Dance of the Gannets
Jun, 2015Views
2820
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Awards
Member Selection Award
Featured
People's Choice in Birds of Few Colors Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in It Is A Wild World Photo Contest
Winner in In Sync Photo Challenge
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
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eelcovanroden
November 15, 2015
Fabulous photo, congratulations on your People's choice Challenge win!!
Platinum
NicoFroehberg
August 11, 2016
Beautiful capture! Those couples rituals of gannets are one of the most fascinating things to observe and phtograph in nature :)
Platinum
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on Great Saltee island while on a trip to the Saltee Islands which are two small islands off the coast of county Wexford, Ireland. The Island is privately owned with only one house which is off limits to visitors! The rest of the island is a bird sanctuary with Atlantic Puffins, Razorbills, Manx Shearwaters, Various Gulls, Shags and as in this photo a colony of Gannets plus many more species making the island their home.Time
This particular photo was taken just after noon on the 20th of June 2012, several photographers had to get the only boat from Kilmore Quay allowed to ferry visitors to the island and because the island has no pier or jetty, transfer into an inflatable dingy to make shore. After making their way onto the island I needed to walk to the far end of the island to the Gannet colony to get up close to the large sea birds.Lighting
I didn't need to use flash, the natural lighting did a good job of lighting the birds on the nest, not blowing the highlights on the white birds is something you need to watch out for.Equipment
I used a Sony A65 translucent mirror camera and an inexpensive sigma 70-300 lens at 1/500 f/4 ISO 100. The A65 mirror being fixed and translucent allows for a high frame rate (max 10 frames per second) which is great for sports and wildlife photography.Inspiration
It was my first time photographing birds like these so I consider myself quite lucky to get a shot of this mating ritual in such a manner! it was just a trip with my local camera club which is a yearly outing (weather dependant) that led to the photograph and it went on to win a gold medal in the Irish Photographic Federation's National Shield competition for best colour print in 2013.Editing
I did decide to artificially blur the background as there were other birds which I found distracting, but the actual birds themselves are as photographed, just some dodging and burning especially to the heads and beaks to bring out the details a bit more. I also shot Raw which helped to fix any over or under exposure issues which can happen when photographing white birds, it gives you more leeway when bringing back the details in the highlights or shadows.In my camera bag
Now I have the Sony A77 mark II (max 12 fps) to go along with my A65 which is now my backup camera, a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8, Sony 16-50 f/2.8, a hotshoe flash, Rogue Flashbender (flash diffuser type gadget), cable release, spare batteries, memory cards, cleaning gear, pen and notebook. I also can swap in if needed a Sigma 120-400 f/4.5-5.6 and a Sony 50mm f/1.8 or a Tamron 70-300. I also have a rain cover for the camera and use either a Lowepro Flipside Sport 15L AW rucksack type bag or a Lowepro Event Messenger 150, depending on how much gear I indent to bring, the event messenger being the smaller of the two.Feedback
Be patient and always keep an eye on your surroundings, don't expect the magic to happen just because you hold your camera up to your face! Reacting to situations or seeing things just before they happen is vital for great shots and also a lot of luck and hard work! In wildlife photography a fast frame rate can help capture that perfect moment but finding yourself in the right time and place is far more important than equipment, this photograph was taken with a modestly priced camera and a budget telephoto lens and ended up winning two national awards so remember it's not all about expensive equipment.
