Things are a bit hectic this week so I am going to just share a couple of images of Campbell Albatross I got en route from Bluff to Campbell Island on the expedition I wrote about last week in Heading South.

It is always exciting to see the first Campbell Albatross as they are restricted to breeding on Campbell Island so as you near it the number of sightings increases. Campbell Albatross look like Black-browed Albatross but have a yellow iris which gives them an intense and focussed appearance. For more information the the New Zealand Birds Online entry.

I was keen to try some slow shutter pan blurs to give the impression of movement but it is quite a challenge when working from a heaving deck with a bird gliding fast over the water. You are needing to accommodate 2 directions of movement which makes panning very difficult. I found 1/60s was slow enough to give some blur to the water while still retaining a small chance of keeping the bird sharp. Despite this very few images were acceptably sharp but fortunately probably my best two were of Campbell Albatross as their yellow/orange bills contrast so nicely with the blue of the sea.

Photos with Nikon D850 and Nikon 500mm f5.6PF lens