I mentioned a while ago that I made a two day visit to Bempton earlier this year and on the second day I went on a 4 hr boat trip from Bridlington Harbour at sunrise. The boat sailed around the Flamborough headland and up the coast to the foot off the seabird colonies and then out to sea a couple of miles to experiences diving gannets feeding . I have to say it was one of the best wildlife experiences I have ever had in the UK and well worth the money. The sheer number of birds flying close to the boat , the noise and the diving action was spectacular. Having said that it presented a challenging time photography wise as white birds in bright sunshine was a challenge in itself with exposure , but add in the fact that there was literally hundreds of birds in the air and diving at 60 mph into the sea all whilst standing up in a rocking boat on the swell of the ocean was interesting to say the least. All these shots were virtually full frame and most with a 70-200 lens at the 70mm end they were that close. I managed a few diving shots once I sussed out the flight patterns and tell tale signs and will post a few in due course when I have processed them . In the meantime here is a few of many flight shots and it gave me a different perspective altogether for photographing Gannets at Bempton.
Northern Gannets ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannets ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ) by Steve Dawes, on Flickr
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