Photographing Seabirds w/ OM-1 & 100-400mm f/5-6.3mm II

I’ve been spending a lot more time on my bike this last year, so for my annual early visit to the coast to photograph seabirds I thought I’d cycle instead of drive. What better better excuse for a bikepacking adventure?

Mostly packed and ready to go!

I’d planned my route using Komoot to try to stay off the busiest roads. From Blairgowrie I headed northeast, it was hilly!

On my route was the Nature Reserve Loch of Kinnordy, what better place to stop to have lunch and photograph some birds. As I sat chatting with some of the others in the hide we had a marsh harrier fly right by the hide, luckily my camera was ready and I got a few images.

Shortly after the marsh harrier we got a heron passing by as well!

What a great place to stop! However, I had over 70km to cycle, better get back to it.

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Finally reaching the coast and I was getting close to my destination, my legs were tired and I thought a celebratory pint was in. Next stop, Harbour Bar in Gourdon Village.

A few hours later and my camp was up. I cooked dinner on the shore while listening to the seabirds and waves rolling in.

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I woke up early, cursed my self igniting stove for not lighting, had breakfast and headed for Fowlsheugh without coffee.

There was only a brief window of light coming through, so I used the sparkling light in the water as my background for the first bird that I saw, a herring gull.

The light quickly went dull, but I could still try to get some nice portraits of the birds that were higher up the cliffs. One of my favourites, the razorbill was peaking up and I got a few frames.

The guillemot is a nice bird to photograph, but a bridled guillemot is especially attractive. It’s a variety of guillemot that has a white eye ring and a white line that extends behind the eye, it kind of looks like its wearing old motorcycle goggles.

Usually, I find that birds with the cliff immediately behind them don’t make the greatest images, but I liked the green looking rocks behind these fulmars and decided to wait until they both looked in my direction to capture the moment.

More guillemots, one standing on a rocky outcrop where I could include more of the sea in my background and another close-up just peaking over the grassy top of the cliff.

I also tried for some wider angle images of the seabirds. I thought the empty rock helps lead into the photo and turning it black and white helps to simplify it a bit.

On my way back to pack up my camp I came across a pied wagtail on the fence post. Not wanting to get the fencepost in my image I used the gorse in the foreground to hide it.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t only birds that caught my attention. There was a line of trees behind me that looked very picturesque. None of the trees had a straight trunk, they were all kind of wavy looking and I had to try for a photo.

At first I tried a closeup with the 100-400mm which I quite liked, but later as I had left the site I saw a different composition where I used the fields as a foreground and used the cluster of trees as the focal point with my OM-3 and the 17mm prime lens.

After an hour and a half without the light improving I decided to pack it in and go get my morning coffee in Stonehaven.

Gear Recap:

• Camera: OM-3
• Camera: OM-1 Mark II
• Lens: M.Zuiko 100–400mm f/5–6.3 IS II
• Lens: M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 II