
Floating stillness – photographing Great Crested Grebes in May
Aktie
Two years ago, I joined a workshop with Danish wildlife photographer Mads Hagen. We were drifting quietly in floating hides at Kalveboderne, just south of Copenhagen, at sunrise — our cameras ready, our senses sharpened. The water was perfectly still, and the air was filled with the hushed anticipation of May.
Few things compare to the experience of photographing Great Crested Grebes in their full breeding plumage. In May, they are at their most magnificent — long golden ear tufts, deep red eyes, elegant necks held high above the water. Their courtship rituals are both theatrical and tender: mirrored dances, head-shaking displays, and weed offerings delivered like sacred gifts. All of it happening just a few meters away, if you’re lucky — and if you’re still.
The floating hide is not just a tool. It becomes a threshold. You're no longer watching from a distance — you are in the water, part of the silence, at eye level with beauty. The grebes accept your presence if you move slowly and respectfully. And when they do, it feels like a quiet honour.
Photographing from a floating hide requires patience and calm. You must surrender to the rhythm of nature — the slow light, the careful movements, the pause between breaths. But in return, you’re offered something rare: a moment of closeness, stripped of ego and time.
If you're looking for a photographic challenge that speaks to both your technical skill and your heart, I can highly recommend floating hide photography in spring — especially for Great Crested Grebes. Their world is a world of ceremony, silence, and beauty.
And if you're lucky, it will change the way you see water forever.