As many others this round, I had trouble finding the wildlife.
So this round I went up in the mountains to follow some Gordon and Irish setters, as they were practicing bird hunting. The prey is the birds "Ptarmigan"
Rock Ptarmigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagopus_muta)

As in 2 previous challenges, my sister's Gordon setter Vera is the star.
Rule #11 was strictly followed all day, especially by the dogs.

Edit:
Forgot to mention that all of my footage is only handheld.
Using tripod would have been impractical and would also prevent following the fast paced action of the dogs.


Youtube version:
YouTube - The Bird Hunters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGnAj9Yca0E)

Tronde,

I enjoyed the bird dogs!!! I was waiting to see one point birds the whole time, and particularly to see the ptarmigan.
Nice footage, and a pleasure to watch!

Trond... no fair... including loveable dogs and pretty women !!

A very fun watch and very nice editing. The ambient sound and I am sure some added sound was nicely balanced with the narration and music. Well done my friend.

Chris S.

A little more of the pretty women needed :). Just funning with you..

Neat film. Fun to watch and interesting to see this is turned to a competition. A better competition than our famousd Michael Vick put his dogs to.

Dale,
Thank you. I know you like watching birds. :)
Glad you like the video.

Chris and Chris,
I'll forward your compliments to the girls. :)
I was lucky to be allowed to follow and film them for a full day. (7 hours)
Thank you for the feedback.

Hi Trond:

It looks like all is well in Norway! Vera has grown into a beautiful dog and, yes, your sister is as pretty as ever!

It looks like a good time was had by all and it looks like a fairly disciplined sport, setting off in pairs and for a specific time stint.

What fun! I've missed your filming and your fun romps in the snow.

All the best to you!

Cat

Trond, from the film, it looks cold, snow on the ground, everyone bundled to the hilt, gloves and caps, probably at altitude. And you with no tripod, and yet.... smooth hand held shots after a hike through the mountains. Great work.

Catherine,
Yes, Vera has grown, but still the same playful dog. Never a quiet moment around her.
And after this hunting session, the instructor said Vera were one of the most skilled hunters of the pack. (There were 9 dogs in our group, and there were also 2 other groups that day) :)

The dogs are given specific areas to search, given directions and a little instructions by their owners once in a while, but mostly they are free and use their instincts how how to search for the birds within their search area. It was also interesting for me to see how inexperienced dogs learn from the more experienced dogs when they hunt together.


Bill,
It was around -5C to -10C that day, and we were 1000-1200 meters above the sea level when hunting.
Thanks for the comment.

Trond,
You have made a fine film. The running dog at 1:37-1:44 is very good, and of course I like the ending scene. I will also credit you for making out funny situations.

Hi Trond,

I would have to agree, it does look very cold and the girls are indeed pretty. Over all I injoyed watching your film. Interesting land scape.

Trond- This was a delight to watch. You’ve done a masterful job of conveying a wonderful day outdoors. I really like the shot where the two dogs are away and the other seems to say “Hurry up! It’s my turn!” I can only imagine what my two Dobermans would have made of it all. Growing up in Texas, they’ve never seen snow. I’m sure they would act quite silly but try to get into the spirit. To sum this up- great dogs, nice people, good video! Well done.

Finn-Erik,
Thank you. I wanted to make a little humoristic video.

Oliver,
I'm glad you enjoyed.
I spend much time hiking and skiing in this area all year.
The landscape is representative for this part of the country.

Mike,
Yes, you are right. The dogs did not like to have breaks instead of hunting all the time.
So they did complain a little sometimes.
I think all dogs love playing in the snow. Never met a dog who doesn't like it yet.
And being up there in the mountains (and our nearby cabin) is Vera's favorite place on earth.

Trond,

A fine entry. Very nice handheld work, there were no objectionable camera shakes. I think I would have been "shivering" so much from the cold that I would have trouble with handheld camera work.

Of course, the subject is a winner -- who doesn't like a good dog story. Your voice over was well done, informative and with a touch of humor.

The shots showing the dogs excitement were particularly well done.

Trond,

That was something different! There's not a lot I can add to what's been said above.

Nicely shot, with good energy and an engaging voiceover and music track.

You captured the events really well, especially as they can't be planned and you had to react to events a lot more than with regular wildlife subjects. It's helped by the fact that I just love dogs and can't get enough of them.

Well done!

Here is the link to the video on the UWOL website:
(Better quality than youtube)
The Bird Hunters (http://www.uwolchallenge.com/challenge15/03_UC15_thebirdhunters.mov)



Ryan and Mike,
Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate.

Tronde,

I'm wore out watching those dogs run! :)

The first time I watched the film I never even noticed that it was hand held. Certainly takes some stamina to shoot in the cold hand held for any extended period of time.

I think you set the stage well to show the challenge the dogs were going to have searching for their prey. Such a vast area and it really shows how amazing these dogs are being able to track their prey down like that.

I thought the music added to the excitement and the urgency to find the prey.
The VO was well done and not so much as to distract from the imagery. It was added when needed and you let the film breather and develop while not weighting it down with a lot of dialog.

My only "note" if you will is let's see Vera up close before she sets off in search of her quarry. The shot at 00:38 would have been a good establishing shot.

Very nice ending showing the bond between Vera and your sister.

Kevin,
Thank you for the feedback. A close up of Vera in the beginning would have been a very good thing. Maybe I could have used the shot from 0:55 as an establishing shot of Vera?

The dog you see at 0:38 is not Vera, but her best friend Marko. He was crying whenever Vera was allowed to hunt while he had to wait.
At 1:15-1:17 you can see how much bigger Marko is than Vera, as he comes back to her while he was running free as one of the hunters. (But their size difference is almost impossible to see in the other shots)

Trond,

Well...I love dogs, so I cannot help but love this video.

I'm very impressed that you did it all hand held...very good work and a very steady hand.

As Kevin mentioned, I would have liked to see a couple of close shots early on...I like seeing the dog's faces up close..
And maybe it would have broken up the long shots a bit...

A very nice entry...congratulations...

Bob,
Thank you for the feedback.
I'll listen to you and Kevin, and include more close ups if I re-edit the video later.

Trond,

Great video, I never realized how much training went into these dogs.

I wish my hands were as steady as yours. Everything worked well, as the dogs did the unexpected, you kept up with them, anticipating, and getting it on tape. Great job.
.

Hi Trond.

I have been watching your YouTube video and think it’s a good video, also the way you approach the theme. Nice VO, but a little bit low on volume?
As I understand it’s all shot by hand held camera, you’re doing a great job.
But my oh my if you had a tripod at your side. This would be, not only a great video, but a great-great video :)

Some wishes:
At 00.15 I wish the shot could stay for just a few more seconds. It’s a beautiful shot of the landscape, the lake and mountains covered by snow. I bet you wish you had a tripod right at your side, at this time? In the beginning of your video I think a few shots are a little to short, it’s going to fast from one shot to another. Also I wish for a more neutral font/layout of the title. Especially in these short Uwol videos, of ours. I think white on black never fails, but that’s only my opinion. Great scenery and I love the dogs. A few more close ups would have been nice though :) When I look at a wildlife video I almost always think of the close ups as the best part of the videos. These clips/shots is it that bring us “closer” to the wildlife or shall I say, the Animal Kingdom.

Liked your video very much and wish you all the best.
Give my regards to your sister and Vera - both great actresses :)

Geir Inge

I would nominate Vera as our official UWOL mascot...

...except my new puppy, Daisy, might have a little something to say about it...

Sam,
Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort both for the dogs and the owners to let the dogs become skilled hunters. Their instinct tells them how to search, ie the search patterns, but the interaction with the owner and also which smells to search for takes time to learn. Very fun to see when the dogs finally master it.

Geir Inge,
Yes I wish I had a tripod with me for the establishing shots of the area. Would have improved the quality. Behind the lake at 0:15, you see the Hardangerjøkulen glacier.
More close ups is noted, as Kevin also commented, and will be remembered in the future films. Thank you.

Meryem,
Vera happily and proudly accepted your nomination with a big VOFF :)
And Vera also would like to have Daisy as her second in command. haha ;)

Wow, even the dogs speak Norvegian! Daisy replies to Vera's VOFF with a WOOF!

WOOF is 'marican for VOFF, in case you need a translation!

GUAU GUAU en espanol!

For a hand-held video, this is very good. A close-up of a ptarmigan would have been nice, but I guess you would have needed a lot of luck to find one without the dogs flushing it first.

Thank you for the comment, Annie.
I agree that having a close up of the birds would have been real good. But what you see in the video is actually the only shot I got of the birds. And the distance from me to the birds were about 100-150 meters. The dogs also found other birds much closer to us, but I was unable to get them on tape. Better luck next time.