The beauty of low angle in bird photography

The coolest thing that I always bring along with me is a ground pod and angled viewfinder, which makes it possible for me to get really low for my photos! I like to be at eye-level with my subjects!
I really like the images where you get some blurred vegetation, snow or ground partly covering the main subject. To get this kind of efect you need to go as low as possible and you need to shoot  smallest f-stop what with you get the bird sharp. With really shallow depth of field you get fore- & background  of image soft and beautiful!

Please have a look at some of my low angle bird photos at http://www.finnature.fi/photo_album.html.18.html

What equipments you need for low angle photography?

Some tripods you can set low level, but legs of tripod can be a bit of a problem, especially in hides. I believe the easiest way to get low level with your camera is to use ground pod. Few years ago I was looking ground pods from internet and I noticed that there were several models available and only one thing was in common with them- they were all relatively expensive! Therefore I went to talk with local engineering workshop owner and we developed a very simple but well working ground pod. These small and handy metal plates has changed my photography a lot! I do nowadays much more low angle photography, since it is easier to put your camera on the ground level, when you have a good support and also protection from sand and snow etc.  

I also use ground pods especially in low hides, since then you don´t have to fit the tripod in to the small hide. These small metal plates has actually also changed the way how we build our permanent hides! We have a table under the lens holes where it is easy to glide the ground pod and you are very flexible to move your camera!

I would also strongly recommend to purchase a angled viewfinder for your camera! It is very handy especially in low angle photography and will save your neck and shoulders. Also knee pads might be good idea to get, especially if you are working in stone covered areas!

If you got interested in this inexpensive but well working ground pod, you can see the images of the product and you can also order one from here:

http://kauppa.luontokuva.org/product_info.php?products_id=43&language=en

Jari Peltomäki