DIY The Most Comfortable Blind Ever

Greetings from smoke filled Northern California,

Yes, it's true. I have a blind that has a TV, fridge and a computer w/ internet. It's also heated. On top of that it has the most comfortable chair I have ever used in a blind. So before you think I'm nuts. (I know many of you do) Let me state simply that the most comfortable blind in the world is the office inside my house. Quite simply I do a good percentage of my bird photography right out the back window of my house. I place my rolling feeder in appropriate lighting with a good background right next to my office window. There are holes drilled in the rolling feeder in which to place branches of different types for perches for the birds to land on.

To create a blind out of one of your windows can be as simple as tacking up a piece of fabric over the window with a hole in it for your camera. I like something a little more secure so I use a piece of 1/8" masonite that is cut to the window size.
To create it I first measure the window and then cut the board to size. I then tape pieces of strips of towel around the outside perimeter of the masonite to keep the windowsill from geting scratched up. Following that I sit down in front of the board with my tripod set up with me sitting in the chair I intend to use for shooting out of. This gives me a really good idea of where to mark the opening that I need to cut in the masonite for shooting. I then cut the opening and then place it back in the window to see if it works ok. Sometimes i may need to modify the opening with further cuts. The last and final step is to tape a piece of netting or batting hanging from the top just above the hole to cover the hole up. I like to cut it in about 2" wide strips.

The flat board fits easily behind the door or it can be stored in the garage or basement ready for use. You can also cut extras for different windows in your house to shoot from.

God's blessings to all,

Chris

DIY Floating Blinds

When spring and early summer come aroundsometimes I get the urge to go jump in the water. Not to swim mind you. But to shoot pictures of waterfowl and other small critters that live in ponds and other shallow water. I use a floating blind and I will tell you that with patience you can sometimes get really, really close to birds in the water. I have been shooting out of various floating blinds for a number of years now. I use two types of blinds. One designed for really shallow water 6 inches to two feet and one for deeper water 2 feet or more. A word of warning. Most floating blinds (Human powered type) should not be used in rivers or large bodies of water where you can get blown away or swept away by the current or possibly run over by a boat.

Well I'm a bit off track here so.... On my deeper water blind I use a float tube covered with a muskrat sort of looking blind. It is essentially a 1 inch diameter piece of tubing formed into a circle set on top of the float tube. I drilled (6) evenly spaced 1/4 in. holes into this ring of tubing. Into the holes I stick (3) fiberglass bike flags. Each one is bent into a "U" shape to make sort of a tentlike support (just like a dome tent). Over the fiberglass poles I use a lightweight cotton camo material that is attached to the ring of tubing. Over that is some surplus camo netting. . The surplus camo gives it that 3d appearence. The netting is also longer so that it hangs down off the tubing so that it covers the float tube. The primary advantage of this blind set up is that it is very lightweight and it can be broken down flat by taking the bike flags out. I don't use any added natural vegitation on this blind but it probably wouldn't hurt.

My shallow water blind is called the Fred Flinstone blind. It is a 4ft x8ft sheet of styrofoam that is 6 inches thick. There is a large hole cut into it amidships so you can sit on top of it and propel yourself through the hole with your feet like Fred and Barney. It has a 1/2 inch sheet of plywood covering the styrofoam. The blind on top is made out of 3/4 inch PVC Made into a box shape about 4x4x4 I covered the blind with 1/2 brown nylon netting. Then I cut cattails and tied them up into bundles and covered the blind. Then I covered the whole styrafoam base and plywood with burlap. For the final touch I drilled 1 inch holes all over the base and stuck cattails in it. The finished blind is very 3D. It looks like a floating island. This blind is very effective in flooded fields and shallow marshes. It is comfortable and very mobile. It is not however easily transported. You need a full isze pick up. I generally leave it wherever I'm using it for the season. It takes two people to load and launch. It also has to be recovered with cattails periodically. I just tie the bundles on with natural jute fiber. It matches the dried cattails pretty well. Well how is that for a tome.

God's light and blessings to all,

Chris

DIY Photo Blind (Hide)

The main idea behind blinds is to prevent movement from being seen by whatever creature you are photographing. Because of this there are literally hundreds of different ways that you can go about making blinds. One of the cheapest things I have discovered to use over the years is a large cardboard box. The best kind to use are large appliance boxes that washers and dryers etc. are delivered in. Just walk into most any appliance store and politely ask for a box and they usually will give you one. After getting the box its a simple matter of cutting an opening for your camera lens to stick through. A utility knife or a serrated blade knife will do nicely for this. Just be sure to cut the opening at a comfortable height for your tripod. Next cover up the opening with some gauze,batting or netting. After that it is a good idea to cut an opening slot for your front tripod leg down at the base of the box below the window. This allows the tripod to sit closer to the opening and it is more comfortable for you. I always drive a few wooden stakes down at the corners to hold the blind in place if the wind comes up. Where I live there is a lot of fog so I throw a tarp over the blind at night so i don't return to a soggy pile of cardboard. It helps to throw a little native cover over the blind to break up its outline. Brush, leaves etc. work well for this purpose.

The most comfortable blind I have ever used is my office window. I just cut a piece of cardboard the same size as the widow opening and taped it over the window opening. I then cut a hole for my lens just above the window sill. I set my ground pod on the window sill and shot away at the birds, squirrels and chipmunks that came to my backyard feeders. In wintertime when it is snowing it is great to be able to stay nice and warm while shooting.

Attached today are some quick pictures of a blind I made with a large cardboard box and some pictures of a commercial "Dog House" blind I use. When they are on sale they can be purchased for less than fifty dollars. They can be purchased online from a variety of sources.Cabelas, Bass Pro etc.

Good luck shooting. God's light and love to you,

Chris