Image: Northern Gannet kiting, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 280 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
Artie’s Instructional Photo Tour began with a trip down the eastern border of Scotland into England. We gathered all the participants in Edinburgh and were driven in a van by Peter, one of the photographers.
The countryside was full of farm land and gentle rolling hills. The grey stone buildings gave way to red brick houses with white window trim. We arrived in Bridlington, England in the evening and set out immediately for Bempton Cliffs despite the sunny skies that make it hard to photograph white and black birds due to the contrast and shadows.
Image: Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 200 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
It was worth the trip and we got acquainted with the Northern Gannets, a large sea bird, and their flying patterns.
Image: Northern Gannet kiting, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 270 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 640, hand-held
Many other species were nesting on the cliffs, including the Common Guillemots, Kittiwake Gulls, Razorbills and my favorite, the Atlantic Puffin. The Northern Gannets, however, were the focus of our photography on these cliffs due to the large number of them and their activity.
Image: Northern Gannets flying, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 500 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
We worked on various shots of them—some posing, some flying and some landing. There were several pairs of gannets on the cliffs demonstrating mating behaviors that were quite touching and melted my heart.
Image: Northern Gannets bonding, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 500 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
Because the wings have extra joints, it was fascinating watching how they landed.
Image: Northern Gannet landing, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 290 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
We saw several gannets going out for nesting material and bringing it back.
Image: Northern Gannet flying with nesting material, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 380 mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400, hand-held
We even got a peek at some chicks when the gannet adults moved around on their nests.
Image: Northern Gannet adult and chick, Bempton Cliffs, England. Nikon D500, Nikkor 200-500mm at 500 mm, f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 800, hand-held
We have had some very long days as we leave around 5:30-6:00am and shoot for several hours and head out agin late in the afternoon into the night. I am very behind on my photo processing, but much of the shooting has been magical and I can’t wait to share!