Great video, have to add Chamois to my list of things to photograph now...

[@EspenHelland]

Thanks mate! I'd love to photograph them again in the rutting season 🙂

[@CJamesPhoto]

Great work man, what an interesting animal it is and in such a beautiful location :) you got a few nice shots there, would be interesting to see you getting up close an personal on a trip like this.

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you! Yeah, I got close up to the alpine marmots here, but I'm not sure how comfortable I would be on those cliffs for the chamois ;) It really is a stunning location, I'm sure I'll be back :)

[@CJamesPhoto]

Espen Helland getting close to any animal can be exciting, but I completely understand what you mean about the safe side.. my video getting photos of Puffins (not out yet) I was on the edge of a cliff, anything could have happened 😅

[@EspenHelland]

CJamesPhoto yeah definitely something to be said for much of the enjoyment coming from being close and in nature 👌🏻

[@andrewyeates7717]

Fantastic final image.

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Andrew 🙂

[@findus605]

Excellent Espen, persistence paid off. Like yourself i also own a 7d mark2 and like you touched on in the video the higher iso is an issue with this camera, i always try to stay lower than 1/800 or the images are very noisy. I have recently purchased the Fuji xt3 for higher iso images and the results are excellent. Keep up the good work.

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much! So you've made the jump to mirrorless, I think I'll do that eventually as well. Really like the look of the Fuji cameras. How high ISO are you comfortable with the xt3?

[@markheatherington8367]

Hey Espen, I recently stumbled upon your channel. I really appreciate your lessons, approach and enthusiasm for wildlife photography. You mentioned suggestions for further topics, as I also use a 7d Mark ii, it would be great if you could cover what metering you use for different situations. I've been playing around a lot with metering recently, and would love to hear from someone with much better experience and skill. Thank, Mark

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very for the kind words Mark! The metering modes will make a good subject, I'll try to make a video on that soon. Thanks for the tip :)

[@twiztedzero1685]

Heya Espen, got any deets on your particular raincover? Home made or store bought? I've thought about this too especially with the 100-400 lens having to telescope twist out of the body. I've been mulling over maybe going with a Think Tank Hydrophbia but man that thing is fairly well overpriced IMHO. For now I'm just making do with Optech rain covers until something better comes along.

[@EspenHelland]

I just use a fairly cheap one off Amazon I got when I had a Tamron 150-600mm (you can check the exact one in my gear list: espenhelland.com/my-photography-gear/) works really well for the 100-400mm as well. A lot of the time my lens is fully extended at 400mm so I don't need to make many adjustments, but even when I do I don't find it too much hassle. There's an opening for the tripod underneath or I just adjust by twisting the cover.

[@ZaberAnsaryOfficial]

So which drone do you use? Before that Mountaintop Hike video I thought you used Stock Drone footage haha. I think you could've cropped the last image a bit, the framing seems a bit odd to me. Sure shows the crazy habitat of those goat-antelopes though.

[@EspenHelland]

Zaber Ansary stock footage 😱 😅 no I use the Mavic pro. Always very subjective how to crop an image, I cropped it slightly and used the pine tree to gage if it was straight. It was definitely at an awkward angle.

[@MobyDickFishingTV]

Hey Espen, do you come to Germany? 😍

[@EspenHelland]

No plans yet, but I'd like to visit Germany along with many other countries in Europe. Especially the ones that have large on-going re-wilding projects :)

[@MobyDickFishingTV]

@@EspenHelland Yes, we have a re-wilding project with Bisons in Sauerland... That's very interesting :)

[@benpulletz]

Do you have an extender on that lens and is it the 2nd generation because people say the first generation is terrible

[@vbrvideoproductions4643]

it's version II Ben, first gen pulled out, not twist out and yes the first gen wasn't Canons finest moment!

[@EspenHelland]

No don't have an extender for the lens, might get one though. Could do with some extra reach every now and then. It's the 2nd generation and I think it's come a long way since the first one came out.

[@benpulletz]

Espen Helland thank Yh I’m gonna get one rather spend more to get better quality, was gonna get the 1st because it’s cheaper but I’m not now

[@trembichmovingmoments8778]

Hi Espen, I am Sören from Bottrop, Germany. I am currently getting more and more into wildlife photography myself and really enjoy your videos (have a look at my channel if you are interested). What I like most about your videos is the calm and relaxed feeling. Cheers from Germany 🙂

[@EspenHelland]

Thank you very much Soren! I'll see if I can't find some time to have a look. Best of luck with it :)

[@trembichmovingmoments8778]

@@EspenHelland thank you 🙂