Show Notes

There’s some big news in this week’s vlog! You should watch it and find out what I’ve got planned…

Last week’s vlog, where I managed to photograph a mountain hare after hours of waiting in the cold was the last vlog to come from Scotland for a while now, because I have moved. The vlogs over the past few weeks were all filmed in October, there was a short 2 week break to my uploads and during that time I actually moved home. 

I must admit that Scotland will be featured a lot in the future, although I am not living there anymore there are many projects that I would like to work on. In particular I want to continue my wildlife photography, filming a vlog with the ptarmigan, getting some more shots of mountains hares, and finding some new locations for red deer. 

I also want to work on some landscape images. There are many hikes and places in the Cairngorms and beyond that I would like to photograph. But because I am not living there anymore, I will be taking trips of around a month at a time and I will be a lot more focused on those projects. Trying to capture the specific images that I have in mind. I think this more concentrated and focused approach to photography will actually be a benefit. Not only to what I capture but to these vlogs. 

That leads on to my next point and that is about the future of the vlogs, and the style of vlogs that I produce. I love making the In The Field videos that has been what this channel is about since the beginning. I intend to keep producing as much In The Field content as possible, it’s what I enjoy most. But in the past few weeks where I have been editing the vlogs I filmed back in October there are times when the editing has been a bit difficult. 

Especially when I don’t like an image, such as the Loch Garten vlog, and that is not only mentioned a lot but it has become a structural point for the rest of the video. And so I’m going to change up the way that I film these vlogs, and I may introduce a bit more voiceover and commentary with hindsight. That’s just one of the things that I want to do to improve the videos that I’m producing. 

The other aspect of the vlogs that is going to change is like what happened in the ptarmigan video. In that vlog, although I didn’t encounter any birds on that day, the research that I then did and the information I learnt is going to be extremely useful to myself in the future.  I was proud about sharing that knowledge with you, because one of the goals of my channel is to inspire you to go out and get some images, and I felt the information that I relayed would be useful to you if you wanted to photograph ptarmigan. 

So I want to produce some more vlogs that are based around tips and information that will hopefully help you to improve your photography and to improve your chances. I’m planning some vlogs that are going to be a bit more desk based, where I talk about a particular technique or tip or technical detail that I use or have found useful. 

I’ll use some images that I have taken as examples, and where possible I’ll include the In The Field clips as well. But those vlogs will be more about improving and understanding photography than about reacting to the weather and light of my regular In The Field vlogs, which will definitely be continuing. 

The ptarmigan vlog also gave me some insight into how I want to film the wildlife vlogs moving forward. Typically my In The Field vlogs are based around a single day of photography. You get to follow along on my photographic journey of the day, the compositions I encounter with the light and weather of that particular day. 

But with the wildlife vlogs I am often limited by what I encounter and, as was the case for the ptarmigan, if I don’t encounter any animals then the vlog can fall apart in some aspects. It has happened before, when I’ve attempted to film a wildlife vlog but had no luck on that particular day. This is an aspect to wildlife photography that is very real. As you are not guaranteed to encounter your target species every day. 

But I want to impart tips and show you the images from successful trips. So I’m going to work on how the wildlife vlogs piece together in the future. And that circles back to the concentrated approach to photography and the way I will be filming these vlogs in the future, that I was discussing earlier.  

All of these points that I have been talking about are my attempts to improve the vlogs, and to create some interesting content that inspires you to go out and do photography. 

I’m sure by now, if you have stuck with me, you must be wondering where I have moved to. I’ve been keeping this secret for a little while now and I am excited about the projects that I will be working on in the future. 

So back in October my partner and I moved from the beauty of Scotland to Italy. We are now living in the city of Como on the shores of Lake Como. The reason we are here is because my partner was given the opportunity to study a Master’s programme with the Polidesign school of the Politecnico University in Milan. 

Now I’m not a big fan of cities, but she needs to be able to get to Milan when her classes can begin in person, and we came to the conclusion that Como provided the best options for the both of us. It’s a bit more rural than Milan, it’s very pretty sitting on the lake, and there is the lake itself to explore. But it’s also only an hour train to Milan city centre. 

My plan, when we were moving, was to get settled and then rent a car and head to the Dolomites for a week filming vlogs from one of the most beautiful places in Italy. Then to continue with the car and explore along the shores of Lake Como and Lake Garda, and some other nearby locations creating vlogs. 

But then the pandemic accelerated and that screwed up my plans, as I’m sure it has screwed up yours. Let alone Christmas. 

Como is in the Lombardy region of Italy, and that has been in a lockdown. In Italy that means that you are not able to move outside of your town. So I’ve been a bit stuck in the city of Como. And to be honest, I’ve been struggling to pick up the camera. The parts of the lake that are interesting to me are outside of my town. I’ve been brainstorming for a while, and I think I’ve got some vlogs ready to film. I just have to hope I get the conditions that I would like. 

My plan is to return to Scotland in February/March to get some winter images that I have missed, and to continue working on my photographic projects. With the good news of the vaccine hopefully next year I will be able to move around Italy more, and to return to Scotland regularly with the schedule that I have been planning. 

Once the pandemic starts to calm down and we can move around more, I hope to visit the Dolomites, explore the Lake region, go to Tuscany and Cinque Terre, and explore the wildlife photography opportunities that are available here in Italy. And hopefully next year I will be able to explore into some other countries around Europe as well.

Thanks for watching this update about the future of my channel, if you like my plans then hit that thumbs up, and if you want to see what I get up to, then subscribe to my YouTube channel and you can keep up to date with all my adventures. 

About the Film

Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.

I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.

The tracks featured in today’s film were licensed via a subscription with Epidemic Sound. (By following that link, if you purchase a subscription then I will be gifted with a month free for referring you to their services)

• Just Follow by Particle House

A short Kit List

These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.

Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.

Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.

Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.

Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.

For a complete Landscape Photography Kit List you can read through what equipment I take with me when I go out here.

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Written by Daniel Long

Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.