Gannet

[Jonathan Ashton]

Camera Model Name Canon EOS-1D X
Canon 100-400 L IS II
Manual mode
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/2000
Av (Aperture Value) 8.0
ISO Speed 800

Taken from off the coast at Bempton cliffs, All C&C welcome.

[William Dickson]

Cracker Jon. Caught at the perfect moment. I like how we can see the eye and the bill half submerged. Is that another Gannet beneath the water, which had made the splash. Terrific pose

Well done mate

Will

[annmpacheco]

Gosh Jon, this is such a difficult shot to get and you did so well. As noticed by Will, is that another gannet in front underwater? Well done, from a boat!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks Will & Ann, yes there was another gannet there, it was difficult getting a clear shot at times, it was for the most part absolute mayhem gannets coming from all directions, I could even feel them whoosh past my head they were that close at times.. I took just under 2,000 images on the boat, I suppose logically there had to be a few keepers!

[Adhika Lie]

Stunning, Jon. I really like the energy in this photo. That second gannet is definitely like an Easter egg. I can only imagine the craziness going on there.
When faced with situations like this (where you have a lot of birds surrounding you), what is your shooting strategy? Where do you start acquiring focus, which bird to pick, etc? My bird photography experience is extremely limited and I have never encountered situations like this. So I would really appreciate a tip or two.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Ahika, I will be honest, there is some skill but there has to be plenty of luck.
First thing I did was to photograph anything flying by to ensure I got optimal exposure, then I double checked everything was set to manual. I also kept an eye on the light to be ready when it changed.
I adopted three strategies for the image taking:
1 Pick on a bird in the sky and follow it bump focusing as necessary
2 Watch for the skipper throwing bait and follow the bird(s)
3 Watch where the bait landed, focus wait a second then hit the button
I had varying degrees of success, in terms of getting good clear shots and the bird(s) in focus, 3 was by far the most successful.
Much of the bait was thrown too close resulting in spectacular shots of mayhem but if posted they would get slammed as too busy and nothing in particular to focus on. So the trick was to try to get the birds isolated as much as possible and this is where the skill comes in - just being ready. I felt it was sometimes good to have two or maybe three gannets in the frame so long as they were distinct entities, I will be posting more. I used rear button and shutter button focus, there are times when I just cannot decide which is the better choice.
Hope this helps.
On other thing be ready to turn round to avoid splashes from the diving birds or from the swell.

[Adhika Lie]

Much of the bait was thrown too close resulting in spectacular shots of mayhem but if posted they would get slammed as too busy and nothing in particular to focus on.

That's what I thought, too, Jon and thanks for sharing the tips. Really appreciate it!

[keith mitchell]

Jon sounds like you have got boat photography worked out very well,you really have caught the action and the water itself looks very good,great work.

Keith.