A nesting pair of ospreys will at first watch your vehicle sharply when you park nearby, but will soon settle down and accept its presence, just as deer and many other wild animals have become accustomed to nearby vehicles.
In many places, especially frequently-visited wildlife reserves, animals often become accustomed to the coming and going of vehicles, and carry on their normal behavior as if they were not there. In such instances, the vehicle may serve comfortably as a photographer’s blind.
A MOVING BLIND
Some animals and birds will act typically only so long as the vehicle is moving. If it stops, they may suddenly disperse. With such animals, you can have someone else drive slowly by while you take pictures from the moving vehicle. Apply the same principles used by aerial photographers when shooting from a moving airplane: - use a fast shutter speed to prevent blur due to the camera's motion (minimum 1/250 sec, depending on the lens's focal length),
- shoot through an open window, and
- minimize contact with the vehicle to prevent its vibration from transferring to the camera.
- Shooting at an angle forward or behind, rather than perpendicular to your direction of travel, will help to minimize the effects of motion.
A small length of foam pipe insulation makes an excellent lens support when fitted over the edge of a vehicle's window.
YOUR VEHICLE AS A STATIONARY BLIND
When arriving by vehicle in an area known to be frequented by wildlife, do a quick scout of the area and try to find the best location to park with the minimum fuss in reaching it. Shut off your engine unless there is the risk of attack by a large animal, in which case, you will want to be as ready as possible to move away. Just because the vehicle may seem to be ignored by an animal doesn’t mean you can talk loudly, move around a lot, or get out and stretch. These activities will draw an animal’s attention, and possibly disrupt normal behavior.
If you shoot from the back seat of an automobile, you will have two windows to shoot through. Support your lens on the top edge of the window, using a bean bag or other soft material to give it stability. (You can also use a tennis ball or a length of foam pipe insulation as an effective car window support for your lens.) If your vehicle is a station wagon or sports utility vehicle with a rear window that opens, you may find that the larger opening provides a better view, and it may be easier to set up a tripod there.
Close all your windows and the roof hatch if the vehicle is approached by wildlife, and never, ever feed wild animals from the vehicle. That cute-looking baboon sitting on the roof can become incredibly vicious if it gains access to the vehicle’s occupants or just their fingers.
An animal that ignores a vehicle in its territory should never be considered as being used to the presence of people and therefore a safe animal to approach. Do not for any reason leave the safety of a vehicle while in an area frequented by dangerous wildlife. Animals, even large ones, can move surprisingly quickly, and if you rile them, inadvertantly threaten them or look like dinner to them, they may cut off your path before you get back to the vehicle.
THE ROOF AS A SHOOTING PLATFORM
If the vehicle is moving or may have to move if an animal approaches, don't even consider shooting from atop the roof unless the vehicle is specially-equipped for rooftop photography with a strong, high safety rail that will keep you there, even in sharp turns. Even if it has one, your driver will have to be especially aware of overhanging branches, not only for the obvious danger of your being knocked off by a branch, but also because there may be an animal in one when you are beneath it. If your wildlife subjects can reach up to the roof, then you should not be on the roof at all, or even poking out through a sunroof, when in their proximity.
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