I wanted to make a photography blind that didn’t cost a fortune. Originally I was going to make it out of PVC and fabric. One afternoon I saw my kid’s old plastic playhouse and I thought, “I can use this and it’s free”!
I selected a spot near the back fence…
I bought a $2.99 shower liner from Target to cover the top and part of the window…
Using an old towel and two heavy-duty clamps from the local hardware store, I fastened the towel and shower liner together creating the blind…
Add my Manfrotto 3011BN tripod, 488 ballhead to attach my 300mm f/4L IS and 1.4x II extender…
Its a little cramped, but it does the job! I added my cushion from my wheelchair for comfort…
Here’s the business end. You can see my DIY bird bath, feeder (stump) and stick…
Within 5 minutes I had visitor. This was the first time that I was able to photograph a Lesser Goldfinch, so I was pretty happy with the results. Took less then 5 minutes and about $10!
Here’s a male House Finch…
An Dark-eyed Junco AKA ‘Oregon’…
A White-crowned Sparrow
I hope I’ve given you some ideas to build your own backyard blind!
UPDATE: A photo of my improved set-up.
Mike Matenkosky is a Central Valley California landscape and nature photographer whose favorite locations include the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Yosemite and the eastern Sierra. He is currently living in Atwater, CA.
The text and photographs are © Copyright Mike Matenkosky (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Mike Matenkosky.
My goodness, Mike. These are so – PERFECT. I mean, it’s like you talked them into sitting for you and posing. Such beautiful work, please keep it up!
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Mike. Looks pretty good. Pretty inexpensive too. Love yur photos, keep sharing them with us. CUL Lou
Mike I love that setup! I’ve never seen anyone implement it like that! It’s truly awesome for capturing birds.