Ocean wanderer – Antipodean Albatross

If you’re a keen birder, such as myself, it’s a delight to see seabirds up close in their ocean environment, and none more so than albatrosses. They are magnificent birds. To photograph them well at sea, there are number of interesting challenges to cope with – weather, in all its guises, swell, and of course seasickness. Through this post, and a handful of others (not too many, I promise), I’d like to share some of my more favourite pictures from two recent pelagics in Australia (one off Sydney and a second off Wollongong), and also to reflect a little on those challenges. I very much welcome comments on the shots, as well as observations on technique and any tips for these challenging conditions. Please enjoy!

To kick-off, and to serve as a scene setter, I’ve chosen Antipodean Albatross (ssp. gibsoni) low over the ocean. Perhaps the quintessential Diomedea, split from Wandering Albatross (in the taxonomy I follow), this is one of the largest albatross species, with a wing-span of 3m or more. This is an adult with typical brown and white plumage.

Weather wise, this is a fairly rough day, 25-30 miles or so off shore from Sydney, with winds in the 20-30 mph bracket and moderate swell. When on a pelagic you actually want windy conditions, as it gets the birds in the air. When winds are light, birds, especially the bigger birds, just sit on the water and you don’t see too much.
 
Here I’m using a Nikon 200-400mm f/4 paired with a D700. This is at the limit of weight I’ll handhold, and some may question the selection, but it gives me a number of key benefits: reach (I find 300mm is generally not enough; more bird in the frame = easier focusing when compared to a small subject surrounded by an expanse of ocean/sky) and framing flexibility. On the trip I also used 70-200mm f/2.8 with and without 1.4 tc on both the D700 and D300 - looking through all my shots across the two trips, all gave good results, but I generally prefer the shots from the 200-400mm + D700 combination. Obvious downside is the weight and, on this particular pelagic, focus speed. It was a really grey, gloomy, overcast day leading to an occasional lag in focus speed/acquisition, especially with birds low over the ocean and flying towards me. But in these conditions one advantage was that it was easier to control highlights, even late into the day, especially on the white heads of various albatross species. You’ll also notice from the shooting data that I’ve pushed the ISO further than I would normally, to maintain a fast shutter speed and good depth of field.
 
Nikon D700 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4; ISO 2500, f/7.1, 1/2500 at 400mm

Cropped away lower part of image for framing and to remove out-of-focus wave; LR5, CC2014 and Nik filters.

Thanks for looking!

Martin