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Now if all goes well, right about now I'm driving into Yosemite National Park to do some spring waterfall photography. I've been checking the weather and I think it snowed there yesterday, so hopefully the park is going to look great. So this week I pre-recorded this episode so I can be up there enjoying Yosemite, one of my favorite national parks. I'll try to make some recordings from inside the park to put in a future podcast.

Today we're going to talk about long lens stories from the field. Now if you're like me, you like to go out often and shoot in nature. Depending on what I plan to shoot, I'll have a variety of gear with me. However, by far, the piece of equipment that garners the most interest is my long last setup. As of late, I'm using the Nikon Z9 with a 600 f4 TC lens. The lens is covered in a lens coat.

This is a set of neoprene sleeves that protect the outside of the lens. Mine happens to be camo color. Now, I don't really subscribe to the thought that camouflage is going to make a big difference to the subjects I'm photographing. I doubt that a bulk elk is going to look over to me and say to himself, I see a guy standing over there, but I can't really tell what he's doing. It doesn't have a camera because if you did, I'd be able to see it. Yeah, I just don't think that camouflage on my lens just makes that much of a difference.

There are so many other things that would make a subject uncomfortable that having a lens covered doesn't seem to make much of a difference. My thought is this, the neoprene sleeves provide excellent protection for the exterior of the lens, shielding it from scratches, dents, and other potential damages that can often occur when you're outside in photographic sessions. The lens coat can also help in preventing dirt, dust, and moisture from accumulating on the lens, which is particularly beneficial when shooting in adverse weather conditions and rugged environments like, say, the beach. By using a lens coat, I feel like I can extend the lifespan of my expensive lenses, ensuring that they remain in optimal condition for capturing wildlife action. Moreover, for those who frequently photograph wildlife like myself, Moreover, for those who frequently while moreover, for those who frequently photograph wildlife moreover, for people who frequently while moreover, For those who frequently photograph wildlife like myself, it's essential to minimize any reflective surfaces that could alert animals to their presence. It's essential to minimize any reflective surfaces that could alert animals to your presence.

While camouflage isn't going to entirely conceal the photographer, While camouflage isn't going to entirely conceal the photographer, the reduced glare from the lens coat can make a subtle difference in approaching subjects discreetly. In essence, a lens coat serves as a practical accessory for me to preserve my gear while potentially enhancing the field experience.

Let's talk about support.

I often use a tripod and a Wimberly gimbal head. This is an invaluable asset to have in the field as it's pretty quick to set up and goes and allows good maneuverability. Here's how I work. I get to my spot and extend the tripod legs to the desired height. Then I balance the head using a knob that operates what's called the leveling base. A leveling base is attachment on the top of the legs of the tripod. It's kind of like a small bowl. Loosening it allows me to get the base of the head perfectly level in all directions. I keep an eye on the bubble level that's attached to the leveling base to get it spot on. The head sits on top of the base. The Wimberly head is a gimbal head. This has a large knob for the vertical axis and a large knob for the horizontal axis.

Next, I attach the lens foot into the head and tighten it down. Once tightened, I loosen the vertical axis. Once tightened, I loosen the vertical axis to see if the lens tips forward or leans back. I loosen the vertical axis to see if the lens tips forward or leans back. I then adjust it by sliding the lens back or forward. I then adjust the sliding. Then I adjust this by sliding the lens just a little bit backwards or a little bit forward until I achieve the perfect center balance.

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Now this can be a bit of a sketchy part because you never want to let your hands off of the camera and lens while you're centering this. But as long as you never let go before you lock it down, you should be good. But as long as you never let it go before you lock it down, you should be fine. Once centered, I locked down the lens foot onto the head and now it's in the exact spot I want for shooting. Now I can point the lens in any direction. Now I can point the lens in any direction. And since it's centered and balanced, the lens always stays in place without needing to tighten the knobs. It's pretty slick. Commercial.

Thanks again for listening to the nature photography podcast. If you'd like to see images or learn more about photography and the software I use to process my raw images, check out my YouTube channel. You can find it by typing in a T that little at signal at. Thanks again for listening to the nature photography podcast. If you'd like to see images and learn more about photography and the software that I use to process my raw images, check out my YouTube channel. It's found at at TV five, ten So that's that little at symbol plus the letters T, V, then 510, at TV510. You can use, at TV510, you can use the same call sign to find me on Instagram, Twitter, and all the other social media locations. Now, if you have questions and want to contact me directly, try using my email address, terry at imagelight.com. That's T-E-R-R-Y at I-M-A-G-E-L-I-G-H-T dot com. I'll answer your note and put you on my mailing list to let you know when I have new podcasts released and videos to watch on YouTube. If you'd like to support the podcast, consider purchasing some of the digital products I offer like my popular ebook, razor sharp nature photography. It's packed with information on getting sharper images with both your wildlife images and your landscape images. It's sold exclusively on my website, www.imagelite.com. Just look under the digital products, you can find it there. Now, as always, product, as always, podcast reviews on the platform you're listening to this on like Spotify or Apple is great. A good review will often bring more attention to this podcast when people are looking for something to listen to. Lastly, just sharing this podcast with other photographers or nature lovers will lead to more listeners as well. Whatever way you choose to support the podcast, I do appreciate it.

If I find myself out in Yellowstone or say Grand Teton National Park and have my long lens out, and especially if it's on a tripod, this is a traffic jam creator. I could just be looking at the mountains or I could just be looking at the mountains and other park visitors will see the lens out and the cars will come screeching to a halt. No one wants to miss anything. Well, this is a technique for finding wildlife in those popular parks. So as you drive, you just look for traffic tie ups and a lot of times somebody has stopped for an elk or a bison or moose or even bears. Last fall. Last fall when I was up at Grand Teton, we had a wonderful time capturing images of just about everything.

One iconic wildlife subject we were missing, though, was grizzly bears. On one of the last days in the park, we headed out in our van, myself and five other wildlife enthusiasts, and I announced that today we would be number one. And what I meant by that is I wanted to be first on the scene...