In February (it seems like only yesterday), I made my fifth visit to Eastern Hokkaido’s winter wonderland. I have written before at length about my love affair with Japan, so I won’t bore you by going over old ground but if you haven’t been to Japan and especially to Hokkaido in winter (and I don’t mean Niseko), take my word for it and go!

Although only an eight day trip, photographic opportunities were excellent especially at my favorite location, Lake Kussharo, where the swan photography was the best I have seen.

The only negative for me on the trip was that while we did experience a wide variety of weather conditions, we probably had a little too much sun for my liking which made for challenging photo conditions in the middle of the day. The upside of course is that we had some really nice early morning and late afternoon light. Better still, we had three mornings of dazzlingly beautiful, hoar frost-covered trees.

Winterscape panoramic showing hoar frosted trees, swirling mist and snow covered forested mountains, Wakato, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; 5 image, stitched panorama, Canon 1D MK4, Sigma 50-500mm lens @138mm, handheld, f11, 1/400th sec, AV +1/3rd, ISO 250

Lake Kussharo is a large lake. While there are one or two well-known photographic sites to which photographers congregate, there are several other lesser known spots which you usually have to yourself and it is to these that I gravitate.

The first three images in this set were taken early in the morning, before sunrise when most of the swans in this group were either still sleeping or were relatively sedentary.  The final image was made after the swans had fully woken up and had become more active. The key to all these images was correct composition with the swans framed by the overhanging frost/snow covered branches and importantly, no merging of the branches with the horizon and no or minimal merging of the swans. The mood was also important and I’ve deliberately retained the blue caste in the three colour images to given a sense of both the peace and tranquillity as well as the cold. By far and away the hardest part of photographing in Hokkaido in winter is the cold. I wear one pair of thin gloves over which I have a pair of retractable mittens with the pockets stuffed full of hand warmers. After more than about 30 seconds with my digits out of the mittens, they start to freeze up and become numb and painful which also makes it close to impossible to operate the camera’s controls. So I find myself regularly having to stuff my fingers back into the warmth of the hand warmer-encrusted mittens to revive circulation.

Whooper Swans at dawn on lake in winter, under snow covered tree branches, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 IS lens @18mm, handheld, 1/250th sec, f11, ISO400, manual exposure

Whopper Swans on lake at dawn, Lake Kussharo, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @16mm, handheld, 1/200th sec, f13, ISO400, manual exposure

Whopper Swans at dawn on frozen lake opening under overhanging branches, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @22mm, handheld, 1/160th sec, f13, ISO640, manual exposure

Whooper Swans at dawn in winter on lake under tree branches, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan, Canon 5D MK2, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @16mm, handheld, 1/125th sec, f11, ISO250, manual exposure

The next two photos were taken at another secret spot where in five years I have never encountered a single other photographer. Incredibly, these two photos were taken within an hour of each other. The weather can change suddenly in these parts and after a nice sunset, clouds rapidly rolled in and heavy snow began falling.

Whooper Swans on frozen lake opening at sunset, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @25mm, handheld, 1/160th sec, f11, ISO640, 2 Lee graduated neutral density filters (5 stops), manual exposure

Whooper Swans on frozen lake opening during snow storm, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @16mm, handheld, 1/80th sec, f10, ISO1,000, manual exposure

The following images were shot at a slightly more popular site but one that you can still often have to yourself. The first image is probably my favourite from the trip, shot with a bendy 8-15mm fisheye lens. I really wanted to get the hoar frost-covered branches into image with the swans. I tried my 16-35mm lens but it wasn’t wide enough. While there was no way to avoid having the branches merging with the snow covered mountains, I still like the way the branches frame the birds.

Fish-eye view of Whopper Swans on frozen lake with frost covered overhanging tree branch over lake opening, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 8-15mm f4L fisheye lens @14mm, handheld, 1/250th sec, f16, ISO200, manual exposure

This is a more moody image, with steam rising from the thermal heated water in the cold air.

Whooper Swans on thermal heated lake waters with steam rising, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8L 2 lens @23mm, handheld, 1/400th sec, f11, ISO200, manual exposure

If you go to Lake Kussharo you will definitely spend time at the main swan area. The swans gather at this spot because they are fed grain twice a day. It can be particularly rewarding early in the morning when the swans fly in over distant trees, which sometimes as in this first image, are covered with hoar frost, before banking against a backdrop of snow covered mountains, and landing on the frozen lake. What’s missing from these images is the sound of the birds’ trumpet like calls piercing the cold air. Almost immediately upon landing, the birds will throw back their heads and call raucously. When several land at the same time, the winter silence is broken with the sounds reverberating around the lake. I’ve stood on top of some of the adjacent mountains on a windless day and have been able to pick up the sounds several miles away.

Whooper Swans flying over hoar frost covered trees, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @373mm, handheld, 1/1,600th sec, f8, ISO 500, manual exposure

Whooper Swans landing on frozen lake, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan, Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm @93mm, handheld, 1/1,000th sec, f9, ISO640, manual exposure

Adult and juvenile Whooper Swans flying in to land on frozen and lake with snow dusted mountains in the background, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @113mm, handheld, 1/1,600th sec, f9, ISO640, manual exposure

Whooper Swans landing on frozen lake, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan, Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @203mm, handheld, 1/1,250th sec, f8, ISO640, manual exposure

Whooper Swan standing on frozen lake, calling, with wings stretched forward, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @244mm, handheld, 1/1,000th sec, f9, ISO640, manual exposure

Two Whooper Swans on frozen lake, calling, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @244mm, handheld, 1/1,250th sec, f9, ISO500, manual exposure

It would be remiss on a trip to Hokkaido to ignore the stark but often beautiful landscapes. While I am not an advocate of copying or emulating other photographers’ styles, it is very hard not to be influenced by Michael Kenna’s haunting, minimalistic landscape images taken in the depths of the Hokkaido winter.

I find myself especially drawn to solitary trees or small groups of trees on snow-covered ridges and after some exploratory snow-shoeing (easy and highly recommended if you have not tried), I found one such area. Here, multiple Wildencounters participant, Paul Quah, pauses as he snow-shoes through the area’s snow covered slopes.

Paul Quah on snow shoes amongst trees on snow slope, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @28mm, handheld, 1/250th sec, f11, ISO200, manual exposure

I’ve always been attracted to minimalistic type photography so these lonely trees were especially appealing to me. This small selection of images may not be for everyone, but I definitely plan on doing more of this type of photography in the future. Already I have some good ideas on how to be more creative when I return.

Tree in snow field, Hokkaido, Japan: Canon 1D MK1V, Sigma 50-500mm lens @287mm, handheld, 1/500th sec, f9, ISO500, manual exposure

Trees on snow covered ridge, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS lens @140mm, handheld, 1/400th sec, f11, ISO100, manual exposure

Trees on snow covered slopes, Hokkaido, Japan: Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm @40mm, handheld, 1/100th sec, f11, ISO500, manual exposure

Leafless trees in snow field, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK1V, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, Gitzo tripod, 1/500th sec, f10, ISO400, manual exposure

This year I didn’t spend as much time as previously with the Cranes, in part because it was so good at the swans but also because we had a lot of sunny days when we were with the Cranes. However, there were still some nice opportunities. I didn’t plan on getting the Crane heads into the first image but it really helps to add additional interest as this White-Tailed Eagle swoops over them.

White-Tailed Eagle flying towards Red Crowned Cranes, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MK IV, Sigma 50-500mm lens @500mm, handheld, 1/1,600th sec, f8, ISO 1,000, manual exposure

For some reason, I haven’t taken many portrait pics of the Cranes on previous trips. Nothing special here but the technicals are all in order.

Red Crowned Crane head shot, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MKIV, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens + 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/640th sec, f7.1, ISO 2,000, manual exposure

As usual, it was hard to resist taking images of the Cranes flying and coming into land. This one was taken late in the afternoon with the bird framed against a distant, dark, forest-covered hillside.

Red Crowned Crane coming in to land against dark forest, Hokkaido, Japan, Canon 1D MKIV, Sigma 50-500mm @373mm, 1/2,000th sec, f8, ISO320, manual exposure

Since there are already a gazillion flying Crane images out there, I end up spending most of time using slow shutter speeds, usually panning with the bird. Given my preference for retaining some sharpness in the bird’s heads, you need to take a lot of images to get one decent one but when you do get something worthwhile, the results, in my opinion are much more pleasing than a static flying bird image.

Red Crowned Crane flying over snow and past forest, with motion, Hokkaido, Japan; 5D MK3, Sigma 50-500mm @500mm, handheld, 1/50th sec, f11, ISO400, manual exposure

A different technique here – no panning, high key and converted to monochrome.

Red Crowned Crane flying, with motion, high key, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Sigma 50-500mm @273mm, handheld, 1/15th sec, f8, ISO1,000, manual exposure

Owing to the uncooperative weather while at the main Crane sites, I spent very little time trying to capture the courting Crane dances. And when I did capture some spectacular action, the background was not behaving! A shame, because this is about as good as it gets action-wise.

Red Crowned Cranes engaged in courtship dance in mid-air, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 1D MKIV, Sigma 50-500mm @167mm, handheld, 1/2,000th sec, f8, ISO640, manual exposure

In Africa I sometimes have to hang around for hours or even days waiting for something to happen, but in Hokkaido, especially if the weather is co-operating, you can shoot almost non-stop from dawn to dusk and even at night. The images shown in this blog represent just a tiny selection of the images that I made during my eight day stay.

Star filled sky at night above barren trees, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan; Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm @24mm, Gitzo tripod, 25 sec, f5, ISO1,600, manual exposure

When you throw in the wonderful food, the amazing hot springs to soak in at the end of a day out in the cold and the warm hospitality that I always receive, Hokkaido has become one of my favourite photo destinations and I always look forward to going back. So I will be back next year, co-leading a larger group (this year I took only three persons). Already I am counting down the days.

As promised, here is another set of East African aerials. These were all taken over Lake Natron just across the Kenyan border in Tanzania. I have flown many times over Natron and it has to be one of the world’s most surreal landscapes often resembling the surface of another planet. Usually there is only a little water on the lake with large patches devoid of any moisture, the result of evaporation under furnace like temperatures. This leaves behind a lake bed comprising a brittle crust of various sodium compounds overlaying thick, gooey mud.

The last two years have seen abnormally high rainfall in most of East Africa with water levels on Natron at high levels. A lack of algae concentrations caused by the high water has meant reduced Flamingo numbers. However, even after just a few days without rain, the evaporation process had begun in earnest with dramatic trails of sodium compounds on the lake surface.

Anyway, i’ll stop my naturalist waffle and let you enjoy the images. Most of them probably won’t have much sale value, but I like them and I guess that’s what matters!

Aerial view of a small group of Lesser Flamingos flying over lake with evaporated sodium compound trails on lake surface, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm lens @70mm, handheld, f4, 1/4,000 sec, ISO 400, AV at -1/3

Aerial view of trails of evaporated sodium compounds on lake surface, beside river delta, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 24-105mm lens @96mm, handheld 1/5,000 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at -1/3

Aerial view of algae slick and evaporated sodium compound trails on the surface of Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @28mm, handheld, 1/1,600th sec,f4, ISO 400, AV at -1

Aerial view of evaporated sodium compound trails on the surface of Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon-24-105mm f4 IS lens, handheld, 1/6,400 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV a t-1

Aerial view of evaporated sodium compound trails at lake shore, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm, f4 IS lens @88mm, handheld, 1/1,600 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at 0

Aerial view of evaporated sodium compounds on lake shore and lake surface, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK5, Canon-24-105mm f4 IS lens @105mm, 1/2,000 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at 0

Aerial view of lake bed covered by shallow water and evaporated sodium compounds, Lake Natron, Tanzania, 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @73mm, handheld, 1/1,000sec, f4, ISO, AV at 0

Aerial view of lake shore made up of sodium compounds, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm, f4 IS lens @105mm, handheld, 1/2,000 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at 0

Aerial view of Lesser Flamingos flying over lake shore at Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @65mm, handheld,1/4,000sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at -1/3

Aerial view of Lesser Flamingos flying over lake shore with evaporated sodium compound trails on lake surface, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3,Canon 24-105mm, f4, IS lens @105mm, handheld, 1/5,000 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV -1 & 1/3

Evaporated sodium compound trails on the surface of Lake Natron beside lake shore, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @47mm, handheld, 1/2,500 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at 0

Aerial view of Lesser Flamingos beside the lake shore delta of Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @70mm, handheld, 1/2,000 sec, f4, ISO 500, AV at -1

Aerial view of Lesser Flamingos flying over shallow water with cloud reflections next to lake shore, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D, MK3 Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @105mm, handheld, 1/2,000sec, f4, ISO 400, AV -2/3

Aerial view of Lesser Flamingos flying over lake near the shore with evaporated sodium compounds on lake surface, Lake Natron, Tanzania, Canon 5D MK3, Canon-24-105mm f4 IS lens @ 67mm, handheld, 1/8,000 sec, f4, ISO 400, AV at -1 & 1/3

In July and September last year I made two trips to Kenya’s Masai Mara but at the beginning of each I spent several hours in the air shooting images from a light aircraft with the doors removed on one side. It is an activity I have been doing annually since 2006 and to put it mildly, it is extremely addictive. I have written about this before so I’ll skip the details but it is not until you have spent many hours flying low over the ground that you get a true appreciation of how incredibly diverse Kenya’s geography is. For a country of its size, it is surely unmatched in its environmental diversity. While there are abundant attractions on its short grass savannahs, its tropical rain forests and reefs, its high alpine meadows and glaciers (yes – on Mt.Kenya), it is the splendours of the Great Rift Valley that for me trump everything else at least when viewed from the air. And within the Rift Valley, it is the many soda lakes that are arguably its most beguiling of features.

These lakes are periodically home to hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of predominantly Lesser Flamingos with smaller numbers of Great Flamingos also in attendance. The environment in an around some of these lakes is oppressively hostile with furnace like temperatures and waters that are often so caustic as to cause severe skin burns to human flesh. Yet somehow, microscopic algae species manage to thrive and multiple in the carbonate and phosphate-rich waters and it is this aquatic plant that forms the staple food source of the flamingos.

The algae is often concentrated into enormous slicks and while usually green in colour, on occasion, more spectacular colours form. As we approached Lake Bogoria, I could tell from a distance that something unusual was going on with large swathes of the lake green in colour vs the usual blue and light brown waters (where rivers enter the lake – high rainfall levels have this year turned much of the lake a coffee colour). As we got closer, the green algae slicks took on a paint-like, ephemeral appearance.

Aerial view of algae slick on Lake Bogoria, Kenya, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @105mm, handheld, 1/6,000 sec, f5.6, AV at 0, ISO 400

Algae slick, aerial shot, Lake Bogoria, Kenya, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @58mm, 1/8,000th sec, f4, AV at 0, ISO 320

While flamingo numbers at Bogoria were well down on usual levels, there were still good numbers feeding on the algae.

Lesser Flamingos walking through and feeding on algae slick, aerial shot, Lake Bogoria, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @70mm, handheld, 1/8,000th sec, f4, AV at -1, ISO 500

Heading north, we passed over lake Boringo before heading down the Seguta Valley with its spectacular ancient volcanic features. At the end of the valley lies a seasonal, soda lake, Lake Logipi which when filled with shallow water, is almost always home to huge congregations of flamingos. This year was no exception.

Thousands of Lesser Flamingos grouped tightly together, aerial shot, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens@200mm, handheld, 1/8,000th sec, f6.3, ISO 500, AV at -1

Unlike the green coloured algae that was visible on Lake Bogoria, the algae on Lake Logipi was an eye popping lime green interspersed with portions of pink.

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos, algae slick and volcanic island, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @32mm, handheld, 1/1,600th sec, f5.6, AV at -1/3, ISO500

Lesser Flamingos on shallow water lake beside algae slick, aerial shot, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @75mm, handheld, 1/2,000th sec, f5.6, AV at -2/3, ISO 500

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos walking through and flying by algae slick, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @200mm, handheld, 1\1,000th sec, f5.6, AV at -2\3, ISO 500

Algae slick, aerial shot, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @200mm, handheld, 1\2,000th sec, f5.6, AV at -1\3, ISO 500

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos walking through algae slick, Lake Logipi, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @180mm, handheld, 1\1,250th sec, f5.6, AV at -1\3, ISO 500

In part two of this series, I’ll be showing the surreal patterns of crystallising salt formed by evaporation, on Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. Stay tuned.

This year I again had two highly commended images in the prestigious Nature’s Best wildlife photo contest. The first image which was highly commended in the endangered species category, was taken on Midway Atoll in the North West Pacific on a day of pouring rain. I was completely alone the whole day; my fellow travellers preferring the shelter of the converted naval barracks that serve as accommodation on the island. But if you look at my four commended images from the last two years, three of them have been taken in the rain. So the lesson is pretty obvious. In order to get eye to eye with the birds I needed to lie prone on the ground. I found I could lie on my right side for longer durations, using the vertical grip shutter and holding the foot of the lens collar with my left hand. I was moving around amongst the birds quite a bit and in such situations I find a tripod too restrictive, hence my preference for hand holding. The other advantage of lying on the ground is that it allowed for the pleasing out of focus, dark green background which in turn helped bring out the falling rain. The final ingredient was the use of a little fill flash to emphasis the rain drops on the birds. I was constantly making small adjustments to my position in order to keep the birds as parallel to my camera as possible but I still needed a relatively small aperture to ensure some decent depth of field and this in turn required the use of a high ISO. The rest was down to patience as I waited for the birds to come together and affectionately nuzzle each other. Finally was a willingness to tolerate a thorough soaking. Albatross pairs mate for life but only come together for a few weeks of the year (every second year for some species). The affection they display towards each other is clear to see and this is what I wanted to capture with this image.

Black-Footed Albatrosses interacting in the rain, Midway Atoll, USA, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/640th sec, f9, ISO 2000, AV (-2/3rds), Canon 550 EX flash at -1 EV

The second image which was highly commended in the African Wildlife category, was also taken in the rain but in a very different geography, this time on the other side of the world in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve. When I first found this male it was mid-afternoon and he was sleeping under the shade of an acacia tree. For the next three and half hours that’s all he did. Then at about six thirty as the light was fading and the rain falling, a Lioness appeared on a nearby ridge. The Male rose to his feet roaring several times. The Lioness didn’t hang around and quickly disappeared. Three and a half hours of waiting for less than half a minute of activity. That’s pretty much the story of wildlife photography.

Male Lion roaring, Masai Mara, Kenya, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm IS f4 lens + Canon 1.4x TC, lens resting on beanbag on the side of the vehicle, 1/125th sec, f5.6, AV (-1/3 EV)

In mid-October I returned to the Southern Ocean for a special extended trip to South Georgia. If you were to ask several seasoned, wildlife photo pros to name their favorite wildlife destination on our planet, chances are that a large number would have South Georgia at the top of their list. The extreme remoteness of its location means that it receives few visitors each year and save for a handful of British Antarctic Survey staff, it is uninhabited. As a result it remains in pristine condition, teeming with an extraordinary collection of wildlife and containing, amongst others, the world’s largest colonies of King Penguins and Elephant Seals, all set against a majestic backdrop of tumbling glaciers and snowcapped mountains.  In many other wildlife destinations that I have journeyed to, large amounts of patience are required as you wait for the wildlife to actually do something. In South Georgia, the opposite is true. Indeed, one is often surrounded by so much wildlife and activity that it can be overwhelming at times. On some sites, the density of wildlife is so great that photography actually becomes quite challenging – framing and composing become difficult and you end up having to work hard to find clean lines and separation between the birds and animals. No one however, leaves South Georgia disappointed and it remains one of those rare locations where wildlife numbers are actually increasing. The contrast between my home in Asia, where almost every species is in decline, couldn’t be greater.

As usual, I kept no diary or even notes from the trip but I took plenty of photographic images, processing and labeling many along the way. Most non serious photographers take pictures in large because by freezing a moment in time, they help preserve memories and this is probably the most compelling feature of photography. I certainly don’t have the greatest powers of recollection but I would estimate that nearly 100% of the time, I could look at any of the decent image that I have taken over the last 10-12 years and instantly tell you when and where it was taken and most importantly, the story behind the image. So for me as well, viewing my own images helps to bring back memories and since I’m pretty much always a happy camper when I’m out photographing, even in climatic extremes, these memories almost always tend to be good ones.

After arriving in Santiago, Chile via Auckland, New Zealand (journey time from Hong Kong including seven hours at Auckland airport = 35 hours), I was fortunate to be able to join celebrated bird photographer and hands down the world’s best photographic teacher, Arthur Morris (www.birdsasart.com) for a morning of photography, an hour from Santiago near the coastal town of Vina Del Mar. Also joining us were super creative pro photographer, Denise Ippolito (www.densieippolito.com) and mega talented photographer, Clemens Vanderwerf (www.clemensvanderwerf.com). We were very generously hosted by Chile’s finest bird photographer, Osvaldo Larrain (www.osvaldolarrain.com).

Despite the dreary weather, we had good opportunities with Sea Lions, Pelicans and Aztec Terns.

Sea Lion in surf, Vina Del Mar, Chile, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm IS 2 lens, Gitzo tripod, 1/1,000th sec, f5, ISO 1,250, manual exposure

Aztec Tern in flight, Vina Del Mar, Chile, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, handheld, 1/ 2,000 sec, f5.6, ISO 800, manual exposure

The next day we flew to the Falkland Islands where we boarded our ship for the four day voyage to South Georgia. As usual at these latitudes, the ship was followed by a constant procession of seabirds, including a number of Albatross and Petrel species. While it is relatively easy to take fast shutter speed images of the birds in flight behind and alongside the ship, I set myself the task of improving on the slow shutter speed images that I made last year, concentrating on the swift and erratically flying Cape Petrels. After hundreds of efforts, I eventually produced this image, one of my all-time avian image favorites, with the feather details bought to life by the use of rear curtain sync, fill flash.

Cape Petrel flying over ocean surface, with motion, Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens at 98mm, handheld, 1/80th sec, f.13, ISO 50, manual exposure, Canon 580 EX flash at -1

At midday on our fourth day at sea, the distant outline of the north east shore of South Georgia began to take shape through the mist. By mid-afternoon we were in the zodiacs headed for shore at Elsehul. This is a site that is usually inaccessible due to hyper aggressive Fur Seals but being extremely early in the season, they were not so territorial and we were afforded a safe passage across the beach. After a short but difficult climb up through uneven tussock grass and mud covered terrain, we emerged onto the edge of steep cliffs below which nested Grey-Headed and Light Mantled Sooty Albatrosses. It was difficult to get decent images of the nesting birds as you were generally shooting straight down on them meaning that the best opportunities were of the birds in flight. I wish I had done better with the Grey-Heads as they are a phenomenally beautiful bird with their yellow and red bills.

Light Mantled Sooty Albatross flying over bay lined with snow dusted mountains, Elsehul, South Georgia, Cnon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @28mm, handheld, 1/800th sec, f9, ISO 640, manual exposure

Light Mantled Sooty Albatross flying past snow covered mountains, Elsehul, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1/800th sec, f5.6, ISO 1250, manual exposure

Grey Headed Albatross flying over sea, Elsehul, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1,000th sec, f5.6, ISO 640, manual exposure

Close to the landing site at the top of the beach, resided a large colony of Gentoo Penguins, many of whom were sitting on eggs. Those that were not, were largely engaged in nest building activities. From time to time, the Gentoos would throw back their heads and call loudly to their partners.

Gentoo Penguin with head and bill thrust into the air, Elsehul, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.3x TC, handheld ,1/320th sec, f8, ISO 1000, manual exposure

Overnight, we made the short passage along the north coast to Right Whale Bay. When I landed here last year, it was, to be frank, disappointing; essentially a bunch of King Penguins in a muddy gravel pit. But in arriving six weeks earlier this year, the valley and surrounding mountains were covered in snow and ice. The contrast couldn’t have been greater and this was definitely a venue for shorter lenses so that the Penguins could be shown against the magnificence of the towering snowy peaks.

King Penguin colony, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @130mm, handheld, 1/200th sec, f8, ISO 800, manual exposure

King Penguin walking in the snow against towering snow covered mountains, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens @98mm, handheld, 1/320th sec, f10, ISO 640, manual exposure

Ice patterns over stones, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lens @35mm, handheld,1/125th sec, f13, ISO 400, manual exposure

King Penguin group standing ice, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @24mm, handheld, 1/125th sec, f13, ISO 250, manual exposure

Back on the ship for lunch, we made a short repositioning to Prion Island. Here the main attractions are Wandering Albatrosses with juveniles on nests readily visible. A boardwalk was constructed that leads from the beach up to the nesting sites a few years ago. While this now makes the upward traverse quite simple, it does mean that your movements are restricted to the boardwalk, preventing the dramatic, close-up images of the birds with outstretched wings overlooking the sea and distant mountains, made famous by Frans Lanting.

However, back on the beach, I did manage to make this image of an adult male Elephant Seal (aka, the beach master) “cuddling” a female. As you can see, the size difference is quite extraordinary while the scarring on the male is the result of the endless battles he must fight to protect his harem of females from rival males.

Male Elephant Seal embracing female, Prion Island, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens, @200mm, handheld, 1/640th sec, f7.1, ISO 640, manual exposure

The next morning we found ourselves further down the north east coast, at Fortuna Bay, a beautiful glaciated valley fronted by a well-protected Bay. This was a productive site image wise for me last year. This year with snow covering much of the ground and overcast skies eliminating any harsh shadows, conditions were close to perfect for photography.

Panoramic view of Fortuna Bay (3 stitched images), 5D MK3, 24-105mm f4 IS lens @24mm, handheld, 1/250th sec, f11, manual exposure, South Georgia

King Penguin juxtoposed against two other King Penguins in the background, Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens + 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/500th sec, f10, ISO 500, manual exposure

King Penguin scratching its face with foot, Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 l lens, 1.4x Canon TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/640th sec, f10, ISO 640, manual exposure

At one end of the site there is an open plain adjacent to a glacier below which lies a large King Penguin colony, populated at this time of the year by sizeable numbers of “Oakum boys”, the nickname given to the fluffy brown, juvenile King Penguins. As they huddled together for warmth, adult Kings would occasional venture into the group to seek out and feed their youngsters. I had previsualised the second image shown here, with the colorful splash of the adult’s head and neck feathers contrasting with the uniform browns of the juveniles.

King Penguin chick begging for food from two adults, Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, Gitzo tripod, 1/400th sec, f13, ISO 800, manual exposure

Adult King Penguin surrounded by chicks, Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, Gitzo tripod, 1/250th sec, f11, ISO 500, manual exposure

After some early morning zodiac cruising around Ocean Harbor (in reality a sizeable bay), on one side of which sits the wreck of the iron hulled three-masted barque, Bayard, now home to a colony of some 80 South Georgia Shags, we moved down the coast to Cumberland Bay to anchor at Grytviken, the largest of South Georgia’s ancient whaling stations and home to the Island’s only few inhabitants. Much of the old whaling station is open to visitors and like last year, I took some funky HDR images. The new Canon pro bodies, the 1DX and 5D MK 3 feature both in-camera HDR as well as multiple frame exposure capabilities. A big thanks to Denise Ippolito for showing me how to work these (as it turns out, they are extremely simple to use). The following image is a three frame, in-camera image of rusting paint on an old ship with the camera being moved horizontally,  vertically and then diagonally during each of the respective frames. Pretty cool eh?

Peeling paint, three in-camera exposures, Gretviken, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @105mm, handheld, 1/2nd, f22, ISO 100, manual exposure

Those of you who have read my blog from last year’s South Georgia trip will know the reverence that most attach to Saint Andrews Bay, which is often regarded as the jewel in South Georgia’s crown. It is unquestionably one of our planet’s truly great wildlife sites, being home to the world’s largest King Penguin colony where up to 160,000 adult pairs gather with at least an additional 50,000 juveniles. It is also home to South Georgia’s largest breeding population of Elephant Seals with our arrival being timed to coincide with peak breeding numbers of 6,000. So thick was the beach and shoreline with these blubbery, submarine sized creatures that passage across large sections of the beach was impossible. But it is not just the animals, it is also the setting. The following stitched panoramic image only does a tiny amount of justice (and the small jpg is doing no favours either) to the incredible vista that lies spread out in front of you once you have climbed a small ridge set back a little distance from the beach.

Panoramic view of King Penguin colony at Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia (5 stitched images), Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @28mm, handheld, 1/400th sec, f13, ISO 500, manual exposure

This image was taken in the middle of the day when the sun had long disappeared to be replaced by low hanging cloud and intermittent sleet. But early in the morning when I first landed, a low sun was out, the air was crisp and clear and a throng of Kings came down to the water’s edge to greet us. The last image in this series featured a moment of serendipity with a large flock of Shags flying towards and over me.

King Penguins on the shore line of Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @47mm, handheld, 1/640th sec, f16, ISO 400, manual exposure

King Penguins standing on beach in shore surf, Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @73mm, 1/320th sec, f11, ISO 500, manual exposure

King Penguin group headed out to sea, wide-angle, Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @70mm, handheld, 1/320th sec, f11, ISO, manual exposure

Elephant Seal and King Penguins on the shore line with Imperial Shags flying in the sky, Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia, same equipment as previous, 1/125th sec, f13, ISO 400, manual exposure

At midday I was up on the ridge that overlooks the bay. Before taking the earlier panoramic image, we had two adult Kings standing nicely on the ridge line overlooking the colony of Oakum boys and adults. I was sitting down a few feet from these two when two more adults walked into the frame.

King Penguins on a ridge overlooking thousands of adult and juvenile King Penguins, Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm F4 IS lens @50mm, handheld, 1/125th sec, f11, ISO 500, manual exposure

I then moved a little further down the ridge to where a some of the juvenile Oakum boys were interacting with adults. I needed to keep some distance from the birds so as not to disturb them. At the same time, the juveniles would harass their parents for food and hence both parent and offspring were in a constant state of motion. In these situations, a tripod just slows you down so this next image was made with the new Canon 600mm lens resting on my knee.

King Penguin chick begging for food from adult, Saint Andrews Bay, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, handheld resting on knee, 1/1,000 sec, f7.1, ISO 400, manual exposure

I was told by one of my fellow travelers that a long way back from the beach on one side of the bay, were a series of glacial melt lakes on which one could sometimes find Penguins. So I walked for 30-40 minutes until I reached the lakes only to find there were no Penguins near the water. However, there were several Antarctic Skuas, all engaged in vigorous bathing activity. The birds would duck their heads under the water at high speed, pause and then rise up in the water to flap their wings.

Antarctic Skua bathing, flapping wings, glacial melt lake, Saint Andrews Bay, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS lens, 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/2,000 sec, f5.6, manual exposure

Later on while I was down towards the beach photographing a large group of King Penguins huddled together, I had another go at shooting multiple in-camera frames, again moving the camera a little for each image.

King Penguins, multiple exposures, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 600mm f4 IS lens + 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/ 5th sec, f45, ISO 100, manual exposure

Back on the beach, the sheer density of Elephant Seals made movement difficult but I wasn’t the only one whose progress was being impeded by these goliaths. King Penguins returning from sea would often find their route back to the colony and their youngsters blocked and would have to gingerly pick their way through the seals, often being forced to make major detours. The breaking wave and spray are what makes this next image really work.

King Penguin walking between Elephant Seals with breaking wave spray in the background, St Andrews Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, Gitzo tripod, 1/400th sec, f13, ISO 400, manual exposure

Another fabulous day came to an abrupt end when the captain of our ship deemed that the swell around the bay was getting to the point of making boarding the ship from the zodiacs dangerous.

Overnight we sailed further south to the southeast corner of the island and into the spectacular Drygalski fjord. Later we made a short zodiac cruise in Larsen harbor. The following image was made as we were cruising out of the fjord.

Imperial Shag silhouetted against snow capped mountains by sea, Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens @160mm, handheld, 1/640th sec, f11, ISO 200, manual exposure

From there we rounded Cape Disappointment and proceeded up the south west coast of South Georgia. Few vessels venture to this side of the island, being much more exposed to the prevailing winds, but the scenery is wild and spectacular. Our ship was again trailed by large numbers of birds. Here, two Light Mantled Sooty Albatrosses glide alongside the ship as high winds whip by. Foreboding though the weather conditions may seem, these are perfect conditions for Albatrosses which spend most of their lives on the wing out at sea.

Two Light Mantled Sooty Albatrosses flying over stormy seas with the south west coast of South Georgia in the background, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1,1250th sec, f8, manual exposure

We had hoped to make one or two landings on the west side of the island but unfavourable weather conditions made this impossible. Instead, having circumnavigated the island, we continued along the north coast to one of South Georgia’s gems, Salisbury Plain. Rather than going straight to the main bay, we went first to one of the smaller bays, Salisbury Plain Ample Bay. After a short hike up from the beach, we emerged onto a snow covered plateau surrounded by mountains with decent numbers of King Penguins and female Elephant seals.

At some point during mid-morning, the weather closed in and it began to snow, with brief blizzard like conditions. The King Penguin groups huddled together, facing away from the snow flurries.

King Penguin colony during snow storm, Sailsbury Plain Ample Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens +1.4x TC, handheld, 1/200th sec, f16, ISO 500, manual exposure

Towards the end of the landing, I spent nearly an hour with a group of extremely playful female Cape Fur Seals. Making the following image of two females rising up in the air before coming together was not easy as a great deal of persistence was needed to get just one image where their bodies and head were both symmetrical and parallel to my camera.

Fur Seal females playing, Salisbury Plain, Ample Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens, 1.4x TC, handheld, 1,1000 sec, f8, ISO 640, manual exposure

Over lunch the ship made a short repositioning to the more well known, Salisbury Plain, landing site. This is is home to 60,000 breeding pairs of King Penguins, huge numbers of juvenile Kings and one of the largest Elephant Seal populations on South Georgia. I spent most of my time on the beach, initially focusing on tight, close-up images of the colouration on the heads and neck of adult King Penguins…

King Penguin head and neck patterns, Sailsbury Plain, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/320th sec, f14, ISO 1,250, manual exposure

…before moving on to close-focus, wide-angle images of the Penguins, Elephant Seals and Cape Fur Seals. In these images, an angle finder proved invaluable. This is a small, vertical view finder that attaches to the camera’s own view finder which allows you to get the camera and lens right down on the ground but without killing your neck in the process.

Close-focus, wide-angle image of King Penguin peering out to sea from beach, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @65mm, camera and lens resting on beach, Canon angle finder, 1/320th sec, f14, ISO 400, manual exposure

King Penguins walking past Elephant Seal, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 IS lens @70mm, Canon angle finder, camera and lens resting on ground, 1/400th sec, f13, ISO 640, manual exposure

Male and female Fur Seal interacting on the beach, Salisbury Plain, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 88mm, Canon angle finder, camera resting and lens on ground, manual exposure, 1,320th sec, f13, ISO 800

Overnight we sailed down the coast, repositioning at Cooper Bay which is often an elusive site due to aggressive Fur Seals and high swells at the beach landing site. The main attraction here is a colony of Macaroni Penguins, viewable among the tussock grass but only after a steep hike up from the beach. Normally this involves scrambling up a muddy cliff but when we awoke in the morning, heavy snow had fallen overnight and continued to fall throughout the duration of the landing.

While there were some good opportunities with the Macaronis as shown here with this one calling in the snow, I spent much of my time concentrating on other avian species.

Macaroni Penguin in the snow, calling, Cooper Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/500th sec, f10, ISO 640, manual exposure

Snowy Sheathbill standing in the snow, Cooper Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, 1/ 640th sec, f6.3, ISO 500, manual exposure

Snowy Sheathbill flying in snowstorm, with motion, Cooper Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens, 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/200th sec, f6.3, ISO 160, manual exposure

In the above image I deliberately chose a relatively slow shutter speed to ensure some motion would be visible in the wings while also allowing for some streaking of the falling snow flakes. In the following image I switched back to a faster shutter speed as the Albatrosses rarely flap their wings, instead relying on their supreme gliding capabilities.

Light Mantled Sooty Albatross flying through falling snow, Cooper Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/800th sec, f8, ISO 500, manual exposure

Towards the end of the landing, we had a lot of fun with waves of Gentoo Penguins returning from fishing trips out at sea which then had to make their way up steep, snow covered slopes to get back to their colonies. In this next image, the prime attraction is the raised orange foot.

Gentoo Penguin walking through the snow with raised foot, Cooper Bay, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/800th sec, f8, ISO 500, manual exposure

Back on the ship, we made the short sail to Gold Harbour. When we landed, we found the beach thick with Elephant Seals which although restricting our movements, provided plenty of photographic opportunities. As rain and sleet fell, steam rose up from the seals, amplifying the already misty conditions. Once again, I was particularly attracted to the difficulties that the Penguins, in this case Gentoos, were having in trying to thread their way through the near impassable blockade created by the densely packed Seals.

Gentoo Penguin standing in Elephant Seal colony, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens +1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/30th sec, f14, ISO 200, manual exposure

Gentoo Penguin standing in giant colony of Elephant Seals, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/ 30th sec, f16, ISO 200, manual exposure

Later we had opportunities with the Gentoos as they surfed in on the waves to the beach. This is not as easy as it looks as the Penguins remain submerged below the waves until the very last second making tracking them through a long lens extremely difficult.

Gentoo Penguin surfing through the shore break, Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, handheld, resting on knee, 1/1,250th sec, f5.6, ISO 1250, manual exposure

Overnight we sailed all the way back to the top of the island for a planned landing at Godthul. I boarded the zodiac in heavy rain, which had intensified even further by the time I landed. I stood on the beach for about a minute, quickly deducing that the wildlife opportunities appeared limited while I didn’t want to give my already soaked camera gear another drenching. So I hopped back on the zodiac and went straight back to the ship.

In the afternoon, we had time for one last landing on South Georgia, again at Right Whale Bay. Even in the space of two weeks, large portions of the snow and ice which we had earlier encountered at this site had melted, reducing the scenic attractiveness. I again made good use of the angle finder to produce this image of a group of extremely curious King Penguins. So curious were they that I regularly had to back up to include all of them in the frame.

Close-focus, wide-angle image of King Penguins on the snow at Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm f4 lens @ 70mm, Canon angle finder, 1/160th sec, f.11, ISO 500, manual exposure

Once back on the ship, we immediately set sail for the Falkland Islands. By southern Ocean standards, conditions during the 3.5 day crossing were relatively benign. On the morning of the fourth day we found ourselves anchored in the sheltered confines of a wide bay at Sealion Island in the southern Falklands.

There is a large variety of wildlife on Sealion Island but probably most prized is the large colony of Rockhopper Penguins. The problem is that to reach them requires a 6km hike either way, much of it uphill on the way there. Without a large assortment of heavy camera equipment to carry, this would be a comfortable stroll but weighed down as I was, the last parts of each “walk” were quite strenuous. As it turned out, I didn’t make any images of Rockhoppers that I really liked and ended up spending more time with the Striated Caracaras, the closest equivalent to the Vultures of the plains of East Africa.

Striated Caracara on sea cliff edge, Sealion Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 24-105 f4 IS lens @65mm, lens and camera resting on ground, angle finder,1/1,000th sec, f9, ISO 400, manual exposure

Later on I focused on several smaller bird species on an inland lake including this Two Banded Plover.

Two banded Plover on lake, eye level, Sealion Island, Falkland Islands, 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS lens +1.4x TC, lens resting on muddy lake shore, 1/2,500 sec, f7.1, ISO 400, manual exposure

Before we reboarded the ship we were able to have another go at surfing Gentoo Penguins. This time I tried for something different, slowing the shutter speed right down to capture the motion of the breaking surf with a splash of colour provided by the Gentoo’s colourful bill.

Gentoo Penguin beneath breaking wave, with motion, Sealion Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC at 280mm, handheld, 1/ 15th sec, f18, ISO 50, manual exposure

One of the main reasons I signed up for this trip so long ago was the inclusion of a full day landing on remote Steeple Jason Island, located on the extreme north west of the Falkland Islands and part of the Jason Island group. With its twin pinnacles, it is a dramatic island and fully exposed to the elements. While the environment is hostile to man, the high winds that slam into the island make it a perfect destination for Albatrosses and it is no coincidence that it is the largest breeding ground for Black-Browed Albatrosses with 220,000 breeding pairs along its three miles of coastline.

To reach the birds is no easy task with a steep hike up from a rocky landing site before one is greeted by head high tussock grass, often unsurpassable. The density of birds, most of them sitting on mud-sculptured nests, is incredible and is accompanied by a wall of shrill like whistles, grunts and screams overlain with distinctive bill clapping.

Fish-eye view of Black-Browed Albatross overlooking Albatross colony, Steeple Jason Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens, handheld, 1/400th sec, f13, ISO 400, manual exposure

The Black-Browed Albatrosses are beautiful birds with a cover girl appearance - their feathers appear almost air-brushed, their eyes and brows seemingly the work of a make-up artist and their flesh coloured bills tapering to a gorgeous reddish hue at the tip.

Black-Browed Albatross face portrait, Steeple Jason Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8, IS lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, 1/400th sec, f14, ISO 640, manual exposure

In the early afternoon it began to pour with rain. This sent the nesting birds into a frenzy of activity as they took advantage of the more pliable mud to shore up and further sculpt their nests. It also provided opportunities for more in-camera multiple exposures.

Black Browed Albatross colony blur, Steeple Jason Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105mm lens @ 105mm, handheld, 5 in-camera exposures, manual exposure, 1/60 sec, f.13, ISO 400

Dotted around the colony were the ubiquitous Caracaras, on the lookout for exposed Albatross eggs and once these hatch, for unattended chicks. Despite their unappealing scavenging tactics, it was hard not to feel just a little sympathy as they shivered in the falling rain.

Striated Caracara in the rain, Steeple Jason Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens + 1.4x TC, 1/125th sec, f 7.1, ISO 250, manual exposure, Canon 550 EX flash (-1), better beamer

While my Gortex clothing did a decent job of keeping me dry, my thin gloves were thoroughly soaked and my hands grew increasingly cold and numb. By mid-afternoon it was time to call it a day and so I headed back to the ship, a hot shower beckoning. Before that though, there were some good opportunities with Giant Petrels around the ship as they took off and landed on the ocean surface. In this image, I again made use of a slowish shutter speed – fast enough to keep the head sharp but slow enough to blur the bird’s pumping feet.

Giant Petrel taking off from ocean surface, Steeple Jason Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1/125th sec, f16, ISO 200, manual exposure

For our last day in the Falklands, we sailed down to New Island in the western Falklands. We started off at the north side of the island where a Black-Browed Albatross colony is perched on a dramatic cliffed landscape a half mile from the landing site. There was plenty of opportunities for images of the Albatrosses interacting with each other although getting decent head angles was much more challanging.

Two adult Black-Browed Albatrosses on the edge of a cliff, overlooking sea, courting, New Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 24-105m f4 IS lens @82mm, handheld, 1/640th sec, f11, ISO 500, manual exposure

Black-Browed Albtrosses courting, New Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS 2 lens, handheld, manual exposure, 1/640th sec, f9, ISO 500

The distant blue ocean made a beautiful backdrop for tight, intimate portraits of the Albatrosses.

Black-Browed Albatross preening, New Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 600mm f4 IS lens + 1.4x TC, Gitzo tripod, 1/800th sec, f10, ISO160, manual exposure

At midday we made a 20 minute zodiac ride across a wide bay to South Harbour and the nearby Settlement Rookery. We again encountered Black-Browed Albatrosses along the cliffs as well as Rockhopper Penguins but the main attraction was the endless streams of inbound Imperial Shags in flight carrying nesting material in their bills.

Imperial Shag flying, carrying kelp to be used as nesting material, New Island, Falkland Islands, Canon 5D MK3, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1/2,000 sec, f7.1, ISO 500, manual exposure

Back on the ship we immediately set sail for Ushuaia at the very southern end of Argentina, in order to beat a fast approaching storm.  Although the last 24 hours saw us encounter gale force winds and huge seas, the passage felt relatively smooth with the ship facing almost directly into the wind and waves thereby avoiding any severe rolling motion. Not far from the entrance to the shelter of the Beagle Channel, we encountered a fishing vessel surrounded by what seemed like hundreds, possibly even thousands of sea birds. As we sailed by they switched their attention to us and for the next hour or two we had a huge procession of birds flying behind the stern of the ship. I again tried for something a little different photographic wise, shooting at just 1/20th of a second. Somehow, I managed to get the ocean relatively sharp while capturing the motion of the birds. With the scence almost monochromatic, a black & white conversion was an obvious choice.

Cape Petrels, Giant Petrels and Albatrosses flying blur, Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean, Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 IS lens, handheld, 1/ 20th sec, f.13, manual exposure, ISO 100

A few hours after this image was taken we entered the calmer waters of the Beagle Channel from where we made our way to the port of Ushuaia, disembarking the next morning. All in all it had been a tremendous trip; one that will forever remain lodged in my memory. I made a number of good friends on the trip and the ship’s crew and expedition staff were exemplary. While it may be a few more years before I return to the wonders of the Southern Ocean, this is a destination that will surely pull me back again.

In late April I returned for a week to Midway Atoll for my fifth visit in four years and my sixth in total. Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with my unbridled enthusiasm for Midway, one of the world’s truly great wildlife destinations. It is a special, special place and one which I will try to return to on an annual basis assuming visitor services remain intact. This year I travelled with a smaller group than normal and apart from meal times, I was pretty much on my own the whole time. Perfect. Just me, the birds and the beautiful atoll environment.

Midway is home to approximately three quarters of the world’s breeding population of Laysan Albatrosses. Including chicks, they number almost one million. Midway also hosts approximately 60,000 Black-Footed Albatrosses, comprising 35% of the global population of the species and the largest colony of its kind on this planet. On my previous visits, I have largely concentrated on the Laysans simply because they are more numerous but this year I spent much of my time in an area populated by large numbers of Black-Footed Albatrosses with the aim of increasing my image portfolio of this species.

Everything about Albatrosses can be described as superlative and immense: from their longevity (up to 60 years) to their flight endurance (a minimum of three million miles in an average life, equivalent to flying around the earth at the equator three times per year), to their enormous wing spans. The Laysans and Black-Footed Albatrosses are among the smaller of the Albatross species yet still have wing spans of seven to eight feet.

One of the advantages of spending long periods in the company of wild animals is that after a while, you start to get familiar with their behavior patterns. When the Black-Footed Albatrosses land, they will typically spend a few minutes grooming themselves after which they will undertake a big wing stretch, followed by a shake of the wings. To take this first image, I was able to crawl on my belly up to this Albatross after it landed. With the bird only a few feet away from me, I kept the camera viewfinder glued to my eye (in fact I was using an angle-finder attached to the viewfinder so that I could get the lowest possible perspective). As soon as the wing stretch occurred I was ready with the shutter.

Black-Footed Albatross stretching wings, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 5D MK2, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lens @16mm, Hoya polariser filter, angle-finder, camera resting on sand, AV (at zero), 1/400th sec, f9, ISO 400

Slightly larger and shyer than the Laysans, they also have a different, more frantic courtship dance – one which involves plenty of rapid-fire head shakes as opposed to the more measured head bobbing favoured by the Laysans. For these next two images, I again used a wide-angle lens at or close to the widest focal length, and an angle finder. The birds appeared completely oblivious to my presence, at one point even stepping on my arm as I lay in the sand and I found that I was constantly having to shove myself backwards in the sand in order to distance myself from the birds so that I could include both in the frame.

Black-Footed Albatross pair engaged in courtship dance on a beach overlooking lagoon, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 5D MK2, Canon 16-35 f2.8 lens @17mm, Hoya circular polariser filter, angle finder, camera resting on sand, AV (at zero), 1/640th sec, f8, ISO 400

Black-Footed Albatross pair engaged in courtship dance on a beach overlooking lagoon at Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 5D MK2, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lens @17mm, Hoya circular polariser, angle finder, camera resting on sand, AV, 1/640th sec, f8, ISO 500

 This next image of courting Black-Footed Albatrosses was taken at sunset using a 300mm telephoto lens, with the white balance on the camera manually set at 8,000 kelvin to accentuate the sunset colours and with a fair amount of under exposure dialed in to render the birds as silhouettes.

Black-Footed Albatross pair engaged in courtship dance, silhouetted at sunset, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens handheld, AV (-1), 1/640 sec, f8, ISO 400, manual white balance at 8,000k.

Aside from the courtship dancing, I wanted to capture the interaction between both the adult pairs and the adults and their chicks. In order to get down to eye-level with the birds, I shot all of the following images lying on the ground, on my side, handholding the camera and lens, which comprised a 300mm f2.8 lens usually with a 1.4x converter. I found lying on my side and using the shutter release on the vertical side of the camera afforded me the most comfort when lying in this position for long periods of time. The birds were rarely if ever still which made focusing difficult but if I could get parallel to the birds, using all 45 focusing points on the Mark IV, focusing worked quite well. I positioned myself so that the background was a dark distant Ironwood tree forest. The telephoto lens helped to render this to a fairly uniform dark or medium green. I knew I needed a relatively small aperture to increase depth of field in order to keep both birds (or most of them) in focus but with the dark background and often overcast conditions, I was regularly fighting for sufficient shutter speed and needed to regularly crank up the ISO to levels of 1600+. 

Black-Footed Albatross couple nuzzling, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1), 1/320 sec, f8, ISO 2,000.

 The adult birds often travel hundreds of miles out to sea on long distance foraging trips and once the chicks are more than 4-6 weeks old, the adults can be away for periods of up to three weeks. Not surprisingly, when they return to their nesting sites on Midway, they are greeted by a ravenous chick. 

Black-Footed Albatross chick begging for food, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-2/3), 1/640 sec, f8, ISO 2,000

Adult Black-Footed Albatross feeding chick regurgitated squid/fish/fish eggs, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-2/3), 1/500 sec, f8, ISO 2,000

If there’s one single piece of advice I would give to budding photographers it is this: if you have the chance and especially if your background is dark, always, always shoot back lit. 

Adult Black-Footed Albatross having just fed its chick, with remains of regurgitated fish/squid paste visible in chick's bill, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1 1/3rd), 1/800 sec, f9. ISO 1,600.

Black-Footed Albatross pair grooming in the rain, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1 2/3rds), 1/640 sec, f9, ISO 2,000, fill flash with Canon 580 EX 2 speedlight at -2.

 

Black-Footed Albatross pair in the rain, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1 2/3), 1/640 sec, f9, ISO 2000, Canon 580 EX 2 speedlight fill flash at -2.

 

 

Adult Black-Footed Albatross shaking wet feathers, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1 1/3), 1/500 sec, f8, ISO1600, Canon 580 EX2 speedlight at -2.

 The downy feathered chicks take on comical appearances when wet, almost as if they had gone a little heavy on the hair-gel… 

Rain-sodden Balck-Footed Albatross chick, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1), 1/320, f9, ISO 2000, Canon 580 EX2 at -2.

Rain sodden Laysan Albatross chick, with spiky wet feathers, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1 1/3), 1/400th sec, f9, ISO 1,600, Canon 580 EX2 speedlight at -2.

 I didn’t ignore the Laysans and took these candid images of the adults interacting among themselves and with their chicks.

Courting Laysan Albatross pair. "sword fighting" with bills, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1), 1/2000 sec, f9, ISO 1600

Laysan Albatross chick begging for food from its parent, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1), 1/2000, f9, ISO 1600, Canon 580 EX2 speedlight at -2.

 

Laysan Albatross chick begging for food from its parent, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, 300mm f2.8 lens, handheld, AV (-2/3), 1/1000 sec, f9, ISO 1600

One of the things you learn as your photography improves is the importance of backgrounds in your images. Quite often, I’ll become attracted to a background before any subject materialises. Often you need a lot of patience in these sorts of situations. Underwater, I’ve sometimes spent nearly a whole dive positioned in front of a colourful Sea Fan waiting for the right fish to swim by in front of it.

Half way down the international sized runway on Midway’s main island, there are several large Sea Grape trees which always seem to have a mass of brown and red leaves and which contrast nicely with the green coloured Ironwood trees on either side as well as the brilliant yellow flowers of the Verbasinia plants nearer to the ground. I had noticed that the Albatrosses would regularly fly past the trees and I thought that if I used a slow shutter speed and panned with the birds, sometimes using a little fill flash, that I might get some interesting images. Blurs are very much a matter of personal taste with my own preference being for the eyes and head of the subject to be relatively sharp but in the case of flying birds, for the wings to be blurred. This means that you do not want to use a very slow shutter speed. Depending on the speed of the flying bird, anything from 1/20th to 1/60th of a second usually works best. 

Laysan Albatross flying past Sea Grape tree, with motion, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, manual exposure, 1/60 sec, f11, ISO 50

 

Laysan Albatross flying past Sea Grape tree and Verbasinia plants, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, manual exposure, 1/60 sec, f13, ISO 50, Canon 580 EX2 at -2 2/3, Better Beamer.

 I had purposely chosen to go as late as possible during the visitor season in the hope that some of the White Tern chicks would have hatched. While I was able to locate several adults sitting on eggs, I was unable to find any chicks apart from two on my one day visit to nearby Eastern Island. Unfortunately neither of these was in a particularly photographic position. I still spent plenty of time with the adults as they really are my favourite bird – so pretty and elegant. If you are in any doubt, look at this beautiful specimen.

Adult White Tern on Ironwood tree branch, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens with 1.4x TC, handheld, AV (-1/3), 1/400sec, f9, ISO 640, Canon 580 EX2 speedlight at -2 1/3.

 I also witnessed a piece of behaviour that I had not seen before. On many occasions I have seen adult White Terns feed their chicks fish. So when I found an adult with a fish in its bill perched on a low tree branch, I felt certain that there must be a chick nearby. I looked and looked but found nothing. The adult remained in the same position for nearly an hour during which time it kept lifting its head and scanning the branches above it. I began to wonder if there had been a chick higher up which had either fallen from its perch – something that is not uncommon given that White Terns do not build nests, leaving the chicks vulnerable during high winds. But with no signs of any chick on the ground, I speculated that perhaps the chick had been taken by an avian predator such as a Great Frigate bird. Suddenly there was a swish of white in the upper branches and I looked up to see another adult Tern alight above the lower one. The latter immediately took flight, landing beside its companion to which it promptly offered the fish to and which was greedily accepted. When I asked the resident biologists about this, I was told that this was part of White Tern courtship behaviour.

Adult White Tern holding fish in its bill, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC + 37mm of extension tube, handheld, AV (-1/3), 1/320 sec, f6.3, ISO 640, Canon 580 EX2 speedlight at -2 1/3.

Midway is home to two other Tern species - Sooty and Gray-Backed Terns. It is also home to two Noddy species – Brown and Black Noddies. There are 6,000 nesting pairs of Black Noddies on Midway and in certain areas they can be seen high up in the Ironwood trees, sitting on their nests. Sometimes though they can also be seen out in the open; in this case perched on a sea wall overlooking Midway’s lagoon. This particular bird tolerated a remarkably close approach – to the minimum distance of my 300mm lens. I sat with it over a long period of time, during which it largely dozed in the breezed. But every now and then, another bird would fly sufficiently close to elicit a warning call. I had no idea the Noddy’s tongue was quite so long and vividly colored! 

Black Noddy calling, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, handheld, manual exposure, 1,000 sec, f8, ISO 400

After last year’s experimentation with remote wireless triggers and running Albatrosses, I came prepared to try again this year. For those of you who missed lat year’s blog, the idea is to take close-focus, fish-eye images of running Albatrosses by burying ziploc bag-encased cameras with fisheye lenses and with manual wireless triggers attached to the cameras, in the sand, along the natural sand “runways” that the Albatrosses run along at high speed in order to take flight. The camera shutters are triggered wirelessly by yours truely as I wait hidden behind the bushes or dunes that line the runway. All camera settings are fixed in advance (once in the bags in the sand, these are hard to change). I used an AV setting, dialling in some compensation depending on the sun/cloud conditions and focusing was switched to manual. Many times I would be set up eg for sunny conditions and a cloud would cover the sun just as the birds ran over or past the camera resulting in underexposure. Then I would set up for cloudy conditions, dialling in +ve exposure, and the sun would come out. I used two camera bodies, a Canon 5D MK 2 and a Canon 1D MK 4 with a 15mm fish-eye lens on the 5D and an 8-15mm zoom lens on the MK4. Given that the images were typically taken at distances of 4ft or less, anything more than 15mm on the 5D and about 11mm on the Mk4 (which has a 1.3x cropped sensor) is not wide enough. Strangely, I found that 8-15mm lens even when set at the equivalent focal length on the MK4 as the 15mm on the 5D, required 2/3rds to a full stop more of light. Despite all these technical issues, the greatest challenge was hoping the birds would run directly at and over the camera (or should I say, lens, since that is all that was poking out of the sand); and secondly, trying to press the manual triggers at the exact moment when the birds were just in front or over the lens – a very challenging proposition given the speed with which they run at.

The vast majority of images had only bits of Albatross in the frame or were poorly exposed, but very occassionaly I got lucky. I think I have improved from last year but am still striving for that “killer” image. Here is a very small sampling from this year.

Laysan Albatross taking flight, close-focus, fish-eye, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 5D MK2, Canon 15mm fish-eye lens, AV, 1/8000 sec, f9 (-1/3), ISO 1,250

  

Laysan Albatross taking flight, close-focus, wide-angle, Midway Atoll, USA . Canon 5D MK2, Canon 15mm fisheye lens, AV, 1/5,000th sec, f8 (-1/3), ISO 1,250

This next image may just be my all time favorite image that I have taken. It’s exactly the kind of different image I want to take; one where the viewer has to think for a moment in terms of what he or she is actually looking at. In case you’re still wondering, I had positioned the camera and lens so that the lens was pointing directly up at the sky. The image shows an Albatross about to step on the lens. The white sand acts as a giant reflector helping to illuminate the bottom of the foot while the sun from above helps to bring out the translucent qualities of the foot and the veins inside it. I’m presenting a full frame image here, but it could probably be improved by cropping out the sunlit portion in the upper right

Laysan Albatross, close-focus, wide-angle, showing transluscent webbed foot, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 5D MK2, Canon 15mm fish-eye lens, AV, 1/3,200 sec, f8 (-2/3), ISO 1,250

 

Laysan Albatross just after taking flight, close-focus, fish-eye, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 8-15mm @11mm, AV, 1/6,400 sec, f8, ISO 1,250

 

Laysan Albatross running to take flight, close-focus, fish-eye, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1D MK4, Canon 8-15mm lens @ 11mm, AV, 1/8,000th sec, f8, ISO 1,250

No trip to Midway is complete without spending time photographing the courting Red-Tailed Tropicbirds. 5,000 pairs of these birds nest on the ground of Midway between February and August, typically at the base of vegetation. The birds have extremely small legs, and feet set so far back on their bodies that they can barely walk. Walking in fact is an exaggeration for their movements on the ground are much closer to crawling. However, once in the air, it is a different story. In the middle of the day especially when the sun is out, large numbers can be seen above Midway’s beaches performing their acrobatic courtship flights. The birds circle, hover and even fly backwards, sometimes in unison with other birds, the sun shining through their brilliant white feathers and their long red tail streamers switching back and forth.

Red-Tailed Tropicbird in flight, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens +1.4x TC, manual exposure, 1/2,000 th sec, f8, ISO 400

 

Red-Tailed Tropic bird hovering during courtship flight, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens, handheld, manual, 1/1,250 sec, f7.1, ISO 400

 

 

Red-Tailed Tropicbird hovering during courtship display, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x TC, handheld, manual exposure, 1/1,250 sec, f8, ISO 400

 

Red-Tailed Tropicbird pair performing courtship flight, Midway Atoll, USA. Canon 1DMK4, Canon 300mm f2.8 lens, handheld, manual exposure, 1/1,250 sec, f7.1, ISO 400

And so another Midway trip came to an all too soon end. Sadly, as I write, there now seems a very real chance that future visitor services maybe suspended due to budget constraints. Fingers crossed that this does not happen, but if it does, I will always treasure my times on this seabird Eden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to boarding school in Dublin, Ireland from the ages of 7-18 although my home during this time was in Hong Kong– as it still is today. The first school, to the age of 13, wasn’t too bad, but my abiding memories from the second, were of being almost permanently cold and hungry. The school was situated in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains and seemed to have been designed so that it had maximum exposure to any sort of inclement weather. While hardly Southern California or the Mediterranean, Dublin is not a city renowned for its cold and windy weather but my school had its own special micro-climate. Snow was frequent, rain near constant and gale force winds a feature for most of the year. In nearly six years, I can barely recall a single warm, let alone hot day. All of this was amplified by the almost total lack of heating; huge, concrete, bunker-style dormitories with large curtain free windows which our housemaster insisted be kept open at all time – although to be fair, the smell from 25 adolescent boys must have been horrifying. Interruptions to the feeble hot water system were a regular occurrence. In my junior years, one of the favored punishments that the sadistic house captains used to dish out was to have us do laps of the rugby pitch in the dark before breakfast, without footwear, while there was snow and ice on the ground. I truly believed that I suffered more from the cold than other pupils because two or three times a year I was able to return to hot, humid, sunny Hong Kong to thaw out. Although my class mates suffered as well, they had no yardstick by which to measure the school’s adverse climatic conditions. Ignorance is bliss they say but this was inapplicable to me.

I should remind you that this was in fact a school and not a reform centre for juvenile criminals. Somehow I survived my ordeal at this institution (the bass player from the rock band, U2, had enough sense to get himself expelled), malnourished certainly, perhaps even with a touch of scurvy (fresh food was a rarity) but without loss of frost-bitten digits and with the bare minimum of grades to slide my way into a lowly coveted course at a good university.

I doubt whether it really toughened me up. It certainly didn’t improve my behavior,   much to the bemusement of my parents but what it did do was foster a deep, deep aversion to cold weather climates. From an early age, the overriding motivation in my life was to get out of Ireland and return to warm weather Asia. I left Ireland the day after my final exam, missing my graduation ceremony in the process. Before settling in Asia I felt it fair that I first spend the better part of a year warming up on Australia’s many beaches.

When I first started to get into nature photography, all my land-based and underwater diving trips were restricted to hot weather destinations. At work, I found multiple excuses – not always successful – to avoid marketing trips to the US and Europe during the winter months.

But I kept seeing all these great images from snowy, cold weather countries and something inside me kept nagging to give these places a try. Finally, in December 2008, I traveled with Paveena to Jigokudani in Central Honshu, Japan to visit the famed snow monkeys. Although it was only a brief trip, we both loved it. Dressed correctly – something impossible back at school due to the strict dress code – I found that the cold hardly bothered me. Nearly a year a later, we journeyed to the Antarctica to the Emperor Penguin colony at Snow Hill on the Weddell Sea ice shortly after which I made my first trip to the winter, wildlife wonderland that is Eastern Hokkaido.

I have written before of my love affair with Japan. While crowds at its idyllic scenic and wildlife hot spots can be an issue and on occasion, you may be confronted with frustratingly inflexible locals, time and time again, Japan redeems itself.  From its tangible sense of history and cherished traditions, to its unexpectedly beautiful landscapes, charming courteous people, super efficient transport network, wonderful onsens and tantalizing presentations of extra delicious food, Japan is a special place, and no more so than in Eastern Hokkaido where large concentrations of spectacular avian wildlife can be found against a backdrop of dreamy, snow covered mountains and forests.

In mid-February, I headed back for my third visit to this region. Arriving in Sapporo with aspiring photographer, Paul Quah, we headed across the island by train (briefly taking the wrong one in the process!) arriving in Kushiro city late in the evening but still time enough for us to ferret out a fantastic Japanese BBQ and hot pot restaurant.

A 6.10am train the next morning almost proved too much Paul, who made the train with seconds to spare. Our destination was Lake Kussharo, home to several hundred migratory Whooper Swans and my personal favorite site in the whole region.

Many of the photographic tour groups that I run into stay at drab, soulless western style hotels while there are many delightfully rustic lodges and ryokans to choose from which not only offer better value and immeasurably superior food but have a much more “homely” feel to them.

Many photographers and even local guides visit only one main destination at Lake Kussharo when in fact there are several other less well-known sites, most of which you will have to yourself. The following set of images are from one such site. On the many occasions I have been there, never once I have encountered another photographer or tourist. We visited this site over the course of three days and as is common in this area, encountered a wide variety of weather conditions. 

Whooper Swans on frozen lake opening, swimming in circular pattern, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Whooper Swans on frozen lake opening at sunset, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Whooper Swans on frozen lake opening at sunset, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Late one afternoon, Paul and I gingerly made our way out onto the frozen lake, lying prone on the snow and ice. Sure enough, a number of the Swans came over to check us out hoping to be fed (locals regularly feed bread and grain to the birds).

Inquisitive Whooper Swan on frozen, snow covered lake, close-focus, wide-angle, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

One of the days at Lake Kussharo started off with clear although extremely cold weather, but by the afternoon it had begun to snow intermittently with near white-out conditions at times. The large opening at the shore of the frozen lake site shown in some of the previous images had now almost disappeared. The temperature at this stage had dropped to around -15c but with the bone numbing wind, felt appreciably colder. I would regularly have to break from shooting to massage my fingers with the hand warmers that I had stuffed into my retractable mittens in order to bring back feeling to my frozen digits.

Two Whooper Swans walking on frozen lake as snow falls, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Two Whooper Swans on frozen lake during white out conditions, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

One of my pet photographic peeves is horizon lines cutting through wildlife subjects and I strive to adjust my positioning, either by getting lower or higher to avoid this. Ideally, I should have sought a higher elevation for this next image but the horizon line is not too distinct and I like the composition and the story telling quality of the image.

Whooper Swans on frozen lake in near white-out conditions, Lake-Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Heading back to the main photographic shooting site at Lake Kussharo, it began to snow heavily with a biting wind howling into our face. Photography was challenging to say the least with the front element of our lenses having to be wiped continuously. We were surprised to find numerous swans both taking flight and landing. 

Whooper Swan pair taking flight from frozen lake in white-out conditions, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Whooper Swan flying in snow storm, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Whooper Swan flying in snow storm, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

 After a while though conditions simply became too severe for flight with the Swans hunkering down on the ice floes, faces tucked under their wings as they tried to find some respite from the freezing wind. It was also time for us to call it a day. Unlike the Swans who would have to tough it out as darkness descended, a piping hot onsen and fabulous food awaited us.

Whooper Swans tucked-up on ice floes, sheltering from snow storm, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

The next day dawned fine and clear with hoar frost blanketing the trees. We made our way to a “secret” spot where numerous swans spend the night in thermal-warmed waters near the lake shore. The warm water and cold air produces clouds of steam which wafts around the swans in the crisp air. I had to think for some time about my composition in this next image but I think it succeeds quite well with the hoar frosted branches providing a frame from the top, leading into the distant snow covered hills and frozen lake and with the swan pair in the foreground. 

Whooper Swan pair on frozen lake opening with hoar-frosted trees at top and thermal generated steam in the foreground, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Once it gets to about 7.30am, the swans leave this site, at first flying low over the frozen lake, then gaining height before coming down to land at the main spot where they will spend the duration of the day.  We were able to position ourselves so that we could capture some nice images of their initial flight path – in this case using a slower shutter speed and panning with the swans to provide a sense of movement.

Whooper Swan trio flying low over frozen lake, with motion, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

We then raced around to the main landing spot in time to see several spectacular swan descents.

Whooper Swan coming into land, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

We also had opportunities to shoot some tighter portrait-style images of the swans.

Whooper Swan resting, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

From there we proceeded south along the lake shore to another infrequently visited site. Here, thermal-fed hot spring water attracts large numbers of swans with clouds of billowing steam rising up through a nearby overhanging tree.

Whooper Swans bathed in steam rising from thermal fed spring water, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Shooting into the sun, but using the tree branches to block most of it, we were able to capture shafts of sunrays arrowing down from the branches through the steam. 

Hot spring steam wafting onto tree, backlit by low sun, Lake Kussharo, Hokkaido, Japan

Back at our lodge we were met by my Japanese guide, the same one that I have used for the last three years. Having experienced the lousy quality of the guides that some other photographic tours use, I count myself extremely fortunate to have found such a knowledgeable, friendly guide for whom no request is too much trouble. From Lake Kussharo we drove north west to the Shiretoko Peninsula and the fishing port of Rausu. On the way we stopped to buy some freshly caught King Crab at a price one-tenth of that at Sapporo airport. Later that night we were able to take it to a small restaurant where they prepared it for us: totemo oishii desu! (very delicious).

 At 4am the next morning we were up to get ready for a boat cruise to the pack-ice and subsequent eagle feeding. Last year we were unable to make it out of the harbour because the ice was so thick. This year we would need to motor at high speed for almost an hour, to the edge of Russian territorial waters before finding the pack-ice. The crew then throw out large quantities of frozen fish onto the ice which attracts at least 50 White-Tail and Steller Sea Eagles – the latter being, on average, the world’s heaviest eagle. 

Steller Sea Eagle portrait, pack-ice, Numero Strait, Hokkaido, Japan

White-Tailed Sea Eagle portrait, pack-ice, Nemuro Strait, Hokkaido, Japan

Steller Sea Eagle landing on pack-ice, Nemuro Strait, Hoakkaido, Japan

White-Tailed Sea Eagle landing on pack-ice, Nemuro Strait, Hokkaido, Japan

We only did one boat cruise and if you have limited time, one or two boat rides is enough, especially for me as the swans and cranes are a bigger attraction. It was the right call because on the drive back to our guide’s wonderful house in Tsurui, we had an amazing wildlife encounter.

We were driving along a quiet road with rolling snow fields and forest on either side. We had stopped briefly to photograph a lone tree in a snow field as light snow fell.

One tree field - Akan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan

 A few minutes later as we continued driving, we noticed a crow flying erratically as if it was mobbing something. Our view was partly obscured by some trees but when we came over the hill, we were amazed to see two Red Foxes on a nearby ridge. Stopping the vehicle abruptly, we were quickly able to see that they were mating, but as is sometimes the case with various mammal species, they were facing away from each other having awkwardly become “stuck”.

The three of us were quickly out of the vehicle, all carrying our longest lenses (that would be a 600mm lens for me). There was no time for a tripod which anyway would have proved way too cumbersome with the snow up to our thighs. We advanced about ten meters towards the foxes, still out of realistic photographic range. Keeping low against the snow, we gave the foxes some time to get used to our presence. They seemed unconcerned by us and not surprisingly more intent on trying to extricate themselves from the uncomfortable position they had got themselves into. There was much growling, yelping and flying snow as they attempted to separate. In the meantime, we continued to inch forward until we were maybe 40-50m away.

Red Fox pair attempting to extricate themselves from awkward copulation position, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Red Foxes attempting to extricate themselves from awkward copulation position, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Fox pair attempting to extricate themselves from awkard copulation position, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Fox pair in awkward copulation position on snow field, as light snow falls, Hokkaido, Japan

Finally the pair managed to separate. They paused momentarily, sniffing one another, then each shook its fur and they bounded away in different directions. I couldn’t believe how lucky we’d been. You could wait in a hide for years and never witness this sort of behaviour up close. A very lucky day indeed.

Red Fox shaking snow off fur, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Before the Cranes, we had time for some landscape photography, often overlooked by most photographers to this region, but if one looks hard enough, there are many opportunities. Here are firstly, two lone apple trees on a snow covered hill. I have photographed these before but never tire of them.

Two apple trees on a snow covered hill, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

A little further on we were able to photograph these Elder trees, standing like skeletons on this windswept, otherwise featureless snowy hill. I love these minimalistic type shots and winter landscapes often produce the limited tonal range and stark features that make these kinds of images.

Leafless Elder trees on snow covered ridge, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Winter landscapes can often be conveyed best in black and white. While photographing the swans early one morning with a tangled forest of birch and beech trees at my back, I had the good sense to occassionally turn around to see if anything interesting was going on behind me. This image was taken just as the first rays of the sun began breaking through the forest.

Dawn rays stream through a forest, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

For most photographers, and that includes me, the main purpose of journeying to Eastern Hokkaido is to try and photograph the Red-Crowned Crane courtship dance. This statuesque bird, with  its two meter wing-span, is the national symbol of Japan and was once found all over the country. Through hunting they became so rare that by the 1920s were thought to be almost extinct. However, a small population was located in Eastern Hokkaido and helped by feeding programmes at several sites in the area, their numbers have reached around one thousand although they remain confined to this one small area in Hokkaido. 

Red-Crowned Crane calling, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

The poetic courtship display involves dancing, jumping and chasing, which is of special importance because like a number of other large avian species, eg Albatrosses, they mate for life.

Red Crowned Cranes performing courtship dance, Tsurui Itoh Cranec Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane courtship dance, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane courtship dance, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane courtship dance, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

 The addition of falling snow always adds a third element to any image of the cranes and can help give an otherwise ordinary photo that something extra. It’s also important to sometimes pull back and show the environment that the birds live in. Doing so often provides a more atmospheric type of image.

Red Crowned Crane standing in snow covered field as snow falls against Birch and Evergreen trees in the background, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Red-Crowned Cranes in snow blizzard, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

We also had lots of opportunities for flight shots. The first few are of White-Tailed Eagles and Black Kites at the Akan Crane Centre.

White-Tailed Eagle in flight, swooping towards snow field, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

White-Tailed Eagle in flight, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

Black-Eared Kite in flight, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

White Tailed Eagle and Crow in flight, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

Opportunities for crane flight images abounded. With so many chances, it was important to shoot a wide variety of images and for me, the panning shots using shutter speeds of between 1/30th and 1/60th of a second are far more pleasing than the frozen, fast shutter speed images. Images containing movement or blur are very much a matter of personal taste. My own preference is to have the head and eye relatively sharp and other parts of the animal showing some blurring.

Red Crowned Crane in flight in sweet late afternoon light, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane flying against dark trees and lightly falling snow, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane landing on snow field, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

Juvenile Red Crowned Crane in flight, with motion, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane in flight, with motion, Akan Crane Centre, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane in flight against dark trees with brown leaves, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

Red Crowned Crane in flight against dark trees with orange/brown leaves, with motion, Tsurui Itoh Crane Sanctuary, Hokkaido, Japan

I visited a new destination in the area for the first time, Lake Furen. The locals feed Eagles every morning on the frozen lake and we had hoped to be able to get out onto the ice and shoot from within blinds. However, this proved impossible and the feeding itself was frustratingly a little too far away for most images. I did manage to get a sequence of sub-adult White-Tailed Eagles squabbling over a fish with the 600m and 1.4x convertor (on a Canon MK 4), ie an effective focal length of 1,092mm. Both of these images have been cropped about 30% which is roughly the maximum I’m prepared to go to. 

White-Tailed Eagles squabbling over fish, Lake Furen, Hokkaido, Japan

White-Tailed Eagles squabbling over fish on frozen lake, Lake Furen, Hokkaido, Japan

And so it was time to leave the winter wonderland of Hokkaido. All in all it had been an extra special trip. I will definitely be returning next year and will be taking three persons with me. I currently have room for two persons. The likely dates will be February 16th to 25th or 26th. IF YOU ARE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED, PLEASE CONTACT ME ON paulconormckenzie@yahoo.com. The cost will be reasonable, accomodation and food excellent and the photographic opportunities fantastic.    

Red Crowned Cranes in flight, sillhouetted at sunset, Eastern Hokkaido, Japan

I recently made a brief trip to Kyoto, Japan with my family during the Chinese New Year holidays. While Kyoto has its share of drab residential areas, it still must qualify as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Much of Kyoto is like a giant museum for Japan’s incredibly rich heritage. Kyoto is surely the cultural heart of Japan; the place where Japanese culture is most refined, most intense and most distinctive. Indeed it is often said that many Japanese go to Kyoto to learn what it is to be Japanese.

For the first three days we stayed in a traditional ryoken (Japanese inn) in the centre of the city. From there we visited a small number of the astonishing preponderance of temples and shrines that seem to appear around every corner. I will post a few images from these venues later but it was in our last two days, in the district of Arashiyama, tucked up against a lovely range of mountains and bisected by a scenic river, that proved to be the most photographically rewarding for me.

Not far from the ryoken where we stayed, lies a dense bamboo forest, which has become one of Kyoto’s most famous sites. A winding, paved path runs between the two sections of bamboo groves and photographs of this path with the tightly packed bamboo on either side are amongst the most iconic images from Kyoto.

When I arrived I spent a long time walking up and down this path wondering how I could make some different images from those that adorn the guide books. Settling on my trusty 70-200mm lens and Gitzo tripod, my initial efforts were rather feeble.

Bamboo grove, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

 The addition of  a sun-burst made the next image a little more interesting.

Bamboo grove with sun burst, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

 The following image, while still not terribly inspiring, took a little more thought. It is in fact, a composite of three images, each taken with a different point of focus (foreground, middle and background), by manually turning the focusing ring for each image. By doing so, an image with unlimited depth of field has been created, something that would be impossible with the focal length that I was using even with the lens stopped down to its smallest aperture. The photoshop work required to make this image is straightforward. The three images were opened via Bridge as layers (tools>photoshop>load files into photoshop layers). Once photoshop is open, select all three images in the layers palette by holding down the shift key. Then go edit>auto>align layers and click OK after selecting the auto setting when the window opens. Once the image reopens in photoshop you will notice if you look carefully that the extreme edges of the image may show a box line. When you turn the focusing ring, you are actually slightly changing the magnification. A simple, minor crop around the edges gets rid of this problem. Then with all the layers still active go edit>auto blend layers and use stack images in the window that opens making sure that seamless tones and colours is selected. Voila – seemless front to back sharpness.

Bamboo grove, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

So far all my images had been taken from the path that ran through the bamboo grove. I now left this path and ventured into the forest and it was here after a period of contemplation that my creative juices bagan to flow.

Looking up, I saw the opportunity to change the perspective with the use of a fish-eye lens helping to amplify the impact of the bamboo trunks arching symetrically into the sky.  

Bamboo grove, fish-eye view looking up, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

 I then spent a long time creating “blurs” of the bamboo. To do this I played around with various long shutter speeds, moving the lens in a vertical direction while the shutter was open. I eventually found that the best results were achived with a shutter speed of 2 seconds. My own personal preference when shooting all types of blurs is to retain some detail in the subject and one of the best ways to do this is to use a little fill flash (between -2 to -3 ev). Below are some of the results.

Bamboo grove blur, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo grove blur, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo grove blur, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo grove blur, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Back at the computer, I had the idea to try combining some of the blur images using the blending modes in photoshop. Again this is quite straightforward. Open two images in photoshop. Select the first image and go select>all, then edit>copy. Then activate the second image and go edit>paste. Before you begin, it is a good idea to make sure both images are of the same size (eg 240 dpi, 5616 x 3744 pixels) by going to image>image size. Once all this has been done, go the layers palette and open the blend mode list at the top left (the default is normal). Experiment with the various blending modes to see which one you like best. For these images I used either overlay or soft light.

Once done, I further refined my images by going into Nik Software’s Colour Efex Pro 4: first to foliage and then to brilliance/warmth. Once back in photoshop I adjusted the opacity of the layer created by the filters, to taste. Here are some results, the last image being my favorite which in fact is a blend of three images.

Bamboo grove blur, blended images, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo grove blur, blended images, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Bamboo grove blur, blended images, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan

Shortly before I embarked on my recent Antarctica trip, I made a two-week excursion to Kenya on what must be now at least the 30^th trip to the country of my birth. For the first week I was on my own, after which I was joined by nine clients.

In 2006 I undertook my first aerial photography flight in Kenya and since then I have been hopelessly addicted. Of all the wildlife, landscape and underwater photographic situations I have been in over the years, nothing can quite beat sitting in a small plane, doors open (removed) beside you and the scenic wonders of Kenya unfolding below.

It also gives you an appreciation of what an immensely diverse country Kenya is from a geographic standpoint. It’s hard to think of another country outside the major continental landmasses that contains the variety that Kenya has. From tropical beaches to glaciers to alpine meadows to deserts to rainforest to open Savannah to rivers and soda lakes, Kenya really does have it all. But in my view, the most spectacular landscapes, certainly as seen from the air, lie in the extreme north of the country.

Lying in the cradle of the Great Rift Valley, this is a land from another time. Virtually untouched by the hand of man, it is a parched, heat blasted, largely vegetation-devoid landscape, punctuated by ancient volcanic features and shallow soda lakes on which thousands of Flamingos seek refuge. Mostly inaccessible by vehicle and a great distance from the well-known tourist parks, it is seldom visited by tourists or outsiders. The lives of the handful of hardy tribes that eke out a meager existence from the unforgiving terrain have, for the most part, changed little over the last several decades.

An aerial visit to this area has now become something of an annual pilgrimage for me. Drug addicts have heroin and cocaine and alcoholics their spirits but for me it’s aerial photography in northern Kenya.  As long as my trusty pilot is still around to do the flying and the cost doesn’t get completely crazy (this is not a cheap undertaking!), I hope to keep fueling my addiction.

And so six hours after disembarking from my international flight, I found myself back in the small Cessna climbing into the skies above Nairobi. More than an hour later, we touched down at a remote, dusty airstrip where we removed the doors at the back of the right side of the plane. Firmly strapped in – it’s only a seat belt between you and a death spiral to the ground – we headed for Lake Logipi, a small seasonal soda lake, just south of Lake Turkana. This is my single favourite destination in the area. As a seasonal lake, conditions are always different each time I go, being entirely dependent on the amount of rainfall that the lake has received in the preceding months. Some years I have arrived to find an almost bone dry lake bed with only a few pools remaining around the spectacular volcanic feature of Cathedral rock. In 2011, the area had unusually heavy rain in April and May and even more surprising, in August.

As we approached the lake, I could see that water levels were higher than I had ever seen them, but more importantly, there were staggering numbers of Flamingos – certainly, the congregations were larger than anything that I had seen previously.

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos grouped tightly together in the mud and algae-infused shallow waters of Lake Logipi, Kenya

During the formation of the soda lakes in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, much of the ground was covered in volcanic ash, rich in sodium carbonate. Rain water and rivers percolating through the soil and flowing over rocks, absorbed and transported volcanic chemicals and mineral salts into the lakes. The Rift Valley Lakes are unconnected and have no outlets. The dissolved salts accumulated and have been concentrated through evaporation leaving behind sodium compounds, specifically sodium bicarbonate and sodium hydroxide. Concentrations of these compounds vary from lake to lake, influenced heavily by the amount of rain. The less rain, the greater the concentration and typically the more vivid the colours. High concentrations also make the lake waters highly corrosive. A few years ago, a helicopter was forced to ditch in Lake Logipi. The pilot and passengers all survived but one of the passengers was trapped in the helicopter with her legs underneath the water. When she was eventually freed several hours later, her injuries were not the result of the crash but rather the scalding she received from the corrosive waters.

While the lakes are inhospitable to most life forms, the Flamingos thrive in them. And the reason for this is that one plant species has adapted to cope with the challenging conditions – algae, and in particular one species, spirulina. The algae thrive in the mix of carbonate and phosphate rich waters, high temperatures and abundant sunlight. The algae in turn, provide the flamingos with the all nutrition they need while the corrosive waters keep predatory threats to a minimum.

Because of the heavy rain in Kenya in 2011, many of its soda lakes have had much higher water levels than usual. This has had the effect of diluting the concentrations of algae, making some of the lakes less attractive to the Flamingos. Although water levels in Logipi were much higher, muddier and browner than normal (the lake is fed by the Seguta River) there was still more than sufficient concentrations of algae to sustain vast quantities of Flamingos. In 2011, the numbers were further elevated by the shunning of Lakes Nakuru and Elementatia, further down the Rift Valley, by the birds on account of insufficient algae production due to the heavy rains.

Flying around the edge of the lake, we passed over many small and giant pink clouds of Flamingos. On this flight, I concentrated mainly on tighter group shots using a 70-200mm lens.

Hundreds of Greater and Lesser Flamingos taking flight, aerial shot, Lake Logipi, Kenya

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos, grouped tightly together, walking through the shallow, muddy waters of Lake Logipi, Kenya

Are you one of those people who sees shapes in clouds? I certainly am, and I’m always looking for shapes in the Flamingo groupings. Over the years, I’ve taken images from the air of Flamingos in heart, tree, mushroom, devil tail and sperm (!) shapes. What do you see in the image below? I see a Shrew.

Aerial shot of Shrew-shaped congregation of Lesser Flamingos on the shallow, mud coloured waters of Lake Logipi, Kenya

As the sun dipped lower on the horizon, the feeding Flamingos cast attractive shadows on the shallow brown waters.

Hundreds of Greater and Lesser Flamingos feeding in the shallow waters of Lake Logipi, Kenya, aerial shot

After an overnight stay on the western shore of Lake Turkana, we had another aerial session over Lake Logipi before heading south down the Seguta Valley. This time we took a slightly different course to explore an area of sand dunes that my pilot had discovered earlier in the year.

Small Date Palm clump among sand dunes, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Interspersed between some of the sand dune are ancient volcanic features.

Aruba Rock set amongst sand dunes, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Even these dunes received heavy rain, leaving behind finger-shaped pools of brown water.

Sand dune and temporary rain filled pool, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

As we were leaving this wonderous area, a helicopter appeared, providing a degree of perspective to the dunes. If you are thinking about ever hiring a helicopter for aerial photography, which given the hovering capabilities of a helicopter, would provide the ideal platform for flight photography, you’d better have a seriously large bank balance as the cost is truly astronomic and far more than the charter of a light aircraft.

Helicopter flying over sand dunes, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Helicopter landing in sand dunes, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Continuing down the Seguta Valley, we came to an area of ancient lava fields. This area is on occasion fed by temporary, seasonal streams and small rivers, allowing vegetation to flourish. Small soda pools also occur with the coloration indicating the presence of algae.

Aerial image of seasonal streams and soda pools amongst grassy vegetation, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Soda pools set in volcanic landscape, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, kenya

With aerial photography, I’m always looking for interesting shapes and patterns on the ground.

Lava, wind and rain eroded grooves and gullies, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

Erosion patterns left by seasonal streams, aerial shot, Seguta Valley, Kenya

From the Seguta Valley we continued heading south down the Rift Valley, passing firstly over Lake Baringo and then proceeding onwards to Lake Bogoria. I’ve spent many hours on the lake shore here and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s the best place to photograph Flamingos from a ground level view. Unlike Lake Nakuru, which can also be very good and which lies three hours south by road, Bogoria receives very few visitors and there are always Flamingos on the lake.

As Bogoria came into view from the plane, it was quickly evident that many of the Flamingos that would normally be at Lake Nakuru, were instead at Lake Bogoria. And if the numbers in Lake Logipi had been impressive, they were even more so in Bogoria.

Aerial image of thousands of Lesser Flamingos lining the shore of Lake Bogoria, Kenya

Aerial image of thousands of Lesser Flamingos carpeting the shallow waters and shore of Lake Bogoria, Kenya

The following image is one of my favourite from the trip. I especially like the small patch of green vegetation.

Thousands of Lesser Flamingos carpet the shallows of Lake Bogoria, Kenya, aerial image

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos along the shore of Lake Bogoria, Kenya

Lesser Flamingos in shallow-water, algae infused pool connected to Lake Bogoria, aerial shot, Kenya

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos on algae infused pool connected to Lake Bogoria, Kenya

Lesser Flamingos surround small island, aerial shot, Lake Bogoria, Kenya

From Bogoria, we made the short hop to Lake Nakuru, where we landed, reattached the doors and headed on down to Nairobi. Four hours later I was back in air, this time headed south to the border with Tanzania and the surreal landscapes of Lake Natron. Much larger than Logipi, Bogoria and Nakuru, it is also shallower although even it had experienced unusually heavy rain in 2011. In most years, the entire lake is full for only a few weeks, usually after the long rains in April and May; for the rest of the year, large expanses are dry, exposing a brittle crust of sodium bicarbonate covering vast expanses of soft, slimy mud. For the Flamingos, it is one of the very few sites in Africa where they breed.

Whatever the conditions, Natron never fails to amaze and from the air, photographic opportunities abound.

Algae trails and cloud reflections on Lake Natron, aerial shot, Tanzania

Algae infused water beside a crust of sodium bicarbonate, aerial shot, Lake Natron, Tanzania

Hundreds of Lesser Flamingos walking through the shallows of Lake Natron, Tanzania, aerial shot

Hundreds of Lesser Flamingos flying over Lake Natron, Tanzania, aerial shot

Aerial image of Greater Flamingos in late afternoon sunlight, walking through the shallow waters of Lake Natron, Tanzania

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos flying in formation over Lake Natron, Tanzania

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos flying over Lake Natron, Tanzania

Aerial image of Lesser Flamingos running to take flight, Lake Natron, Tanzania

Aerial image, backlit, of Lesser Flamingos on river tributary flowing into Lake Natron, Tanzania

Aerial shot of Lesser Flamingos walking in shallow water beside the brittle, sodium bicarbonate crust on the shore of Lake Natron, Tanzania

Great White Pelicans grouped together on river bank, aerial shot, Lake Natron area, Tanzania

As we left Natron, we would periodically fly over small groups of the local Masai pastorlists, herding their cattle and goats.

Masai tribespeople leading cows along river bank, northern Lake Natron area, Kenya

After an overnight stay in Nairobi, I flew to the Mara early the next morning. 2011 was an unusual year for the Wildebeest migration in Kenya (everything seems to have been unusual in Kenya in 2011) with the herds arriving earlier than normal in June and many leaving earlier than usual in August and early September. When I arrived there will still pockets of sizeable herds but nothing like the numbers at this same time in previous years. As a consequence, river crossings were less frequent and when they did take place, they were mostly at the relatively unattractive Serena crossing. Therefore, the main focus for me this year was on other animals and activities.

Whereas in 2010, when I devoted much of my time to following a Cheetah mother and her six cubs, this year there were hardly any Cheetahs to be seen. On the other hand there appeared to be unusually large numbers of Jackals and especially, Lions.

Within an hour of arriving in the Mara we had found a Jackal Den with two adults and four pups. While the parents were out looking for food, the youngsters played vigerously for almost an hour before tiring themselves out and retreating to the safety and shelter of the den.

Black-Backed Jackal pups play fighting, Masai Mara, Kenya

Black-Backed Jackal pups playing, Masai Mara, Kenya

Most days the weather followed a predictable pattern for this time of the year: clear mornings with the heat building in the late morning and then with clouds drifting in by mid-afternoon often resulting in an hour or two of rain although on a few of the days this continued into the evening time. We had a number of beautiful sunrises but only one sunset of note, on my first day, when I was able to capture this image of a Crowned Crane in an Acacia tree.

Crowned Crane in Acacia tree silhouetted at sunset, Masai Mara, Kenya

The next morning we headed for the Marsh area where we had spent the previous afternoon in the company of an adult and several cubs. As we were arriving we saw a Lioness walking towards us with a dead Thomson’s Gazelle in its jaws. Whether she had actually killed or scavenged it was unclear.

Lioness carrying Thomson's Gazelle fawn kill, Masai Mara, Kenya

About half a minute after this image was made, the Lioness dropped the kill, turned around and began looking anxiously in the direction, firstly to where her cubs were and then further off into the distance, to an area of woodland. Initially walking, then galloping and then almost breaking into a full sprint, she bounded off in the direction of the cubs. We followed at a distance. After a while we stopped and through binoculars, the object of her distress became all too clear: three male Lions moving rapidly in the direction of her cubs. From the behavior of the Lioness, these males were certainly not from her pride. Rather they were outsiders, bent on taking over her pride. And for any youngsters this would mean certain death if caught. The sole raison d’etre for all adult male Lions is to have a pride of their own, with their own territory and with exclusive breeding rights to the pride’s females. In order to bring the adult females quickly back into heat, cubs will be killed and sub-adults driven away. With the pride’s own males nowhere to be seen to defend the pride against the interlopers, the female’s only action of choice was to try and get the cubs out of harms way as quickly as possible.

Even at a young age, the cubs have pretty good instincts as to what represents danger. The mother was very quickly able to round up all seven of the cubs and all were soon moving rapidly in the opposite direction to the oncoming males. We then noticed that one of the cubs was much smaller than the others. The logical explanation was that this was a cub belonging to another Lioness from the same pride but for whatever reason had joined the creche that the other cubs’ mother was looking after. This smaller cub lacked the agility of the older, larger cubs, and repeatedly lagged behind. The Lioness would always wait patiently for her. At one point this cub looked to be in real danger with the Males having cut the distance to less than 100m but inexplicably at this point, they slowed down and engaged in a spot of mutual grooming. By the time they had finished, the Lioness and cubs were safely out of danger. I have seen on two occasions the results of a pride takeover where cubs are involved and it is sad, gruesome and difficult to watch so these youngsters can count themselves to have been extremely lucky.

A little later the three males got up and walked back from where they had come from; in this case right towards our vehicle.

Three male Lions walking closely together, Masai Mara, Kenya

Three male lions walking closely together, Masai Mara, Kenya

A little later, not far from where we left the Lions, we found four Masai Giraffs engaged in a bout of neck jousting. This went on for the better part of the hour broken occasionally by brief rest periods. During one such moment, I made this image showing some nice symmetry with the necks and heads.

Four Masai Giraffs standing together, Masai Mara, Kenya

In the afternoon it began to rain at which point we caught up with two male Lions. Male Lions are always great subjects in the rain when their manes are sodden with water.

Male Lion with wet mane, snarling, Masai Mara, Kenya

The next morning, before the sun had risen but with the sky a golden yellow, we found a small herd of Elephants on the horizon. Positioning our vehicle in a small undulating valley below the elephants, I was able to avoid cutting off the legs in the shot, which is often the problem when shooting elephant silhouettes.

Two African Elephants walking, silhouetted against dawn sky, Masai Mara, Kenya

After a largely quiet day, we met up with a different herd in the late afternoon, which contained several adolescents.

Adolescent African Elephants playfighting, Masai Mara, Kenya

The rain set in again late in the afternoon, but just before it got dark, we found a female Leopard lounging in a tree, just five minutes from our camp. Returning the next morning in much better light, she was still in almost exactly the same position.

Leopard in a tree, Masai Mara, Kenya

More heavy rain in the afternoon and more opportunities with male Lions. I’m always looking for the moment they shake their wet manes, usually after the worst of the rain has passed and I like to vary the shutter speed to get different effects.

Male Lion shaking rain off wet mane, head shot, with motion, Masai Mara, Kenya

Male Lion shaking rain off wet mane, head shot, with motion, Masai Mara, Kenya

Early the next morning, I went to collect my nine guests who had arrived by private charter. Within thirty minutes of their arrival, we watched in awe as an Impala gave birth. The immediate period after the fawn’s birth is extremely hazardous as it is highly vulnerable to predation. However, after just five minutes of licking by its mother, the fawn was up, attempting its first steps. And while initially taking on the gait of a drunkard, it wasn’t long before it was skipping about confidently. This was a real treat, not just for the guests but also for me as this was the first time I had witnessed an Impala birth.

Impala giving birth, Masai Mara, Kenya

Adult female Impala with newly born fawn attempting its first steps, Masai Mara, Kenya

Over the next few days much of our focus was on the Lion prides.

Lioness with chin resting on the back of another Lioness, Masai Mara, Kenya

Two sub-adult male Lions investigating scent marks, Masai Mara, Kenya

We had a number of good sessions with two of the prides with much playfighting and interaction between the cubs and juvenile members.

Lion cubs playfighting, Masai Mara, Kenya

Lion cub in tree, Masai Mara, Kenya

Lioness climbing tree, head shot, Masai Mara, Kenya

Lion cubs playing, Masai Mara, Kenya

Every morning dawned clear which gave us abundant opportunities to shoot silhouettes and backlit images of birds and animals. First up, we have an adult male Impala…

Male Impala silhouetted at sunset, Masai Mara, Kenya

…followed by a Lilac Breasted Roller…

Lilac-Breasted Roller on perch, silhouetted against dawn sky, Masai Mara, Kenya

…and a male Kori Bustard displaying.

Male Kori Bustard displaying, backlit at sunise, Masai Mara, Kenya

Despite the relative lack of migrating herds, we did get to see a few large river crossings, and on two occasions were able to witness Lion kills on juvenile Wildebeest at the banks.

Wildebeest river crossing chaos, Mara River, Masai Mara, Kenya

Lioness carrying Wildebeest calf kill on the bank of the Mara River, Masai Mara, Kenya

We spent a good part of one afternoon watching a pair of African Jacanas foraging on a large pond of floating vegetation. Most birds and animals would simply plunge through the thin plant layer but the Jacanas have extraordinarily long claws and toes that provide the same sort of support in snow as a snow-shoe.

Adult African Jacana, showing long toes and claws, walking on floating vegetation, Masai Mara, Kenya

Adult African Jacana, showing long toes and claws, walking on floating vegetation, Masai Mara, Kenya

On our last morning we awoke to another clear day. On our way to the Lions, we stopped to take silhouette images of a pair of Ostriches. I was fortunate to be in the right place with the camera set up correctly when they broke into a sprint with one chasing the other. This image ended up being arguably my favorite from the whole trip.

Ostriches running, silhouetted against dawn sky, Masai Mara, Kenya

A little later we spent some time with a pair of sub-adult male Reedbucks, normally a shy species, but in this case, seemingly at ease with our vehicles.

Two sub-adult male Reedbucks with heads touching, backlit, Masai Mara, Kenya

All too quickly it was time to say farewell for another year to the Mara. It had been another fantastic trip and the group were great and for the most part, all happy campers. Despite the burgeoning tourist numbers which are becoming a very real problem in the Mara, especially at the river crossings, the fact is that there is nowhere in the world that has the density of game and associated predation that the Mara has. I will certainly be back and am already planning at least two return trips in 2012. I will likely have some room for a few guests, details for which I will announce within the next few weeks.

Wildencounters group photo, Masai Mara, Kenya

We’ve only recently started entering select nature photo competitions. And by select, the two generally acknowledged most prestigious competitions are the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year and Nature’s Best. This year we achieved two commended awards in the Animal Antics section of the Nature’s Best competition. We are still getting a handle on what the judges of the various competitions are looking for as preferences differ significantly.

Cheetah mother shaking rain-drenched fur with her six cubs in close attendance, Masai Mara, Kenya

Male Lion with wind blowing through its mane, snarling at cub, Masai Mara, Kenya