Tracking Seals
Most days I see a number of seals in Manning Bay and now that my schedule is much quieter I have been out and about trying to get close enough to capture some decent images of them.
This has proved quite difficult as they seem to be very wary of humans, especially those carrying a large tripod and camera!
Having scared off a small group of seals on a small rock, about 300 metres off the shore, I decided to drive away and park the van up in a less conspicuous spot. On my drive I discovered a possible reason for the seal's wariness. There is a quay in Curthownagh which services a Salmon Farm in Manning Bay. Seals can be deemed a nuisance, especially if they manage to break into the salmon cages. In such cases they are normally hunted down and shot.
I found another group of seals on a rock about 700 metres offshore. So I parked the van up behind a small wood and followed the line of trees as slowly and carefully as possible so as not to draw attention to myself.
Edging closer on all fours, through a farmers field, I was able to get right to the edge of the beach. Even using a 200mm lens with a 2x extender I was only able to fill the frame with a few seals and not shoot any close ups.
Having captured a number of images and spent an hour watching the seals I thought I would chance my luck and get as close as I could. The rising tide meant that the rocks the seals were on would be completely covered within 30 minutes so if I spooked them it wouldn't be a major issue.
Without investing heavily in big lenses (600mm +) I'm not sure I will get any closer to the seals. Maybe I'll find another spot on my travels which will get me closer.
Puppy love
My friend Barry Ryan popped in to see me, on my latest photoshoot for Passenger Boutique, with his puppy Jaygo. He is a wonderful bundle of joy so we stopped the shoot and turned him into the star.
Jaygo is a cross between an American Akita and a German Shepard and is only a few months old.
In front of the camera
I was doing some kit research in preparation for a wedding I'm photographing next week and came across some great kit from lastolite. Not only do they have brilliant products but they also have a ton of training videos showing you how to use their kit in a variety of creative ways.
I picked up a few soft boxes and umbrellas to use with the Canon speedlights I already have. Flash photography has not always been a strong point of mine as I have preferred to use continuous lights (tungsten) for both product and portrait photography. But flash is very useful for event and wedding photography so I have been developing a deeper understanding.
I also picked up some pocket wizards to enable me to control the flash off camera with the click of a dial, making controlling the light in situ quick and easy.
Using a lastolite reversible background (which has a yellow and an orange side) I was able to shoot two contrasting images in a matter of minutes.
Looking through Fergus Greer's book on 'The World's Top Photographers - Portraits' I tried to emulate/copy the lighting used in a number of portraits. The only 'model' I could find was myself, which made taking the images a challenge! Remote releases work ok but choosing a focus point can be difficult.
Please have a look at a range of lighting set ups below.
It goes to show what can be achieved with only three flashlights and a few studio accessories. I'll be able to set up shoots both indoors and outdoors really easily.
I am very happy with the results and have learnt a lot about flash photography and gained a deeper understanding of my new kit. Once the wedding project is complete I shall be looking for more photogenic models to continue with my flash lighting training.