Just back from my final trip to the Gannet Colony in Portland.
The colony seems to be thriving with some chicks and many adults still present into April 2009 (The longest stay yet).
Many thanks to the Andrew for the excellent access.
From a photography point of view, the site is a little challenging with sunrise and sunset not quite lined up they way you would want it to be. Jan and Feb are also quite bad for horse flies and it is nearly always extremely windy. That said some excellent opportunities for flight photography wind direction permitting. Overcast cloudy days are definitely the best as you don’t have to worry about where the sun is and can shoot to your hearts content.
A big telephoto lens is required to get you in close to the action – I use the Sigma 300-800 zoom and most of the time at 800mm, a 400mm lens is suitable for hand held flight photography.
The image below was created by shooting through the mound of nesting material about 5 feet in front of me, the bird was below me and over the side of the cliff a little.
Nikon D3, Sigmonster @800mm, F5.6, 1/160TH, +0.3EV 800ISO, SB900 with Better Beamer, Manual Flash @-2
Really fantastic image Lance. I hope to get there someday and be able to capture some of the amazing images you have shared.