Courting material

[Stu Bowie]

I revisted some of my Gannet images from the end of last year when I visited Bird Island in Lamberts Bay. It is not often you see these Gannets returning from the high seas with an offering, but you dont actually see it whilst firing off bursts of incoming Gannets. I quite liked the lone Gannet wondering if this was its partner. I had the opportunity to shoot these Gannets both early morning and late afternoon. One just had to change your shooting angle depending on the time of day. I unfortunately do not have anymore of the Gannet below, as I had to straighten the image slightly, and lost a bit of its neck.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 300mm F/2.8 +1.4TC = 420mm
1/2000
F/7.1
ISO 400

Manual exposure
Hand Held.

[keith mitchell]

Stu I would just like to see a little more of the bottom gannet ,just a touch,that apart I think this is wonderful,that bit of nesting material makes all the difference .

Keith.

[William Dickson]

Hi Stu. When I opened the image I only saw the BIF and thought very nice. Then I saw the head below and although very small, it does attract the attention. Mainly I think, because it breaks the horizon line. I love it. Especially the facial expression on the gannet below.

Will

[Jonathan Ashton]

It works for me Stu, love the details colours and composition and also the eye contact between the two birds.

[John Mack]

Good composition and background wish you could see more of the bottom bird.

[Stu Bowie]

Stu I would just like to see a little more of the bottom gannet ,just a touch,

Thanks Keith. Unfortunately, I had to straighten the image and lost a bit of the bottom Gannet. As my main focus was on the incoming Gannet, there wasnt much of the bottom Gannet in the frame anyway.

I hope this answers your question John Mack and Will.

[keith mitchell]

Stu it's still great as it is and can see why you would keep your focus on the incoming bird, a little bit more at the bottom would have been icing on the cake.

Keith.

[Melissa Usrey]

Gorgeous photo - these birds are on my bucket list. I actually like the peeking up of the bottom bird (I'm assuming the female). It gives context to the whole photo as we know where the nest is. I tend to get slanted shots because of the weight of my camera, so I pay close attention to horizontal lines. Because the darker blue at the bottom catches more attention, I would straighten it out a bit more.

[Stu Bowie]

Because the darker blue at the bottom catches more attention, I would straighten it out a bit more.

Thanks Melissa. The darker blue at the bottom is the coastline going away at an angle. I do understand your thoughts, but straightening it would leave the horizon a touch skew. I could take a mean between the two, as its not that much.

With regards to your bucket list, you could visit this Gannet colony, as there are only around 25000 Gannets on this island. You could surely come away with some decent shots.

[gail bisson]

Hi Stu,
I am late to the party for this image.
This is one of those shots where one says "if only". I think the image is good but it would have been awesome had there been more of the bottom bird.
Just another reason to go back next year!!
Gail

[David Salem]

Hi Stu,
Now I'm late to the party on your post. At least we still try to get to each others images at some point
I would love to shot these guys one day. One of my favorite sea birds. One of my dream shots, although probably not happening at the island, is one of these guys going into the ocean like a spear!! Maybe someday on a boat.
Cool looking frame of this bird coming in with nesting material. Details and exposure look right on. I too wish there was a bit more of the bottom bird visible, but what can ya do? Like Gail mentioned, Next year. Talk to you soon