Black and white photography at Gyles quay

As we rounded the corner where the road dropped down to Gyles quay we got our first glimpse of what the weather conditions had in store for us. We had come to photograph the Black guillemots as we have on two previous occasions, only this time it was not blowing gale force winds.

To say it looked like a dream come true would be an understatement.
The tide had peaked an hour earlier and with no wind to speak of, the sea was calm and almost glass-like. To top it all off there was a sea fog that obliterated the horizon line between the sea and sky. I had dreamed of experiencing such conditions, but never held out any real hope of those dreams coming true.

Rosie and Tony’s Southern New Zealand Adventure day 2: Kaikōura

I have put off posting more about our road trip (Rosie and me) in the South Island of New Zealand for far too long. Our purpose in posting this is to simply share our adventure with you and we hope that you’ll enjoy seeing our photos.

Seabank in Dundalk Bay, part 1

We had originally encountered Seabank in Dundalk Bay in early autumn 2022. Rosemary and I had just visited the small viking township of Annagassan for the first time and we decided to take the coastal route home.

The tide was almost full as we drove along the coastal road home and we could see hundreds of wading birds being forced closer up the beach alongside the road by the incoming tide.
Seabank obviously held heaps of potential for us and we made plans to return in the third quarter of winter when there would be the maximum number of over-wintering migratory waders present both in numbers and species. It was decided we would return early February and so it proved to be the case.

We arrived at Seabank early on a cold mid winter’s morning and we could see large numbers of waders, mainly Black-tailed Godwits and Light-bellied Brent Geese and once again being forced closer up the beach by a rising tide.

However, the light was not good for bird photography so we made our way down to the shoreline and waited for the light to improve.

We could see hundreds of birds while we waited patiently for the light to improve.

The worst mistake one can make in a situation like this would be to try and get close to the birds and scare them.
The tide was moving the birds closer to us and the light was improving by the minute.
All we had to do was sit tight, let the tide bring the birds closer to us and hope that no dog walkers came along the beach.

A huge flock of birds, Ireland

A flock, consisting of thousands of birds fill the air over Dundalk Bay, County Louth, Ireland.

To see a bigger image please click on the image itself.

Rosie and Tony’s Southern New Zealand Adventure part 1:Departure

I’ve been threatening to write about Rosie and Tony’s New Zealand South Island Adventure for well over a year now.
We have been in Northern Ireland for 18 months now and I have run out of excuses to put it off.
If the truth be known, I really enjoy looking back at the images both of us took on our trip as it brings up so many great memories and emotions. So here is the first post of my new series.