subscribe 0330 333 1113 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I 16 May 2020 49
It was also around this time that
a talented Hungarian wildlife
photographer, Bence Máté, was
experimenting building hides with
one-way glass. He has gone on to
take hide design to another level,
popularising the use of one-way
glass in hides worldwide. Such
hides are becoming an
increasingly popular addition to
photographers’ gardens. Based in
Finland, Jari Peltomäki has gone a
step further by installing a 4x2m
window in a room overlooking the
garden at Villa Finnature
guesthouse allowing photography
without leaving the house.
On a summer’s day four years
ago a sparrowhawk landed by a
small pool I had constructed in a
small woodland in North Norfolk.
Sat in a small canvas hide with a
poor view, my tiny lens movement
to frame him was met with a
pitiless glare then a flurry of wings.
You guessed it, I missed the shot.
I resolved that day to build my own
hide with one-way glass.Building the hide
My first decision was where to site
it. It needed to be open enough
for sunlight to reach the woodland
floor throughout the year. As therewas a lack of water I decided the
main feature in front of the hide
should be a pool. Most wildlife
photographers like to shoot at a
low angle to their subject – as the
more on the level you are, the
more intimate the picture feels. To
create this opportunity required
building a sunken hide, so first I
dug a hole around a metre deep
and 3x2m in area. In retrospect
I got a bit carried away with the
digging but I used the excavated
soil to bank up one side, so my
pool would be level, as the ground
was on a slight slope. Before
investing in a wooden structureI erected a makeshift hide made
from weed control cloth hung
around a wooden frame.
Once erected the next job was
to create my pool. Although
reflection pools have become
extremely popular, I have never
been a big fan – drinking birds
often look like they are standing
on the edge of a drop, which they
are. So my intention from the start
was to create something that had
a natural feel with good
backgrounds. Shallow pools work
best as birds like to wade in to
bathe and sparrowhawks
often sit for minutes at a time