There are photographers who use their equipment exactly as it was designed. And then there are photographers who look at their gear and think: What else could I do with this? When we came across a short clip of Finnish nature photographer Erkko Badermann’s solution for mounting two cameras on top of each other, we had to find out more.
The idea is surprisingly simple: Erkko combined parts from two gimbals to create a setup that allows him to use two cameras vertically on his MrJan Gear Floating Hide. Behind this setup was a very specific problem – and almost a year of thinking about how to solve it.
Meet Erkko
Ever since he got his first camera as a teenager, a camera has never been far away. Today, Erkko works as a professional nature photographer alongside his job as a financial advisor. He gives photography workshops and works with Canon on camera education.
Birds have become his particular passion. “I got really interested in how beautiful the birds are – and how difficult they are to photograph. It’s a real challenge to get close.”
That search for proximity eventually led him to the Floating Hide. “My fellow Finnish photographer, Mia Surakka, introduced me to the hide three years ago. I tested it in spring, when the ice had just melted. I was so full of joy about the experience! So the next day I called Jan and said: I want that.”
Blending in with the birds
For Erkko, the biggest advantages are the light and the perspective. “Being down at water level changes the way the birds appear in the frame. It’s much more intimate. At the same time, you have so much control over your position and the angle of the light. That’s impossible from a static hide.”
“I add extra camouflage like nets, and most birds really don’t notice I’m there. On one occasion, two birds even climbed onto the top of my Floating Hide and started mating! Talk about blending in…”
Two gimbal heads, two cameras
The idea for the double-camera setup came while photographing common cranes during the autumn migration. “These birds are extremely sensitive to movement – even from a floating hide. They’re constantly watching their surroundings. Any movement could make them leave.”
At the same time, the window for photographing them was incredibly short. “The cranes arrived around sunset, giving us roughly half an hour of useful light. So I wanted to be able to photograph them from two different angles without having to move.”
The solution came from equipment he already owned: two Benro GH2 gimbals.
“By taking parts from the two gimbals, flipping one upside down and connecting them, I created a stable vertical setup with one camera above the other. It took a year for me to find this solution. And then it just seemed so simple!” he laughs.
The advantage: two cameras, two focal lengths and two perspectives. “That’s really valuable when photographing sensitive birds. Instead of moving, you can simply choose the camera that gives you the view you need.”
Loons, cranes and grebes
The cranes are not the only birds that keep Erkko coming back to the water. Black-throated loons are his “soul birds”, as he calls them. He has photographed them for eight years.
“I really love their expressive behaviour. They have quite a personality. But they are also quite difficult to approach. I sometimes spend three to four hours in the same spot, waiting for the birds to come to me.”
Great crested grebes are another favourite, especially in spring, when several pairs can be active on the same lake. “One of my favourite photographs shows a grebe family with two young birds. With the dark background, it looks like an intimate family portrait. That image won the wildlife category of the Finnish Photo Awards last year.”
Two cameras, one button?
Erkko is not finished experimenting yet. Because he works closely with Canon, he’s now looking into whether the two cameras can communicate with each other through a network cable. The idea is to operate both cameras together.
We’re curious to hear how that experiment turns out!
All images © Erkko Badermann
