Chasing different lights during the great crested grebe lekking season with a floating hide
The lekking season of great crested grebes is quite short at its peak—at least from a photographer’s perspective—when territories are being established and partnerships formed.
For photography, one always hopes for completely calm weather and, of course, sunshine. A bit of late winter snow wouldn’t hurt either, though it’s certainly not ideal for the birds. The spring of 2024 presented a golden opportunity to capture snowfall images, as tens of centimeters of snow fell. However, the problem was that it was a workday, and I already had summer tires on my car, making it impossible to take advantage of this rare weather event for the season.
In this blog, I’ve compiled four different lighting conditions I made use of in 2024. The lekking time itself was brief last spring, and due to the weather, there weren’t many photographing days.
The most common lighting is the regular evening light, which gradually softens beautifully. In the mornings, the sun rises behind a very tall forest at this location, blocking the best morning light. Because of this, I’m planning to try another bay this spring, where, according to my research, the sun would rise directly from the horizon behind the birds—assuming there are enough birds there and they accept my hide.
Sometimes, cloudy days appear when clear skies were expected, or there might even be a bit of drizzle. Morning mists are also lovely when they start to lift, allowing visibility while maintaining contrast with the birds.
For these shoots, I used the MrJan Gear Floating Hide 3 for the first time, modifying the ball head mount so I could lower the ball head below the water surface. This allows photographing from just 3 cm above the waterline at the bottom edge of the lens hood. It requires perfectly calm and controlled conditions but adds crucial centimeters to the shooting angle.
Cloudy Morning with Light Snowfall
+ Longer shooting time as the light stays soft
+ Possibility for special effects like snowfall, sleet, or rain
– Often windy
– Fewer top-quality shots
– Higher ISO needed to freeze motion
Evening Light Gradually Improving
+ Allows both backlit and front-lit photography
+ Light softens slowly, providing a long window before it gets too harsh
+ Good potential for high-quality shots
– Shooting time is ultimately quite short
– Evenings are often windier than early mornings
Evening Light at Its Softest Peak
+ The best light one could hope for
+ Very short shooting window, so the subject must be pre-selected to make the most of it
+ Still enough shutter speed for fast action shots
– Difficult to use as backlight in this particular bay
Morning Light with Foggy Weather
+ A rare phenomenon that needs to align with the right week
+ Enables unique and atmospheric shots
+ A real opportunity for top-quality images
– Often too dense, requiring birds to be very close for colors and contrast to stand out
The Photographer and the Hide
How Were the Photos Taken?
For these shots, I wore a dry suit with thick layers underneath to stay warm and dry. The key piece of equipment was a floating hide, specifically the MrJan Gear Floating Hide II.
With the hide, I waded into shallow water, maintaining contact with the bottom. The hide allows movement in the water while staying concealed, enabling close-up observation and photography of birds.
MRJANGEAR.COM: The latest version, Floating Hide 3, is slightly lighter and improved.
For more on floating hides, check out my blog using the keyword ”floating hide”.
