Farne Islands Visit

TrishR

TrishR

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Trish
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I'm hoping to do the Staple Island photography visit. Have you any suggestions apart from the obvious (Camera, etc) what else should I be thinking of taking.
Thanks Trish
 
You can get some good flight shots of Puffin on Staple Island, i prefer Inner Farne for bird photography. A blog run by the local wardens is worth keeping an eye on to see what is happening.

http://farnephoto.blogspot.co.uk/

Hope you both enjoy your trip.
 
Take a good hat with you Trish/Gramps I remember getting pecked on the head by Arctic terns when I was younger:)
 
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All Booked for the Farne Islands + Accomadation now just to find the right sort of hat, any suggestions :)
 
Definitely a hat of some sort if you are there when the terns are nesting! I went up there (from Leeds) twice last year. A quick long lens is essential if you want to get some good shots of puffins in flight, I couldn't believe how quick they are. A big (or lots of) memory card/s as I found that I took lots of photos, many of them just sky!
 
karlkarlkarl said:
A quick long lens is essential if you want to get some good shots of puffins in flight,
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How long ... 200, 300, 400 ... longer?
I hear so many reports of birds being too close for the lenses people are using !
 
I used a 70-300 and that seemed to do the job but others may well tell you a longer lens.
 
Personally, I'd say you may use longer lenses on Staple Island for Puffins coming in or flying off to sea. Then when you get to Inner Farne, you'll find them flying just past your head.

Last year there was a little bit of a westerly when I was on Inner Farne. It slowed them down nicely for flight shots.

Also gramps, for Bempton, a bit of a westerly is good too. The gannets pretty much hovering above the cliff face. They can't do it with an easterly
 
Thanks Alan, useful info :)
 
Went to Bempton at the weekend got some lovely shots of the Gannets hovering
 
gramps said:
How long ... 200, 300, 400 ... longer?
I hear so many reports of birds being too close for the lenses people are using !
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When I went to Inner Farne a couple of years back all I had was an 18-200 and it was more than adequate. A longer lens is always useful and may be better on Staple.

My best trip was without a camera, kayaking around all the islands. A fantastic place.

Ken
 
Nikon Ken said:
When I went to Inner Farne a couple of years back all I had was an 18-200 and it was more than adequate. A longer lens is always useful and may be better on Staple.

My best trip was without a camera, kayaking around all the islands. A fantastic place.

Ken
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Thanks ... the kayaking sounds fun :)
 
karlkarlkarl said:
I used a 70-300 and that seemed to do the job but others may well tell you a longer lens.
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Thinking of taking my 70-300 don't know whether to use it on my D610 or the D90 because of the crop factor the other lens is my sigma 120-400 any thoughts, thanks
 
TrishR said:
Thinking of taking my 70-300 don't know whether to use it on my D610 or the D90 because of the crop factor the other lens is my sigma 120-400 any thoughts, thanks
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Don't know the particular 70-300. If its a consumer quality lens it may be softer above about 260mm. On that basis I'd be more inclined to use the 120-400, which should be sharp up to at least 350mm
 
Blythman said:
Don't know the particular 70-300. If its a consumer quality lens it may be softer above about 260mm. On that basis I'd be more inclined to use the 120-400, which should be sharp up to at least 350mm
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Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G AF-S VR IF-ED This is the Lens I'm thinking of taking on my D90 it will give me more reach + a lot lighter,
or put it on my D610.
 
Your 70-300mm is a good choice. Take a wide angle or short telephoto as well. The terns hover right in front of you and there's some great shots to be had, especially with some off-camera fill flash if you can.

I went up there last July with my 70-200mm/2.8 and my 500mm/4 (full frame). The 500mm was OK but the puffins and terns fly so close that my best shots were with the 70-200mm. When I go up in June, I'll be taking my 24-70mm and my 80-400mm along with a flash and cable.

And at Bempton, Easterlies are actually better than Westerlies because the gannets (and fulmars, auks et al) loop overhead and turn to land in to the wind. They're shielded from Westerlies on the cliff face and a howling Easterly is brilliant as they struggle to take off and just hang there.
 
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chromatin64 said:
Your 70-300mm is a good choice. Take a wide angle or short telephoto as well. The terns hover right in front of you and there's some great shots to be had, especially with some off-camera fill flash if you can.
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Unfortunately there are no terns on Staple Island where Trish is going.

chromatin64 said:
And at Bempton, Easterlies are actually better than Westerlies because the gannets (and fulmars, auks et al) loop overhead and turn to land in to the wind. They're shielded from Westerlies on the cliff face and a howling Easterly is brilliant as they struggle to take off and just hang there.
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I'll bear this in mind thanks. I had easterlies on the day when I went for the first time last year. Got lots of shots, and your probably right. The birds were pushed up the cliff face. However I didn't get a single head on shot which is what I was hoping for. Think I'd need the westerly for that ;)
 
Blythman said:
I'll bear this in mind thanks. I had easterlies on the day when I went for the first time last year. Got lots of shots, and your probably right. The birds were pushed up the cliff face. However I didn't get a single head on shot which is what I was hoping for. Think I'd need the westerly for that ;)
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This fulmar begs to differ --
201305-RJW-2438-M by Russell Watkins, on Flickr
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.
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As do these gannets --
201305-RJW-1074-M by Russell Watkins, on Flickr

:p
 
TrishR said:
what else should I be thinking of taking.
Thanks Trish
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Hard hat - last time I went we wound up having to hold our tripods over our heads to stop some manner of sea bird , petrels ? , taking lumps out of us
 
thinking about it that might have been bass rock..
 
No need for a hard hat on Farne, the terns hardly touch you really. Just an old baseball cap/beanie/floppy brim type affair lifted up slightly so the material is not against your head will do you. Besides its a massive part of the fun of it all, not to be missed. If you are unlucky they might crap on you as well. I was lucky and unscathed in that respect.
Great fun and I'd do it again at the, er, drop of a hat, ho ho ho.
 
Cheers Keith, looking forward to it but not sure what lens to take my 120-400 which on my D610 will be so heavy, or my 70-300 that will be more comfortable and easier for moving about.:thinking:
 
Well the islands are fairly small so you wont have to carry the lens far at least. Which one do you think has the best IQ?
 
TrishR said:
Cheers Keith, looking forward to it but not sure what lens to take my 120-400 which on my D610 will be so heavy, or my 70-300 that will be more comfortable and easier for moving about.:thinking:
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I'd take them both, and would expect to probably use the 120-400 mostly on Staple and the 70-300 on Inner Farne

But it has to be your call. Look at photos taken by others. All mine for instance on flickr contain full exif data. But you have to factor for me using a 1.5x crop sensor
 
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