Rick Tomlinson recently led a wildlife photography expedition to the Falkland Islands aboard Pelagic Australis. He explains how to get better nature shots on your next tripA large male killer whale patrolled the beach for nearly two hours, cruising back and forth as close to the beach as possible. Suddenly he slapped his tail on the surface, seemingly in frustration that none of the seal pups had ventured into the water. Photo: Rick Tomlinson\u201cOrca \u2013 port bow!\u201d The cry came from the pilothouse. A sense of excitement swept through the boat as 24 hours earlier we\u2019d taken the decision to sail overnight from Beaver Island to Seal Island where it\u2019s known that orcas are often sighted\u2026 but not always. It was a bit of a gamble.
\nOur alternative was to sail to the Jason Islands, regarded as one of the jewels of the Falkland Islands, where we\u2019d definitely see albatross, penguins and seals. But we\u2019d already had some great encounters with those and the prospect of killer whales won our hearts, and now we were here and so were the orcas!
\nWe were in the last few days of our 14-day trip with a group I was leading on a \u2018Photographic safari of West Falklands\u2019 aboard Skip Novak\u2019s expedition yacht Pelagic Australis. Our group had met up in Santiago, Chile. Some had come from the UK, others from the USA.
\nSkip Novak\u2019s 22.5m aluminium-hulled expedition boat Pelagic Australis. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nWe flew to the Falklands via Punta Arenas in the Magellan Straits landing at the Falklands Mount Pleasant airport. On the ground a pair of 4x4s took us across East Falkland to Port San Carlos, passing San Carlos and Goose Green \u2013 names familiar to those who know anything of the Falklands War in 1982.
\nPelagic Australis was stationed at Port San Carlos to save us at least a day by getting straight out to the wildlife sites situated mainly in West Falkland. Skipper Chris Kobusch and mate Sophie O\u2019Neill met us on board along with local Falklands guide Dale Evans.
\nPelagic Australis is a 73ft, 48 tonne, aluminium expedition boat so the two sailing crew were always going to need some help, which I was certainly up for. High-latitude sailing with wildlife photography mixed in is my idea of heaven.
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\t\t\t\t\t\tSailing the Falkland Islands: A life-changing voyage on board Pelagic<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith the advent of small, affordable and user-friendly drones, many cruising sailors have adopted them as a way of achieving\u2026<\/p>\n
Breakfast and briefings completed, the following morning we set off into 30-knot headwinds for Pebble Island. Dolphins accompanied us the whole way, which I took as a positive omen. This was going to be good.
\nIt wasn\u2019t to be a do-this, do-that type of photography course; I was there to help as much or as little as people wanted. The group was small enough to offer individual coaching, though we did do a group session on how to set up your camera. For those with DSLR cameras this would start with matching the viewfinder to your eye so you can see when the subject is in focus.
\nMy main advice for wildlife photography is to keep the shutter speed as high as possible, fill the frame with your subject and, where possible, focus on the subject\u2019s eyes.
\nRockhoppers are the smallest of the penguins and have distinctive yellow crest feathers, yellow eyebrows and red eyes. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nWe were able to start as soon as we left the dock, photographing the dolphins playing on our wake. Here my technique is to keep the camera focused on one spot, as dolphins usually jump the wake in the same place. Then when they jump you\u2019re already looking through the viewfinder, already focused and ready to fully press the shutter. For sure, I get lots of splashes and tails, but among them are photographs of the dolphin clear of the water.
\nOnce anchored at Pebble Island we were met on shore with a couple of 4x4s to take us to three sites that were too far to walk. This was to be the only time we had transport ashore. We started at a rockhopper penguin colony. These small penguins have so much character, with their long, yellow eyebrows and red eyes.
\nI suggested shooting from low down so you were not looking down at the penguins and could get the blue sky behind them. Focus on the eyes! We then drove to where gentoo penguins were coming ashore. Larger than the rockhoppers, they looked so clean and pristine as they waddled up the beach. The collective name for penguins ashore is actually a waddle \u2013 very appropriate.
\nPhoto: Rick Tomlinson
\nAnother drive took us to see some sea lions. Here the seals were backlit by the sun basking on the rocks so it provided another teaching point, this time in exposure compensation. It was almost dark by the time we returned to the boat. It had been a great and full-on first day: a few hours of sailing, three different wildlife sites and many great photographs. This set the tone for the next 12 days.
\nBack on board, the computers and iPads came out and everyone looked at their pictures. I explained that keeping the shutter speed high freezes any motion and this also gives a shallow depth of field, isolating the subject from the foreground and background.
\nOver the course of ten days we sailed round West Falkland. Our routine was often an early start to move the boat to the next site, which required only three of us to rise at 0500, up anchor and sail for a few hours.
\nReviewing and editing our pictures in the cosy main saloon aboard Pelagic Australis. Photo: Mike Boardman
\nOnce safely anchored in our new location we went ashore by dinghy and spent most of the day there. We\u2019d walk to the bird colonies and beaches that were usually on the windward side of the islands, and as we\u2019d anchored on the leeward side it was often a bit of a hike. We had as much time as we wanted to photograph the wildlife before returning to the boat for dinner, taking turns doing the cooking and enjoying some fine meals, good stories and the odd glass of wine.
\nWe saw some fantastic wildlife: thousands of black browned albatross, blue-eyed shag, upland geese, Kelp geese, striated caracara, long-tailed meadowlark, rufous-chested dotterel, several types of dolphins, elephant seals, Magellanic oystercatchers, Patagonian crested ducks, short-eared owls, black-crowned herons\u2026 and on it went.
\nI was particularly impressed when Chris, our guide, found the one owl that lived on Hummock Island. I\u2019d never photographed an owl before and certainly never expected to photograph one here.
\nA long lens and shallow depth of field will help the subject \u2013 here a short-eared owl \u2013 stand out from the background. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nThere were so many high points it\u2019s hard to choose just a few, but perhaps the best photograph of all those I took is of a sea lion swimming in a wave. Dale knew this individual often hunted penguins off a beach on New Island; in fact the BBC had been there a filming few weeks before. We walked over to the beach and there he was, patrolling the beach waiting for prey.
\nWe photographed here for a while, which is photographer speak for ages. The penguins were out at sea in big numbers and when a group headed for the shore the seal would move to intercept. Penguins would swim for their lives, ducking and diving, and when in the water they always seemed to get away.
\nOn the beach, though, the sea lion was faster and made several attacks. Narrowly, most penguins escaped, but as we watched the sea lion closed in and managed to grab one penguin as it ran up the beach. That\u2019s nature, but you have very mixed emotions when you see life and death in close up.
\nA sea lion takes a gentoo penguin. We saw \u2018him\u2019 make many attempts but the penguins nearly always got away. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nThe sea lion in the wave shot was rather special. Most of the group had moved onto to photograph an albatross colony, but Mike Boardman and I hung around much longer. I\u2019d glimpsed the sea lion in the wave a few times and really wanted to get that shot. The waves were big, the water very clear and in one instant the sea lion appeared right in the wave. It was only there for a second and then it was gone. But that second was what I\u2019d been waiting for.
\nThe orcas too were very special. It\u2019s wonderful to see such a fine animal in its natural environment. We\u2019d allowed for a couple of days in this location and we saw them a number of times, including at first light one morning making a kill. We saw them from onshore too where we were lucky (again) that out of the five whales in the pod it was the biggest male with the tallest dorsal fin that was patrolling the shoreline that day.
\nI had a few pictures in my mind that I wanted to take and I\u2019d have been happy to achieve just one of them. In particular I wanted the seal pups on the beach with the orca in the frame to show the reason he was there. I also wanted to show the extreme height of the fin by shooting at water level with the fin breaking the horizon line. And I wanted a shot with the whale in the foreground and Pelagic Australis out of focus behind. We achieved all of the above, and more.
\nA sea lion patrolling the shoreline appeared in the wave for just a split second. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nOur final location was not in our original schedule but I\u2019d photographed king penguins at Volunteer Point back in 2006 when I was sailing on the superyacht Adele. I really wanted our group to see these penguins, which are bigger and more photogenic than any of the other species we\u2019d seen.
\nAs we walked up the beach a waddle of penguins came along the ridge, looking like a school outing, and beyond were many hundreds more, some in the colony and others among the grazing sheep.
\nI quietly offered some advice, a reminder to shoot from low down for the blue sky behind and that a picture of both the penguins and the sheep together would be quite funny. The best shot, though, was of a waddle of penguins that had just come ashore. I spotted that they\u2019d cross a small, damp patch of sand and made my way to get in front of them.
\nA \u2018waddle\u2019 of King penguins at Volunteer Point with Pelagic Australis at anchor in the background. Photo: Rick Tomlinson
\nIn photography, reflections always work well but with this gang you had to be fast as they changed course a few times before I caught them in just the right place.
\nOur trip ended in Port Stanley with a day to look around the town and visit the local pubs. It had been a fantastic adventure. We\u2019d seen more wildlife than any of us expected and enjoyed some spectacular photography.
\nPerhaps my main teaching point on the trip was that it\u2019s not about the camera. To take good pictures your technique, the composition and the light are more important. There are two old photojournalism adages that I always remember. \u2018What\u2019s the best camera in the world?\u2019 The one you have with you. And \u2018How do you take great pictures?\u2019 f8 and be there! So true.
\nWhat\u2019s in Rick\u2019s camera bag?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always used Nikon cameras. Currently, I\u2019m using the Nikon D810 and for wildlife (and yachting) you need long lenses. I like the Nikon 200-500 f5.6 zoom lens as it gives me a range to compose a picture.
\nAlso in the bag is:
\n16mm fisheye (not used on this trip)
\n7-35 f2.8mm wide angle zoom
\n24-70 f2.8 mid range zoom
\n70-200 f2.8 telephoto zoom
\n200-500 f5.6 long telephoto zoom.
\nI also had a back-up camera body, flash gun, ND filters, cards, hard drive and, most importantly, a compact camera, the Sony RX100 that I always have ready in my pocket. This camera also fits in a housing for underwater shots hanging off a monopod.
\nI found that a 10lt waterproof bag slung across my chest made access to the camera with a long lens fitted much easier and quicker than a backpack, also safer in the dinghy while coming ashore.
\nI use a minimum shutter speed of 1\/1000 second (or faster) and an aperture around f8, ISO400. My favourite lens for photographing wildlife is the Nikon 200-500 f5.6.
\nThe main technique I teach is to fill the frame with your subject and by using a fast shutter speed and a wide aperture you keep the subject sharp and the foreground and background out of focus. Always try to focus on the subject\u2019s eyes.
\nAbout the author
\nRick Tomlinson is a professional yachting, wildlife and expedition photographer. He started taking pictures in the 1985 Whitbread Round the World Race while crewing on Drum, owned by Simon Le Bon and skippered by Skip Novak. His pictures have been published in magazines all over the world, including National Geographic and in particular Yachting World. His signature calendars have documented yachting for more than 30 years.
\nFirst published in the March 2020 edition of Yachting World.
\nThe post Wildlife photography: Rick Tomlinson shares his top tips after Falklands expedition appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rick Tomlinson recently led a wildlife photography expedition to the Falkland Islands aboard Pelagic Australis. He explains how to get better nature shots on your next tripA large male killer whale patrolled the beach for nearly two hours, cruising back … <\/p>\n