Gannets
Jul, 2019Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
There is a great location on the east coast of Yorkshire where there is a large colony of gannets. It’s a place I regularly visit for seabird photography.Time
The cliffs are about a 2 hour drive from home but the long summer days meant I was guaranteed good light no matter what time I arrived but I still got there early morning in the hope of capturing birds in flight, feeding after a night on land and avoiding other birders.Lighting
The harsh morning light is actually perfect when lowest on the horizon as it tends to illuminate the eyes without casting shadows, whereas often the sun high in the sky can darken the eyes, losing that beautiful colour the gannets have. When photographing animals, I always try to position myself so the sun is behind me so that it illuminates the eyes.Equipment
My go to camera is my Canon 6 D mkii, and for this shot I was using my 100 - 400mm Canon lens. I shot hand held with lens hood and no filters. I can’t remember the exact settings but I would guess ISO400 at about 0.04 seconds @f5.6Inspiration
Gannets pair for life and it isn’t uncommon during breeding season to catch cute pics of them in courtship or mutual grooming. Whilst they are a beautiful bird they are also fiercely territorial and can be a bit vicious in protecting their roosting or nesting site. I was really fortunate in catching this image as the subject appeared to look straight at me with that fierce stare, which I think makes the picture.Editing
With wildlife photography it is absolutely essential to capture eye clarity. I can’t remember if I did any post processing work but if I did it would be the usual crop and possibly an element of colour enhancement and a little sharpening although these would be minor tweaks rather than changing the image too noticeably from the original image.In my camera bag
I try to travel light so I’ll have a few filters, my Sigma 24 - 100mm, my Canon 100 x 400 telephoto lens and obviously my 6D MkiiFeedback
Try to plan to have the sun at your back and when shooting birds the best shots are obtained when you share the same eye level.. This isn’t always possible but try to minimise height difference. Learn a little about your subject and habits so you can tell if it’s just having a wing stretch or about to take flight. I rarely shoot in burst mode but if you’re a beginner then I’d suggest this increases your chance of catching the shot.
