For Seabird Photography I personally have been using a consistent set-up for the last years. This includes the professional flagship Canon “sports & journalism” camera recently the EOS 1 D X Mark III with a Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens. This in most cases without a teleconverter (TC). If using a teleconverter, it is a 1.4 Canon teleconverter of the II-series. The Canon EOS 1 D X with a Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM was a very fast set-up with a unique ability to achieve very high shutter speeds even in relatively low light conditions.
Now I am shooting for some years with the Canon EOS R5 Camera. With the upcoming of the Canon EOS R5 Mark II I gave this new model a try and combined it with a Canon RF 200-800mm f6.3-9 IS USM. The new equipment was rented with voundr.com (https://voundr.com/ ) for one week for roughly € 600.
Originally I had planned to stay on the coast of the county Mayo, the windswept landscapes of northwestern Ireland. The coastal areas of the Mullet Peninsula, known for their rugged beauty, become a haven for both migrating birds, drawing bird enthusiasts and photographer from far and wide.
The Mullet Peninsula and Annagh Head are strategically located along important migration routes, making them prime spots for observing a variety of bird species. During the autumn migration, many species pass through on their way to warmer climates. But one day, I decided for a seabird watching tour west of Ireland with Blacksod Sea Safari. Now I expected to miss my „old“ Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM which is light and very handy. But I travelled with the Canon RF 200-800mm f6.3-9 IS USM only.
When you are surrounded by the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean, it might to turn out boring for hours. The sun stays high in the sky, a steel-blue sky with practically no clouds causes high contrasts, the boat rocks on the choppy waves, wind can pick up. Thus, photographic conditions are tricky – at least.
But then, it might become the perfect day to photopgraph some of the ocean’s most fascinating and difficult to observe creatures: seabirds. Thus: boring – for a while.
And then we see the first chains of shearwaters on the horizon. Suddenly you are with your camera equipment practically in the middle of the migration. Chains of seabirds keep flying straight towards you on and on. They fly consistently from north to south, see the boat quite late, fly around it, sometimes just a few meters away, and fly southwards unfazed. They are mainly Manx Shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus), but Cory’s Shearwaters (Calonectris borealis), Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus grisea) and Great Shearwaters (Puffinus gravis) also appear. Small storm petrels keep darting back and forth in between, which can quickly be identified as European Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) and some Leach’s Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous).
Now the experiences with the Canon RF 200-800mm f6.3-9 IS USM. I have to say I was pretty impressed after the first………..
to be continued!