I just thought I'd share a photo that I took this Sunday of my setup for photographing Bats. This is really the perfect type of place to set up as you can drive right up to the trough. A small tank like this one assures you that the Bats are coming to a small space and will activate your trigger and allow you to focus on a small spot. Photography in larger pools of water is too difficult as the Bats are all over the place. I'm sure that there are many thousands of these watering troughs (or similar pools) being used by Bats, you just need to go out and look for them. (It is important to be sure that they are not being used by The Cows at the time you will be there. I have found that The Cows have no respect for your camera equipment.) If you find a spot such as this one, first go out at night with a chair and a flashlight and just observe to see if you've got Bats and what their flight patterns are. Note the wind direction and temperature. Generally they fly into the wind. Warm, moonless nights are best.
Some other technical settings:
- SB-800 Flashes set to Manual @ 1/32 power @ 50mm
- SU-800 wireless commander set to Manual @ 1/32 power
- Camera and Lens set to manual focus. F/16 to f22. iso 400. 1/30 sec.
- Lens set in the 135mm range. Plane of focus is parallel to the beam.
- Extra batteries for your camera or the ability to run it all night off of 12 volts and one large 12v battery.
- Off the shelf laser triggers are available with a little searching. Find one specifically for your Nikon or Canon camera.
- Set up well before dark as it will take some fussing to get things perfect.
- Set focus for about 3" in front of the beam. Check focus by running a stick through the beam and observe sharpness.
- Rear flashes are set a little higher than the front flashes
Even knowing this it will take some time and patience to get things just right. The Bats don't always fly in the way you think they will and you can find yourself turning the whole setup around in the dark. On a good night you can expect a couple of hundred decent shots and a handful that will be your favorites.
The horseshoes bring good luck. You will need a little of that too.
Thanks for sharing this information - a lot of people wouldn't be willing to do so, or would try and make a buck from it. This is part of what makes NPN so great
I was wondering what the horseshoes were for Great set-up Charlie and thanks for sharing; your bat images are amazing!
Posted by Tonia Graves on June 26, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Great information here, thanks for taking the time to share this with us!
Posted by Martin Dunn on June 26, 2013 at 11:40 AM
Really appreciate the insight into how you get such great shots Charlie.
What with the birds in your back yard during the day and the bats at night you don't need to travel for your shots. Sweet.
Hey Charlie, thanks for posting this for us folks who really admire your bat images that you've posted over the years here at NPN. Looking at this and reading the details of the equipment list it's obviously an acquired learning process that took you some trial and error in the field over time. Always nice to see the outcome of your amazing captures of these unique creatures.
Discussion
10 repliesSome other technical settings:
- SB-800 Flashes set to Manual @ 1/32 power @ 50mm
- SU-800 wireless commander set to Manual @ 1/32 power
- Camera and Lens set to manual focus. F/16 to f22. iso 400. 1/30 sec.
- Lens set in the 135mm range. Plane of focus is parallel to the beam.
- Extra batteries for your camera or the ability to run it all night off of 12 volts and one large 12v battery.
- Off the shelf laser triggers are available with a little searching. Find one specifically for your Nikon or Canon camera.
- Set up well before dark as it will take some fussing to get things perfect.
- Set focus for about 3" in front of the beam. Check focus by running a stick through the beam and observe sharpness.
- Rear flashes are set a little higher than the front flashes
Even knowing this it will take some time and patience to get things just right. The Bats don't always fly in the way you think they will and you can find yourself turning the whole setup around in the dark. On a good night you can expect a couple of hundred decent shots and a handful that will be your favorites.
The horseshoes bring good luck. You will need a little of that too.
Sandy
What with the birds in your back yard during the day and the bats at night you don't need to travel for your shots. Sweet.
Here is a little more info on a laser trigger that I have used with success.
Hey Charlie, thanks for posting this for us folks who really admire your bat images that you've posted over the years here at NPN. Looking at this and reading the details of the equipment list it's obviously an acquired learning process that took you some trial and error in the field over time. Always nice to see the outcome of your amazing captures of these unique creatures.