New setup and background

Well it finally happened. Every year about this time with the opening of the pool and warmer weather I am asked to kindly remove my hide, my perches, my chair, my tri-pod and my feeding station from the deck. So, what's a guy to do but comply with the orders. Usually I just feed more towards the woods and do my photo taking at the parks and resevoir, packing away the prches etc that I don't need. However, this year I decided to try something that I have been comtemplating for quite a while. I set up the blind between the pool and the woods (where it is still on tenuous ground but hasn't been burnt down yet) and I added an "artificial" background of some dark burgandy satan material hung on a "cloths line" I threw together. These are the first pics taken at this new location and so far the only birds I saw visiting it were the blue jays and a male grosbeak and of course the chipmonks. The new location is out of sight from the inside of the house so the rodents are going to be a problem since I'm not continuously around to "deal with them" in the normal fashion. This was the first day for it so hopefully the other birds will come. I think I need to move the background just a little further away from the perch so I will also try that.

C&C always welcome!

These are great Mike, I really like the bg and the perches they're landing on.

You built your own Studio!!!

Nice shots, how about a picture of your entire set up..blind, perches etc?

very nice set Mike

I agree! Great background idea and great colors! Very well done. Looking forward to more.

It works big time!!

Thanks Sharon!

Gary, you're right on the studio but the clients can't seem to keep an appointment.

Daren, I'll see what I can do but guarantee you will be disappointed. Picture from left to right in the yard next to the woods tree line: An Ameristep outhouse blind, 8 feet further left 2- 5 gallon buckets with a 2 foot wide piece of plywood stretched between them, sitting on the plywood is one piece of driftwood for a perch and seeds scattered in front of it on the plywood. 10 feet further to the left are two six foot long wooden stakes driven in to the ground a little with a rope tied between them with some material draped on the rope. It is not an attractive scene and will probably not leave it up very long.

Thanks Munroe!

Mandy, thank you and might be buying some dark blue, green or black cloth to try also.

Thank you Flo, you're always so kind.

Cool, looks like your setup pays dividends. I like the burgandy.

Thanks Crimson, I like the burgandy also but am already itching to try different colors.

Well done Mike, I was going to suggest amore natural color. I really like the tunnel look in #3 and overall great detail in all. Ya gotta holld on to that last stand, lol, don't move anymore!

Thanks BG. I figured it was either something more "natural" or something completely out of the ordinary.

trmwf wrote in post #12497033
Thanks Sharon!

Gary, you're right on the studio but the clients can't seem to keep an appointment.

Daren, I'll see what I can do but guarantee you will be disappointed. Picture from left to right in the yard next to the woods tree line: An Ameristep outhouse blind, 8 feet further left 2- 5 gallon buckets with a 2 foot wide piece of plywood stretched between them, sitting on the plywood is one piece of driftwood for a perch and seeds scattered in front of it on the plywood. 10 feet further to the left are two six foot long wooden stakes driven in to the ground a little with a rope tied between them with some material draped on the rope. It is not an attractive scene and will probably not leave it up very long.

Thanks Munroe!

Mandy, thank you and might be buying some dark blue, green or black cloth to try also.

Thank you Flo, you're always so kind.

Thanks, sometimes the simplest of things are the most interesting....just shows what can be accomplished with a little effort

Good idea, and good shots. Years ago, a friend made lots of money from bird photos shot in his "studio". His camera was far back in the dining room of his home, flash mounted near the window, feeder outside hidden by branches, sheet of plywood behind the feeder, painted blue with white patches...a perfect sky every time. All settings were made in advance, so he just relaxed with a beer and tripped his cable remote when the birds begged for it.

Your shot quality is great Mike and I really like your perches. The color doesn't bother me as much as the the fact that it's clearly draped fabric. In my humble opinion anything you can do to simulate a background that is more natural will really make this set up shine. The color you chose is interesting but if it were more of an accent color that would add to a more natural look. I would suggest moving the background a bit further back and adding a piece of camo fabric with cut out leaves in front of the colored fabric. This would add a more dappled texture and still let some of the nice colored fabric show through. You might have to play with the camo fabric to bunch it up and create an irregular pattern and shadows, making it look more like shrubbery or trees. Also think about adding some fresh cut English Ivy or some type of greenery or even moss as a foreground accent, tastefully placed on the perches, that will add color and texture to your shots. Just some thoughts, hope you don't mind. Looking forward to more from you and your studio.