Reconnaissance Camera Basics
In the past I’ve had the chance to get a multitude of hip-pocket classes from some 0321 Recondos, one of which was using a camera for recon shenanigans in both night and day. Now I am no means an expert or can even claim I’ve had a lot of experience with this, but I loved the information I got from it and wanted to share with all you Queens and Kings. The whole idea of reconnaissance as a dirty civilian is something people should really take seriously. And it doesn’t have to be a whole Force Recon style mission, think of this article as an ice breaker for information gathering. And a great way to gather information is to use a camera. Using one can be a complicated process for some so this isn't how-to on using a camera, if you’re unfamiliar about using one I highly recommend to go learn the basics and then come back here.
CAMOUFLAGE:
In a recon setting you don’t need a lot of equipment. At minimum all you need is a:
Camera
Tripod
Remote Shutter Release
Camouflage Material
First thing to do is camouflage your equipment. Camouflage is a whole rabbit-hole depending on the setting, so for simplicity we’re talking about the Appalachian Mountains for this. The tripod and shutter release are stupid simple because all I did was spray paint the whole thing and then wrap jute twine around the legs and cable to help break up the silhouette with a three dimensional layer.
The camera itself is a bit more complicated because you better not spray paint it. So I got a bug net you wear over a hat (a painted one, of course) and wrapped it around the whole camera. Using a boot band, or any other elastic band, I pulled the netting slightly loose to the lens. This starts to break up the shape of the camera and to add some level of protection to the camera, because we are using this in the field and need to protect our sensitive equipment. Over the bug netting is a large section of a mesh laundry I’ve used for a multitude of spray paint projects. So cutting a small hole in it for the lens to poke through allows another layer of camouflage. The rest is what is done in-field with whatever naturals you can find.
EMPLOYMENT
With the employment of your camera, this is all to assume that you’ve already created your observation bivouac. A large consideration to the position of your camera is going to be the length of your Remote Shutter Release cable. If you’re unfamiliar with what this is, it’s a way to activate your shutter without having to touch the camera body itself. It plugs into the camera and gives you the option to position the camera in a better location and not directly on top of your position. At this point, this is where you would add your natural camouflage to finally conceal the camera from your point of interest (POI). And from here you sit and wait for whatever POI you’re trying to gather information on. A major consideration to have when setting up the camera is to A) have your camera set to manual focus and B) have an understanding of what is actually in frame. How would it feel if you spent all this time rucking to your observation point, setting up your bivouac, setting up the camera, waiting, waiting some more, getting your pictures, cleaning up (without leaving target indicators), and rucking back ONLY to see that your POI is out of frame or out of focus? Yeah, you’d definitely earn your Professional Retard PVC Patch (for only $13.99 on odggllc.com ;) ) So take the time when setting up your OP and make a quick sketch of what is focused in your frame so that you know exactly what you're taking pictures of.
CAMERA SETTINGS
For me, the camera I’m using is the Nikon D500, and one setting this camera has is a “quiet shutter” feature. Because for us who are familiar with cameras, THEY MAKE NOISE when you take a picture. You can very clearly hear the shutter activate when you use it, and this can be a very bad thing. Just like the empty bag of gummy bears you didn't know you dropped can give away your position, so can the shutter. This is just as much of a target indicator. So if you have a setting that reduces the audible signature, just use it. And if your camera doesn’t have this feature, definitely keep in mind what may give away your position. And as stated before keep the camera on manual focus and OFF of auto focus.
NIGHT USE
When using a camera in the day it doesn’t take much for an image to look crisp and sharp. But what do you do when the sun goes down, or you're in a low light setting? Because like it or not, the sun is only up 50% of the time. So how do you address that potential problem? The answer is pretty simple. The first thing you should do is increase your ISO. Now don’t just crank it to its highest setting because you need to understand that the higher the ISO, the more potential grain your image will have. The second thing to do, and which I would consider the more important thing you can do is to put your shutter in Bulb mode and use your Remote Shutter Release. This is such an invaluable tool in a recon setting because you can lock the releases and the camera will continuously have the shutter open. This can effectively counter the low light problem because you are allowing the camera to take in as much light as you allow. With that, you need to do your homework and learn what ISO, shutter, and aperture settings in combination with the shutter release works best with you.
Below are a few examples of what a camera will pick up with the proper settings. All these pictures were shot in the same location with low light and the ISO set to 6400 and the aperture opened up all the way.
15 seconds at ISO 6400
30 seconds at ISO 6400
60 seconds at ISO 6400
The video is showing the amount of ambient lighting the pictures above were taken in.
All this being said, this is just the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more that goes into this then what I’ve talked about. Take this information and build off of it, it is our duty as free American men and women to create these skills to help preserve our freedoms. And I hate to say this but don’t use this information unlawfully. Don’t be creepy with this, this is to be used responsibly.
KINGS NEVER SETTLE
- MOUSE
