Hedgehog photography
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Hi all,
We’ve had a hedgehog visiting nightly for the last two weeks and have had a fair few good videos with a couple of very cheap trail cams.
I’m hoping to upgrade and get somthing with better quality, seen a lot of good ones on here, what are you using?
Also want to try and get some good shots with my slr, tried some lighting but hedgehog seemed quite put off dispite the food (came back at 3am when light was off).
Any tips for hedgehog lighting?(example vid of Itchy Harry).
https://youtu.be/caRSTTDYsi8I have taken photos with mobile and flash while feeding hedgehog and they have just continued eating. They have been far less intimidated than a human.
Like this one that i took several photos of and it just continued eating
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jensraberg/36738869671/in/album-72157672476221933/lightbox/
Have never used a static light source (sorry cant find proper word)Great picture!
Always worried we’ll them but yes they do seem pretty relaxed, going to set up a security light above where we out the food out and see what happens. I’d read an article where sombody just laid on the lawn for a couple of evenings till they showed up (a bit drastic for me).
The IR trail cams are ok but could do much better with my slr. Will try a couple of things and see how it goes.
Thanks!Thanks!
Now in summertime i usually have just al little catfood and water (just a medicine jar + small cut icecream box) in my backpack. If i see them i often put water out and throw catfood so they get tha smell and then closer and closer to me and the water.
When throwing i sometimes put catfood on the thumb, press it towards the index finger and release. Then it is possible to throw witout a big visible movement. It is fgood to take clothes so it is ok to lay down.
Be prepared that if they are very close, they might react to the shutter.
When i feed i think of not making sharp sounds from opening boxes. They might not like sound from velcro opening.
After they have gotten some food, everything will be easier
Wrt alternative trail cams it may be worth having a look through this thread, some useful info
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/forums/topic/best-garden-camera-alexa/
One way to improve Trail Cam video/pictures is to put a Close-up lens on the camera. Most people seem to use 37mm and either +1 or +2. This makes the field of view much closer which is what you want for small animals. The best thing is to get a 37mm adapter and a couple of lenses and try them out.
You mount the adapter over the camera lens, using Black tack or similar.
Regarding cameras, I have gone through many different Amazon bought ones from China. Some have produced very good results, but in all cases the quality is never great and at least 5 have given up with various faults. I have now moved to Browning’s which are much better quality.
The Wildlife Watching and Trail Cameras UK is a FB site is worth visiting if you are interested in Trail Cams and the associated website has competitive prices for Cams.
Trying to take good pictures of Hogs at night with an SLR is difficult. Focus is an obvious challenge as will be exposure unless you have a studio lighting setup. Personally, I think a Mobile phone does a pretty good job, and taking things to the next level will be a lot of effort.Thanks guys, really useful tips!
I’ve had some very limited success, hopefully will get to try some more involved photography in summer, trying to coax them to an area and gradually making it brighter.
Will post when I’ve got some good results!In regard to Trail Cams I went from the cheap Amazon/Chinese Cameras to Brownings. Although a lot of the cheap cameras can take very good video I have that after a year or so they failed. The Brownings are a much better quality build. One thing that will make a big improvement to your videos is to fix a close-up lens to the camera (using bluetac or similar) With a 37mm +1 lens attached to the Cam it will make it focus much nearer than the standard lens which are really designed for med/long distances rather than just a few feet which is best for hogs.
Personally, trying to get good images at night with a SLR type camera is always going to be a challenge and as said by Jens you can get decent pictures using a mobile phone. A site worth visiting regarding Trail Cams etc is this one https://www.facebook.com/groups/1395197310700858/One way to improve Trail Cam video/pictures is to put a Close-up lens on the camera. Most people seem to use 37mm and either +1 or +2. This makes the field of view much closer which is what you want for small animals. The best thing is to get a 37mm adapter and a couple of lenses and try them out.
You mount the adapter over the camera lens, using Black tack or similar.
Regarding cameras, I have gone through many different Amazon bought ones from China. Some have produced very good results, but in all cases the quality is never great and at least 5 have given up with various faults. I have now moved to Browning’s which are much better quality.
This FB site is worth visiting if you are interested in Trail Cams and the associated website has competitive prices for Cams. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1395197310700858
Trying to take good pictures of Hogs at night with an SLR is difficult. Focus is an obvious challenge as will be exposure unless you have a studio lighting setup. Personally, I think a Mobile phone does a pretty good job, and taking things to the next level will be a lot of effort.In regards to the light I’ve found our Hedgehogs don’t mind or react to the red light off my bike (as apposed to a white light).
I know a red bike light isn’t professional for photography but its cheap and makes the hedgehogs more comfortable. Then I edit the photo or video to black & white on my laptop although the originals with the red light also look cool x
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