Digiscoping is a new word credited to French birdwatcher, Alain Fosse, in 1999. It refers to the technique of attaching a spotting scope to a digital camera for the purpose of taking close-up photos of birds and other wildlife from a distance. Two other pieces of essential equipment are: an adapter to attach the camera to the scope, and a tripod to hold the combined camera/scope.
There have been subsequent technological improvements in cameras and lenses, giving the amateur wildlife photographer the ability to capture stunning close-up images with light weight, hand-held cameras. However, for the past few months I have been experimenting with digiscoping with mixed results. Early results were disappointing: poor focussing, lack of sharpness, and dull images.
I reached a turning point in January during a morning visit to Stanpit Marsh, on the eastern shores of Christchurch Harbour. There was bright sunshine, low in the sky. I set the magnification of the scope at a mid-point. On maximum magnification not enough light is let into the camera, and on the minimum setting the image is distorted around the edges. My subject was a Little Egret, a large white bird, which stood out very clearly from its background. It wasn’t troubled by my presence and in any case, I didn’t need to get too close.
Spurred on by this success I returned a few days later in similar conditions, but this time it was colder and there was a frost covering on the grass. My attention was drawn to a small dark coloured bird flitting around a gorse bush, a male stonechat. It stood out from the white frosted background. This bird was more challenging than the Egret. It was constantly moving and was a lot smaller.
The activity requires a lot of concentration to track the bird as it moves and to keep it in focus. There may have been some frustrated muttering under my breath. I had chosen to set myself up just next to the main footpath. There were only a few people around, due to the cold. One passer-by was walking her dog and, curious at my concentrated activity, she engaged me in conversation. I felt torn between maintaining my focus on the stonechat and not ignoring a polite request to chat. I chose to chat. After a few minutes I was able to resume my photographic efforts, feeling slightly more relaxed. Fortunately, the stonechat was still around.
I moved on to other subjects: a redshank and a curlew. In my opinion these were less successful due to the contrast between the subject and the background.
In subsequent months I have used the technique to capture close images of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and the humble, ever present Robin. I have yet to perfect the tracking of a bird in flight. I recently tracked a Buzzard but struggled to keep the bird in shot as well as manually adjust the focus on the scope.
Digiscoping requires the right conditions: strong light and a strong contrast between subject and background. It requires patience and persistence to perfect the technique. Advances in technology may ultimately render the technique obsolete, but not yet.
Stephen's Wildlife 