FX6: This Month In Nature - November 2022

[DougJensen]

One of my favorite things to do is to grab one of my cameras, a couple of lenses, a tripod, and them go out and film wildlife for a few hours in the evenings, on the weekends, or even for a few days in a row if I have time for a vacation. Photographing or filming wildlife is perhaps one of the most challenging yet rewarding hobbies you can take up. And you don’t need to travel to far-away exotic locations or own an expensive camera to enjoy filming wildlife.

Every time I go out shooting it’s different -- even if I’m returning to the same location I’ve been to a dozen times before. The lighting is different. The weather is different. And the wildlife I encounter is absolutely different every time. In fact, it is the variety and randomness of filming wildlife that keeps it fresh and challenging. I can get almost as much pleasure from shooting birds at a local park as I could get from going on an African safari. Okay, maybe that is over-stating it a bit, but it’s not that far from the truth – and it is a hell of a lot less expensive to film wildlife close to home.

I suppose it’s a cliché’ to say that I’m “hunting” with my camera, but that’s really what it is. The main difference being that the animals all live to see another day, and, if all goes well, I will return home with some great video to post online, sell as stock footage, or to just enjoy watching in my living room. WHAT I do with the footage I shoot is far less important to me than the actual experience of shooting it.

Although I own quite a few Sony cameras (F55, FS7, Z750 Z280, Alpha 1, a6300), my favorite setup right now for wildlife is my FX6 and Sony 200-600mm lens. It is a great combination that offers many advantages over other cameras and lenses.

A few months ago, I started posting a series of videos called “This Week in Nature” on my YouTube channel – but now that I’m back home in Florida for the season things have gotten too busy to keep up that pace! So, this month I’ve taken my favorite shots from the month of November and combined them into a single video. It’s not going to win any awards, but it was fun to shoot and a lot of the footage will sell as stock. That’s what I call a success.

Camera: Sony FX6
Viewfinder: Zacuto Gratical Eye
Lens: Sony 200-600mm
Tripod: Sachtler Aktiv8 head with Flowtech75 legs
Format: 4K XAVC-I 23.98
Slow motion: 120 fps
Shooting Mode: S-LOG3
Grading: DaVinci Resolve Studio

FX6 for Wildlife

Great Blue Heron

Gopher Tortoise

Brown Pelican

Sandhill Crane

White Ibis

Snowy Egrets

Brown Pelican

[IamOakley]

Dig the philosophy on shooting not "shooting the animals. Beautiful stuff!

[DougJensen]

Thanks!   Go hunting with a camera instead of a gun, that is my philosophy.

[julienjarry]

Absolutely stunning. You're inspiring me. Where are you located? Is there an immediate place where folks like us can generate an income from natural history footage like this? I've always shot this for fun. Man that 200-600 shines.

[DougJensen]

Thank you for the compliment.   I have a house in Florida in for winters and one in New England for the summers, so over the course of the year, that gives me a good variety of wildlife to shoot in the evenings without going very far from home.   In the spring and fall I like to travel out to the western National Parks as often as possible. Didn't make it this year, but planning an 8-week adventure this spring as part of my NAB trip.  I have an RV so it is easy to be on the road for long periods of time and drag around whatever gear I want to bring.

I don't bill myself as a wildlife cameraman, so nobody hires me to shoot wildlife. I shoot for fun, for camera testing, and to sell as stock footage.  I feel fortunate to be doing what I love.