Shooting 500mm f/4L IS from small boat

[David Stephens]

I'll be visiting Jacksonville Beach, FL in a couple of weeks and my brother and I are considering taking his 22' Boston whaler-style boat to Gauana Park down below Ponta Vedra. (We may be on foot also, depending on what some of the locals tell us about the best spots to view and shoot birds).

My rig is a 7D with the EF 500mm f/4L IS, with and without the EF 1.4x TC II. I plan to hand hold with the TC off anytime the boat is moving, but was thinking that I should try my monopod when we're just drifting or still, watching something. I suspect that I'll be sitting and may or may not be braced against the center console. So I'd extend the monopod only to eye level, with a gimbal on top.

I know we've got a macho man or two around here that handhold everything. I'm a 6', 250 lb former football guy, with healthy joints and good strength, but I still find that on dry land I get my best results with either a tripod or monopod, particularly for non-flight shots, when using a lens over 200mm. I do know to add some extra shutter speed for the boat moving, but was wondering about any further experience and tips for using a monopod from a relatively small boat.

Thanks for any help.

[Nancy A Elwood]

David my husband and I have developed a device just for such an application, among others. FYI, our webiste is www.quickactionharness.com (http://www.quickactionharness.com) . In fact, I will be out on Blue Cypress Lake, on a boat, next weekend using it. If any questions please so not hesitate to be in touch.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi David From a boat the monopod will not work and best to hand hold, just a little movement will be a problem. Nancy's rig is something else and have tried it :) .. and is one interesting contraption !!

From the boat try using as much shutter speed as possible !!

[Richard Mc Donald]

Keep in mind David that using any device to steady your shots from a boat is going to transfer engine vibration even at idle unless of course when you drift the motor is shut down.

(In regards to your hand holding problem I found concentrating on technique first and foremost (getting the shot was secondary) worked but still took some time. Once you get that right and it becomes second nature you'll then start to get better results).

I'd go hand held for everything on the trip. Hope it goes well for you.

Richard

[David Stephens]

Yes, Richard, I know about the motor (I shut it off in the car blind before I shoot). These are tidal waters and we'll drift a lot. I'm going to bring the monopod to see how it works, which I suspect will be good, so long as the water isn't rough. We'll be there at sunrise, so I'm expecting glassy water.

Would someone chime in that's dismissed monopod out of hand? I don't understand that. Yes, you can't do it in a fast moving boat and, yes, the engine needs to be off, but drifting or using the trolling motor should work, in my estimate. I will report back, but I'm curious to read why many think that it won't work.

Dave

[Nancy A Elwood]

David I think what was meant is that with a monopod, unless you had a gimbal head attached to it how would you pan up and down. Side ways you could twist, but otherwise it is a bit limiting. A tripod with a gimbal head, in still water, engine shut, fine, or something attached to you ( where your body is the gimbal), or hand holding are the only real choses.

[David Stephens]

Thanks for the responses Nancy. I will put my gimbal on the monopod. This boat doesn't have a large, flat area, so I don't think that the tripod will work.

BTW, I shot handheld with the 500mm a good bit today with happy results; however, that was just 20-minutes. I'm afraid that three-hours or so without some support would make for some unsteady shots from me. The hard part is holding on a pearched bird for minutes at a time. I find that birds in flight are easier to handhold with the 500mm vs. shooting an avocet meandering along the shore.

Dave

[Randy Stout]

David:

There have been other threads on this subject. You can search the site. I have done a bit of shooting from boats in my quest for loons.

One of my goals was to get as low as I could, and also be able to keep the camera ready for long periods of time ( sometimes several hours if light holds) as I wait for wing flaps and interesting behaviour. You might want to look at my camera mount.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44629

This is mounted in my 16 ft. Lund, adjustable for height. I sit in the bottom of the boat to reduce my profile and reduce stress on the birds. I control the boat with a foot pedal for the trolling motor. Usually have even the trolling motor off when shooting.

If the birds are flying, i will shoot handheld, but since loons rarely fly, that is less of a concern. I usually have two bodies out, one with the 500 on the pedestal, and the other with a 70-300 zoom sitting at my side for quick grab shots. Occ. the loons come in so close I can't depress my 500 enough to clear the gunwale, and will use the handheld rig. Also for when they dive under the boat and I am shooting them underwater.

There are many folks on the site that do excellent work on flying birds from boats, handheld, but my needs are served well by the above setup.

Good luck.

Randy

[David Stephens]

David:

There have been other threads on this subject. You can search the site. I have done a bit of shooting from boats in my quest for loons.

One of my goals was to get as low as I could, and also be able to keep the camera ready for long periods of time ( sometimes several hours if light holds) as I wait for wing flaps and interesting behaviour. You might want to look at my camera mount.

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44629

This is mounted in my 16 ft. Lund, adjustable for height. I sit in the bottom of the boat to reduce my profile and reduce stress on the birds. I control the boat with a foot pedal for the trolling motor. Usually have even the trolling motor off when shooting.

If the birds are flying, i will shoot handheld, but since loons rarely fly, that is less of a concern. I usually have two bodies out, one with the 500 on the pedestal, and the other with a 70-300 zoom sitting at my side for quick grab shots. Occ. the loons come in so close I can't depress my 500 enough to clear the gunwale, and will use the handheld rig. Also for when they dive under the boat and I am shooting them underwater.

There are many folks on the site that do excellent work on flying birds from boats, handheld, but my needs are served well by the above setup.

Good luck.

Randy

Randy, thanks, a picture IS worth 1,000 words. If that'll work, then, clearly, a monopod will work.

I did search the site, but didn't find your excellent thread.

Dave

[Randy Stout]

David:

Here is the link to my original boat shooting thread:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=42074

Because I am shooting by myself and driving the boat, I have to have a system that I can let go of and take care of boat duties, without worrying about it going in the drink, or falling over. This ruled out monopods and beanbags on the gunwales for me.

I am always tinkering with it, so will post again if I come up with improvements.

Randy

[Nancy A Elwood]

I agree, David, with your ideas about handholding a 500 rig. Handheld shooting with my 500 has never really been something that even interests me in learning. It would make a day out too tiring. That is why we developed the harness. We have even spoke with someone who Kayaks to customize the Quick Action Harness for him, by putting more holes up the shoulder braces so that the stomach plate sits higher on the body, then shortening the telescopic arm. This would make sitting down and managing it work well.

[Bob Decker]

I shoot out of a kayak quite a bit. Mostly at 500mm... always hand-held. One of the key elements is to keep the shutter speed up. I like it to be at 1/1000 or faster if at all possible. This can result in some trade-offs, e.g. using a higher iso than you might normally, but if properly exposed it usually isn't that detrimental to the final image.

Use good technique holding the camera. Support the lens with your off hand. Hold the camera tight against your face. Pull your elbows in against your body to provide some support. If there's any water/boat movement try to let your lower-body be loose... let it go with the motion, while holding your upper body steady. It takes a bit of thought and practice at first but it can be done.

I lose a percentage of shots due to boat motion. No question about it. A wave raises me up or drops me down right as the shutter releases... heads or feet get cut-off. It's just part of shooting from a less than stable platform. I usually compose a little loosely then do a final crop and composistion in post. The number of shots lost to motion blur is very minimal. Just keep your shutter speeds up. That's 90% of the battle.

Good luck and have fun.