TomKal foto

Admiring pictures of tubenoses (Procellariiformes) on the Internet can we really appreciate them only when we try to take such photos by ourselves. Not to mention problems with reaching the Islands of Scilly in England, although it should be noted that it was not just a nice and easy trip but full of difficulties and surprises, the shooting on the open ocean was a challenge indeed. Especially since the worse and more windy weather was the greater likelihood of meeting the birds. But for photographers this means technical problems with shooting. Actually, how can we shoot with long telephoto lenses from the deck of a small boat when it is hard to keep our balance? Our hands full with equipment and the birds sometimes so far from us. This was a big technical challenge and a test of reflex for my eyes and auto focus. Of course, most photos went to the basket, but fortunately it was not always that bad, not always raining, and the birds sometimes there were really close. The level of difficulty closely resembled my shooting session with albatrosses. One solution is to take two camera sets: 600 and 300 millimeter lenses. Of course there is a high risk that the equipment you do not use at the moment may fall down, but it means nothing, when you have a perspective opportunity to take a good picture of new species. Sometimes the birds were soaring for so long time and so leisurely that I had a second or two to change the camera set. For example, at some point a long-tailed skua appeared so close and just over our heads, that even the lens of 300  did not capture the whole bird within the frame. It was quite different with European storm petrels. They were so dynamic on the fly and their silhouette were so petite that it caused more and more difficulties in taking photos. I feel that a great deal of the presented images were performed almost by accident. What else I can add for those who attempted to take pictures of swallows over the water, is that to these difficulties related to the shooting itself problems with standing on the boat should be added and the waves, which sometimes cover the bird suddenly. So there was no time for focusing by autofocus. It was a real test of efficiency and as usually it took a bit of luck. Less than 20 hours spent on the boat, in the three approaches, resulted in capturing 5 species of shearwaters, the European storm petrel, two species of  skuas, fulmars and sulids. Unfortunately, some of the images are only of a documentary value, but maybe, someday even in the case of those species, rare and difficult to photograph, I will find an opportunity to make changes in these galleries. As it has happened now with the gallery of the Manx shearwater which radically changed its content: several documentary photos for much better ones. As a matter of principle, after the meeting with new species the trace remains, however, will there be any changes in the gallery, only time will tell. Thanks and greetings to Bob, the cruises organizer, and to Cezary, the originator and initiator of the expedition. Despite organizational difficulties, the harsh weather, it was worth enduring it all on the vast ocean on a boat wobbled, to enjoy such an excellent and experienced “aviators” as these seabirds are...
Great shearwaters weight does not exceed one kilogram and their wingspan is about 120 cm.