subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 16 May 2020 51
Glass options
There are a number of options
when buying one-way glass,
however Stopsol 4mm Classic
Clear made by AGC is regarded
as the best. You lose 1.5 stops of
light when shooting through it but
as long as you ensure you get
your supply from a good batch of
glass then you’ll see little, if any,
noticeable degradation in picture
quality, as illustrated by the
images in this article.Setting up
When setting up a hide with
windows it is important to
slightly angle them so the
ground is refl ected, to deter
birds from fl ying into the glass.
You should also use a net set a
few inches from the glass if
there is still a danger of this
occurring. A net will also deter
birds such as pheasants, which
can aggressively attack their
own refl ection both stressing
the bird and potentially
damaging your expensive glass!
Whenever I’m not using the
hide I always ensure the
windows are covered.Light problems
Light sources inside the hide
need to be avoided. Simple
things like light refl ected from a
mobile phone screen on your
face may alert sharp-eyed birds
to your presence. Photographer
Jari Peltomäki (an early
adopter) recommends hanging
a black curtain at the back of
the hide to help keep it dark
inside and he sometimes wears
black clothing and a black
balaclava if setting a hide to
shoot into the light. Long eaves
help in this situation too. The
larger the piece of glass you use
the bigger the light problem.Ventilation
When designing the hide ensure
you have plenty of ventilation.
Air fl ow in front of the glass will
prevent it from steaming up.
I have vents either side at the
front. Some photographers
I know have developed an
electric fan system to blow air
on to the glass.Hide
fact fi le
IN THE FIELD Testbench
four different sparrowhawks this
past winter have been outstanding.
But it’s not just the sparrowhawks
the glass has helped with.
Buzzards are regular visitors too,
as are many other woodland birds.
The benefi t of being behind the
glass means you can move your
camera around with impunity to
catch in-fl ight shots and bursts of
action. Above all, sitting in a hide
looking out through a window at
the natural world beyond is very
relaxing and you never know what
you might see, and
photograph,next.
David can source the highest quality glass for
interested photographers. He can be contacted
via his website http://www.davidtipling.com David sets up in readiness from behind Stopsol one-way glass inside his hide