Make: A Camera Hide

The animals won’t suspect a thing…

Trying to photograph nature is generally a very hard thing to do, mainly because the presence of us humans scares most animals. So making a small structure to hide your camera in so that is camouflaged with the surroundings is an easier way to capture the images you want. Using a Go-pro (or similar), you can also sit nearby and use the bluetooth setting to watch what your camera’s seeing from afar, and take the picture using that. Here are the simple steps on how to make your own camera hide:

You will need:

  • A camera (ideally a Go-pro and bluetooth phone to connect to it with)
  • Natural materials (twigs, leaves etc.)
  • String
Step 1: Choose some twigs that are quite thick and the same-ish length. Tie two pairs of them together so that they both create what looks like a triangle without a base and with a Y at the top.
 The twigs need to be long enough and need to be tied at a steep enough angle for your camera to fit underneath them. The knots you need to use are the Timber Hitch, Square Lashings and the Clove Hitch.
Step 2: Tie another long twig into the Ys of the two arches, making sure it’s wide enough to fit your camera in and under. Then, tie a length of string around the structure’s edges, securing the string to each stick using a clove hitch.
Step 3:  Glue or Sellotape leaves to the string and the twigs, covering the two largest sides of the hide. Remember to leave a hole in your camouflage so your lens doesn’t get covered by the foliage.
Sticky leaves

Then just put your hide and camera outside – along with some bird food – and get some close-up wildlife pics without having to worry about scaring the animals! Amy.