Hi guys:

Well, I found the Bald Eagle nest and the Eagles I mentioned earlier in this thread. :) The female is sitting on the nest and the male just sits in a tree :). That's the good news.

The bad news is the female/nest are way out of film range (for my gear anyway), and although the male was much more accommodating he was still a little too out of my focus range this time. Lots of footage, just none of it that once in a lifetime shot that's worth sharing. Better luck next time, maybe!

Congrats on finishing your exams, Geir!

Chatting about carrying cameras on tripods over shoulders and losing the camera makes my skin crawl. Earlier this Fall, my husband and I had to film ourselves climbing for a State Parks video and the only choice was to anchor the tripod at the top of the climb and hang the camera facing down over the side of the rock wall. I shudder to even think about it!

Cat

Mike,

thanks for the link, I will look into that.

My tripod is 15 pounds, camera set up 22 pounds, was wondering if that system was ment for so much weight.

It is not conducive to humping around the country to be honest.

I use the sony fx 1000 rig, about 6 pounds and my gitzo 1380 tripod, about 12 pounds which is a lot easier, but you have to hunt your game and stalk and get close with only the 20x zoom!!! If I need the blimp and shotgun mick that adds another couple few pounds.

Filming wildlife is easy, When it all goes according to plan!!! LOL!!!


dale

Hi Mike:

Just read your post about the credits going over 3 minutes. No problem. Our judge will know what's acceptable on our forum and knows to "lighten" up on judging negatively any films over 3 minutes due to credits.

Okay, that was a bad light joke:-/, but the info is true.

Thanks Cat. Too bad about that nest. The first couple of days after the young leave the nest they are still pretty poor flyers and stay close to the ground. They are somewhat approachable then and the parents will be coming to feed. You might still be able to get some shots.

Cat,

If all I was to use was "that once in a lifetime shot" I would never have much to show!!!

Persoanlly I think good behavioral footage, good comps and unusual are all great.

Cat,

Trade ya a Bald Eagle for a Goshawk. Last year we had an eagle nest 30 feet from a major road. Every morning people would line up to watch on their way to school or work. The city finally had to put up a makeshift fence to deter those photographers who think they just have to go up to the tree trunk to get their pictures.

I’m about 48 hours into my regularly scheduled battle with compression. Usually I have to compress about a dozen times to get a file that fits the size limit and is free of any major compression artifacts. I’m well over twice that this time. I have a file with only one artifact in the credits. Unfortunately it is on the main title. I will upload that file if I can’t get something better today. I really dread this part because it is so frustrating. I think the most frustrating part is that the artifacts are never in the same place twice and are completely unpredictable. I’m glad some of you are finished and I hope the rest are faring better than my last couple of days.

Yes! I finally got one to render properly. Not sure if it was persistence or obstinance. Now to upload.

Geir Inge, did you solve your lens problem?

Edit complete - last minute as usual - SOP.
Rendering - 7:29 PM HST.
Will upload to UWOL.com ASAP

Hey Dale: If you call "good behavioral footage" the Eagle just sitting in the tree doing nothing, I got me lots of that :)

And Steve, no deal on the trade.... I'm going to get me that Bald Eagle footage worth sharing. I'm thinking of renting a camera with a hefty telephoto for a day and see what I can shake out that way. And I know you wouldn't take it, but you are always welcome to that Goshawk footage. When something just simply falls in your lap like that, it's just got to be shared! I would be thrilled if you ever wanted to use it in anything! :)

Mike: How exciting! Do you know about when baby Bald Eagles leave the nest? Do the parents leave after they do? Do they return to the same spot the following year? How many months do you think I've got to try and film them? Oh, to get footage of the parents feeding the juveniles on the ground!!! Ooooh, swoon!

Cat

Bald Eagles incubate from 31-46 days depending on environmental factors. The eggs (2-3) all hatch within one or two days and first flight is generally 72-75 days later. Due to sibling rivalry it is not unusual that only one chick survives. The first flight is often more of a controlled plummet than a real flight. The birds live 25-30 years and tend to use the same nest, adding a new nest platform to the top each year so the nest gets bigger and bigger. It is common for nests to pass down generations. One nest I used to watch was known to be over 100 years old. It got so large that it broke a quite substantial branch on the oak tree and came down. The nest materials were gathered as best possible and weighed. The nest was estimated to have been between 1200 and 1400 pounds. Once a nest gets large it is common for songbirds to build their nests in the lower parts and gain protection from the eagles.