Getting carried away,,,

So there I was standing on a cliff top wondering how wonderful it was to see Fulmar's had return to their nesting site - they hadn't been there earlier in the week. The are was empty of people and I was trying hard to capture the birds flying. Bliss.

Then I started to notice that the Fulmars were starting to fly very close to me. Great - even more opportunity to get that great photograph. This went on for about 10 minutes - I was marvelling at the flying ability of the Fulmar, its control of the air currents to get it really close to the cliff edge near to where I was standing. Then I suddenly realised why they were flying so close to me - it was me. I had got too close and they didn't like it and they were showing me their displeasure. Fortunately the penny dropped and I made a hasty retreat before they resorted to their fall back defence - which is very unpleasant indeed.

This just proves how easy it is to get carried away with what you are doing and forget that you an interloper into another creature's life. You should always remember this and not disturb the creatures you are observing. It is fine line to tread and this time I overstepped it. As I write this I feel somewhat embarrassed and chastened. Just to give you an idea as to how close the bird got the minimum focus of the lens I was using was 2.5 metres and as the photo below shows they were getting much closer than that.

Rain stopped play...

Fulmar - Seahouses

What a wonderful few days I have had in Northumbria. All my plans went out of the window the first morning standing above the cliffs by Seahouses Golf Club. The wind was howling, the sea crashing against the rocks below and the air was full of sea birds, their white plumage in stark contrast to the slate grey skies. Now that is what I call a real British summer.

I had planned to go to the Farne islands, only two miles off shore but suddenly it struck me - why? Why do I need to build my break around one event/day? Of course the answer was that there was no need and you know what it made the break even better.

So why am I not still sampling the delights of the North East? Well, last night there were severe weather warnings given out for the area. Heavy rain all day. So we could either stay put and watch the heavy rain through the windscreen of a car/house or make our way home. We decide the latter and drove home on Thursday evening. I'm glad we did - the roads were clear and although the weather was bad it was a lot easier driving in those conditions with little traffic on the road than spend the day travelling down the A1 with some Polish lorry driver only a metre from your rear bumper.

So the next few days will be spent working through images and make a few good photographs. Let the games begin! If you want to see the photographs as they are produced then click here:

Some Early Bempton Photographs

So far I have uploaded over 1700 images - I have still got 3 4Gb cards to go.  This has been one of the most productive days I have ever had.  I really am looking forward to making some fantastic photographs.  Lets just hope my early optimism is well founded.

Seabird City

Staple Neuk - Bempton Cliffs

Visiting a sea bird colony is always an attack on all of your senses.  Usually, first there is an attack on your sense of vision.  Where to look?  How do you capture such a complex and magnificent vision?  What was that?  Which birds are where?   It takes a few minutes just to overcome the sense awe you feel.   Whilst you are doing this the next attack on your senses sinks in.   The smell and taste of the colony.   Once experienced never forgotten.  An intoxicating mix of fish and bird droppings.  The air becomes thick with this acrid atmosphere.  It imbues your mind so much that whenever you see a photograph of a bird colony suddenly you can taste and smell the colony all over again.

Gannet over Bempton Cliffs

As this sensory overload takes hold another layer is added.  The noise.  Usually it is the painful wailing of the Kittiwake, birds that seems to be in constant pain.  Of course they are not it is just the impression that their cry has on you saturated senses.  As your hearing settlers down you start to strain for different cries in the wind.   You identify a cry and make an identification only to realise that it was a trick of the wind.   If you are near a gannet colony then there is the endless bickering of neighbours who are protecting their few centimetres of barren cliff.   You stand and wonder how on earth are they able to cling onto such a precipitous nest site?  Of course to the gannet there is nothing wrong with this.  It is just what gannets do.

Gannet looking for nesting material

Then overhead you feel the wind rush as a Fulmar rushes by.   You look up and the bird gives you an imperious glance as glides effortless on the updrafts.  At that moment you know what it is like to see an angel floating in the clouds.

Gannet

Then at sea you notice more birds.  They bob and heave with the waves.  A small fishing boat slowly makes its way past the colony and you see a flock of screaming gulls following its progress to port.   If you have come to the colony on a boat these are the same gulls that hitch a lift on the captain's cabin, all the time their bright beady eyes scanning the horizon for the next feeding opportunity.

Fulmar

The first time you visit a sea bird colony it is unforgettable.  Something that makes you want come back again and again.  Each time you are never disappointed.  Each time seeing something new.  Then you realise that this an ephemeral experience.  Once the chicks have flown the colony empties until the next summer.   You have to move your attention to the autumn and winter natural spectacles.  All the time waiting for the days to lengthen so that you can experience the assault on the sense once more.

The first reflections on my day at Bempton

Well it has been 24 hours and I have just culled a 1000 images from the 1275 I took yesterday at Bempton.  This sounds like a disaster.  What went wrong?   This was indeed my feelings last night as I had a quick run through the images whilst they were being uploaded to Lightroom.  So many duds - what went wrong?   Luckily I was so tired last night after being up for nearly 24 hours I didn't have time to reflect on this problem as I fell asleep.  A new day and a fresh perspective and suddenly things are not as bad as they first seemed.  Indeed I am now feeling very satisfied with my days work.  So why the change?

I think the answer lies in the conditions you work in at Bempton.  On a bright day you tend to get incredible changes in light, from bright reflected sunshine over the sea to dark shadows near to the cliff face.  You are also trying to capture fast moving birds at really close range.  These birds also tend to be predominantly white which does play havoc with any metering you might do.  The cumulative effect of these problems is that an awful lot of images are, well there is no other word for it, crap.

However, when you start to work with the images you find that amongst the dross there are some real gems.  In fact given the challenging conditions, the only way to really guarantee any chance of capturing something good is to blast away.  It is not pretty, and if I was shooting film hugely expensive, but is works.  

An example of this is the photograph of the Fulmar above.   Now I have a love hate relationship with this bird.  When you are shooting at a cliff face you can almost be sure that there will be a Fulmar darting around, usually just above your head, you can almost imagine they are taunting you to try and capture a photograph.   Despite this they are a wonderfully graceful bird, almost making no effort to fly past you at great speed, using the updrafts from the cliffs to propel them along.  So to capture an image of this bird I have to take an awful lot of photographs.   It could be argued that I need to rethink my approach but there really is nothing more to do than blast away at every opportunity.  When it works it is great, but it doesn't work very often and can be very frustrating.  In short, as with most other wildlife photography, you have to put the hours in to get the shot you want, this is so true at Bempton as well.

So I will plough through the remaining images to see which can be turned into worthwhile photographs.  Looks like it will be an interesting few days.