
Sony Nex-7, 18-200, f/6.3, 1/500, iso 400
I was really enthusiastic about going to Skellig Michael, a foreboding hunk of rock off the coast of Ireland. Basically used as a monastery since the 6th century, it is a place I read about early in my life (see wikipedia entry).
Unfortunately the day we chose to go had miserable weather in the forecast. 8-10 foot seas, solid rain. The ride out to the island was one of the most unpleasant boat rides of my life. I am a very experienced boater, and I was duly impressed by how stoically my photographic companions tolerated this trip.
Once on the island it was obvious we would not be hiking to the top, where the monastery is. The conditions made it much too dangerous.
But no matter, puffin pics were in the making! These gorgeous creatures live there in abundance. They are very tolerant of photographers. Sometimes just as interested in us as we were of them, it seemed. They look a bit clumsy, but I assure you in the air they are not. They are very fast and agile fliers. Catching them just about to land was quite a trick, most autofocus cameras were just not up to the task.
All of my favorites are where I had positioned myself such that I'd have the beautiful sea in the background, like this one. Pretty nice bokeh for f/6.3, the max aperture for this lens at the long end of the zoom.
Recent Comments