Getting close to Wildlife: A Gear Guide to whats needed.
Getting Close to Wildlife
Trail Cameras, Hunting Clothing, Camouflage, Stealth Gear and Wildlife cameras are all things we can use to help us get closer to nature.
Hunters and Wildlife photographers in particular need to get closer to wildlife, whether it be a deerstalker stalking a red stag on a remote moor, a wildlife photographer looking for the perfect shot of a rare red squirrel or a nature lover wanting to capture video footage of playful badgers at night in his garden, you need to get close and remain undetected if you are to succeed.
Wearing the right clothing: Optifade makes you nothing in an animal's eyes.
There are many types of clothing on the market designed for hunting. Camouflage is very popular with stalkers and wildfowlers as the leaf and branch patterns break up their outline against the background.
Realtree are one of the most famous, and offer a range of cammos for Forest, Wetlands, and Woodland applications.
Gore have recently launched their new Optifade cammo which takes a unique look at camouflaging the user.
The branch and leaf patterns are designed to break up your outline against a woodland background, where the Optifade system is designed to prevent you looking like a predator and therefore simply making you not worth looking at! Even if you are detected by the animal, you are nothing in their eyes.
Harkila have adopted the Gore Optifade system in their new Q Fleece range of clothing.
The Q Fleece range features a jacket, trousers, hat, gloves and face mask and are all in the amazing Optifade digital cammo.
The Gore Optifade concealment incorporates a Micro-pattern of small fragmented shapes that consider the way wildlife perceive color and space, making you fade into the background—the same way a leopard's spots help it evade detection while poised to ambush.
A Macro-pattern of large fragmented shapes break up the outline of the human body making you unrecognizable as a human predator. This is similar to the way a tiger's stripes break up the shape of its body as it stalks prey.
Traditional camouflage relies on mimicry, where as Optifade simply makes you not worth looking at.
Visit our website for further information on the new Harkila Q Fleece Optifade collection.
Taking a different kind of shot: Pro Wildlife photographers often need to wear their gear for work as well as for leisure photography.
Stealth Gear manufacture a range of clothing designed for professional wildlife photographers. Wildlife Photography, like hunting, relies on you being able to perform in all weather conditions, and your clothing needs to be up to the job.
A new range for 2010 has just been launched by Stealth Gear, including a smock, jacket/vest and the new Photographers "2" trousers.
Keith Kirk, local wildlife photographer wears Stealth Gear clothing for his job and for leisure photography and recently had a close encounter with a red squirrel whilst lying in wait for a shot of a raptor. Wearing the new Stealth Gear Photographers Jacket and Trousers 2, Keith literally had a red squirrel climbing over him as he lay still. #
Normally Keith wears cammo clothing when he needs to get close to wildlife but has found that the Stealth Gear silent fabric and design allows him to get up close and personal with wildlife, without feeling uncomfortable back in town or at work wearing camouflage. This means Keith can wear his Stealth Gear kit for work without looking like he is in the military, covered in head to toe in camouflage.
The Stealth Gear suit has plenty of pockets for essentials, meaning you don't need to carry a bulky Lowe Pro camera bag with you. Simply put your lenses, memory cards, filters etc in the extensive pockets and you are free to crawl through wet scrub and woodland in complete comfort.
When I spoke to Keith recently he told me that everytime he wears his Stealth Gear suit he finds a new feature!
Visit our website for further information on the new Stealth Gear Extreme collection.
Capturing Wildlife footage from your bedroom: Trail Cameras will monitor and capture footage of wildlife while you sleep.
A Trail camera is basically a wireless wildlife camera with motion detection which can be mounted to a tree and will take still photographs or videos of anything that comes into its detection zone.
Ideal for gamekeepers wanting to see who or what is lurking around Pheasant pens at night or for people looking to monitor wildlife movements in their garden or a local forest.
Often trail cameras are used for security to find out who is lurking around yards or building sites at night. We set up a Stealth Cam Prowler HD in our yard this afternoon, but being in the town centre, all we captured was Sales Manager Paul's labrador pup. However it shows the clarity of image you can expect from the Prowler HD, and we will have some HD night and day video of our own also to upload soon.
These wildlife cameras or camera traps as they are often called using a PIR to detect movement and then take a series of still photographs or video during the day in colour, or in black and white at night using an invisible infra red illumination.
BBC Countryfile recently featured the Stealth Cam Prowler HD which is the world's first High Definition trail camera, and is able to deliver stunning video footage of wildlife in High Definition.
The Prowler HD can be mounted to a tree or fence post, and will detect wildlife movements, and the built in camera will capture footage of the
action as it happens right in front of the lens.
Visit our website for further information on the Stealth Cam Prowler HD trail camera.
Hiding out from wildlife: Hides, cammo and high seats all help conceal your position to wildlife.
As well as wearing the right kind of clothing, it is often the case that you will be sat out for extended periods waiting for the perfect shot, whether it is from a rifle or a camera.
Stealth Gear make a range of hides designed for wildlife photographers, to conceal your position and allow you to get close to wildlife.
By placing your hide or high seat in an area known to be frequented by wildlife a couple of days before, they get used to it being there, and allow you to hide out in perfect concealment taking photographs of wildlife whilst they are oblivious to your presence.
Often it's not practical to set a hide or high seat up in advance, so Stealth Gear's cammo hides are ideal for ensuring your being there remains a secret.
Simon King from Springwatch uses the Stealth Gear hides for filming for the TV series, and they are very popular with hunters, wildlife watchers and photographers alike.
Visit our website for further information on the Stealth Gear hides.
Seeing nocturnal wildlife movements: Our eyes work fine during the day, but at night we need some help.
Trail cameras use infra red to "see" at night, so you can capture wildlife movements using a remote surveillance camera. However if you want to look at wildlife at night, our eyes aren't quite up to the job. That's where night vision steps in.
For many years we have had to rely on ex Russian and USA military products, seeing a grainy green image of what "looks" like a fox but you can't really tell.
With the advent of Digital Night Vision, products such as the Pulsar Digisight Riflescope and the Yukon Ranger monocular, allow you to view wildlife in complete darkness, and also connect a mobile personal recorder such as the Yukon MPR to capture what you see at night to be viewed at home later.
This is ideal for surveillance purposes, and for on safari, as you can view animals in their natural habitat at night, and have lasting footage to review time and time again.
The Yukon Ranger Pro gives performance equivalent to Gen 2 + at any range, and will allow you to view wildlife in complete darkness up to 600meters away.
A common practise is to set up a Yukon Ranger as a CCTV camera, and stream the footage to a TV screen or to a recording device, and you can monitor everything that goes on at night from the comfort of your sofa. Great for watching a nearby badger set, or for watching nocturnal animals such as owls, badgers and foxes in your garden.
Visit our website for further information on Digital Night Vision.
Hunters and Wildlife photographers in particular need to get closer to wildlife, whether it be a deerstalker stalking a red stag on a remote moor, a wildlife photographer looking for the perfect shot of a rare red squirrel or a nature lover wanting to capture video footage of playful badgers at night in his garden, you need to get close and remain undetected if you are to succeed.
Wearing the right clothing: Optifade makes you nothing in an animal's eyes.
There are many types of clothing on the market designed for hunting. Camouflage is very popular with stalkers and wildfowlers as the leaf and branch patterns break up their outline against the background.Realtree are one of the most famous, and offer a range of cammos for Forest, Wetlands, and Woodland applications.
Gore have recently launched their new Optifade cammo which takes a unique look at camouflaging the user.
The branch and leaf patterns are designed to break up your outline against a woodland background, where the Optifade system is designed to prevent you looking like a predator and therefore simply making you not worth looking at! Even if you are detected by the animal, you are nothing in their eyes.
Harkila have adopted the Gore Optifade system in their new Q Fleece range of clothing.
The Q Fleece range features a jacket, trousers, hat, gloves and face mask and are all in the amazing Optifade digital cammo.
The Gore Optifade concealment incorporates a Micro-pattern of small fragmented shapes that consider the way wildlife perceive color and space, making you fade into the background—the same way a leopard's spots help it evade detection while poised to ambush.
A Macro-pattern of large fragmented shapes break up the outline of the human body making you unrecognizable as a human predator. This is similar to the way a tiger's stripes break up the shape of its body as it stalks prey.
Traditional camouflage relies on mimicry, where as Optifade simply makes you not worth looking at.
Visit our website for further information on the new Harkila Q Fleece Optifade collection.
Taking a different kind of shot: Pro Wildlife photographers often need to wear their gear for work as well as for leisure photography.
Stealth Gear manufacture a range of clothing designed for professional wildlife photographers. Wildlife Photography, like hunting, relies on you being able to perform in all weather conditions, and your clothing needs to be up to the job.A new range for 2010 has just been launched by Stealth Gear, including a smock, jacket/vest and the new Photographers "2" trousers.
Keith Kirk, local wildlife photographer wears Stealth Gear clothing for his job and for leisure photography and recently had a close encounter with a red squirrel whilst lying in wait for a shot of a raptor. Wearing the new Stealth Gear Photographers Jacket and Trousers 2, Keith literally had a red squirrel climbing over him as he lay still. #
Normally Keith wears cammo clothing when he needs to get close to wildlife but has found that the Stealth Gear silent fabric and design allows him to get up close and personal with wildlife, without feeling uncomfortable back in town or at work wearing camouflage. This means Keith can wear his Stealth Gear kit for work without looking like he is in the military, covered in head to toe in camouflage.
The Stealth Gear suit has plenty of pockets for essentials, meaning you don't need to carry a bulky Lowe Pro camera bag with you. Simply put your lenses, memory cards, filters etc in the extensive pockets and you are free to crawl through wet scrub and woodland in complete comfort.
When I spoke to Keith recently he told me that everytime he wears his Stealth Gear suit he finds a new feature!
Visit our website for further information on the new Stealth Gear Extreme collection.
Check out our Special Offer package deal on the Stealth Gear Extreme Photographers suit WAS £329.00 NOW ONLY £259.00
Capturing Wildlife footage from your bedroom: Trail Cameras will monitor and capture footage of wildlife while you sleep.
A Trail camera is basically a wireless wildlife camera with motion detection which can be mounted to a tree and will take still photographs or videos of anything that comes into its detection zone.Ideal for gamekeepers wanting to see who or what is lurking around Pheasant pens at night or for people looking to monitor wildlife movements in their garden or a local forest.
Often trail cameras are used for security to find out who is lurking around yards or building sites at night. We set up a Stealth Cam Prowler HD in our yard this afternoon, but being in the town centre, all we captured was Sales Manager Paul's labrador pup. However it shows the clarity of image you can expect from the Prowler HD, and we will have some HD night and day video of our own also to upload soon.
These wildlife cameras or camera traps as they are often called using a PIR to detect movement and then take a series of still photographs or video during the day in colour, or in black and white at night using an invisible infra red illumination.
BBC Countryfile recently featured the Stealth Cam Prowler HD which is the world's first High Definition trail camera, and is able to deliver stunning video footage of wildlife in High Definition.
The Prowler HD can be mounted to a tree or fence post, and will detect wildlife movements, and the built in camera will capture footage of the
action as it happens right in front of the lens.The Prowler HD H.264 Video compression provides a wide screen video format file of 1280x760 at 30 Frames per second, complete with audio, time, date, moon and temperature stamping.
Burst Mode™ Technology a patented feature that allows you to capture between 1 and 9 images per triggering, capturing more images in a faster amount of time than any other scouting camera on the market. Also, Burst Mode™ technology allows you to record video clips up to 90 seconds in length per triggering, maximizing your scouting capabilities in the field.
Test Mode Simply mount the camera, set to TEST, then approach the camera head on and then from both sides walking perpendicular to the camera the LED will illuminate when you have crossed into the camera's PIR range, giving you a complete assessment of the cameras full coverage area.
Visit our website for further information on the Stealth Cam Prowler HD trail camera.
Hiding out from wildlife: Hides, cammo and high seats all help conceal your position to wildlife.
As well as wearing the right kind of clothing, it is often the case that you will be sat out for extended periods waiting for the perfect shot, whether it is from a rifle or a camera.Stealth Gear make a range of hides designed for wildlife photographers, to conceal your position and allow you to get close to wildlife.
By placing your hide or high seat in an area known to be frequented by wildlife a couple of days before, they get used to it being there, and allow you to hide out in perfect concealment taking photographs of wildlife whilst they are oblivious to your presence.
Often it's not practical to set a hide or high seat up in advance, so Stealth Gear's cammo hides are ideal for ensuring your being there remains a secret.
Simon King from Springwatch uses the Stealth Gear hides for filming for the TV series, and they are very popular with hunters, wildlife watchers and photographers alike.
Inside The Hide
Inside the hide you will find enough space for two tripods and your equipment. The hide is designed for two photographers to be able to work comfortably, it's not the largest of our hides if you require more space look at the Pro or Elite hides.
Comfort
Enjoy a relaxing time wildlife watching or wildlife photography in comfort with a friend in this two man wildlife photography chair hide.
Where to use?
As these hides are portable you can take them to many different locations. You can see different locations our customers have used in the gallery section and in our forum.
What's Included
1 x Stealth Gear Two Man Wildlife Photography Camouflage Seat Hide
1 x Carry Backpack
4 X ground pegs
Visit our website for further information on the Stealth Gear hides.
Seeing nocturnal wildlife movements: Our eyes work fine during the day, but at night we need some help.
Trail cameras use infra red to "see" at night, so you can capture wildlife movements using a remote surveillance camera. However if you want to look at wildlife at night, our eyes aren't quite up to the job. That's where night vision steps in.
For many years we have had to rely on ex Russian and USA military products, seeing a grainy green image of what "looks" like a fox but you can't really tell.
With the advent of Digital Night Vision, products such as the Pulsar Digisight Riflescope and the Yukon Ranger monocular, allow you to view wildlife in complete darkness, and also connect a mobile personal recorder such as the Yukon MPR to capture what you see at night to be viewed at home later.
This is ideal for surveillance purposes, and for on safari, as you can view animals in their natural habitat at night, and have lasting footage to review time and time again.
The Yukon Ranger Pro gives performance equivalent to Gen 2 + at any range, and will allow you to view wildlife in complete darkness up to 600meters away.
A common practise is to set up a Yukon Ranger as a CCTV camera, and stream the footage to a TV screen or to a recording device, and you can monitor everything that goes on at night from the comfort of your sofa. Great for watching a nearby badger set, or for watching nocturnal animals such as owls, badgers and foxes in your garden.
Visit our website for further information on Digital Night Vision.
