I am being drawn to producing more work in black and white but it tends to only work on certain subjects and Gannet colonies are one of them that do lend themselves well to this treatment. I am also on a quest to visit most of these Gannet colonies throughout the UK as they are such beautiful birds and nest in such beautiful places. This picture was taken at Hermaness, Unst, Shetland Isles and is in my opinion the most beautiful place in the UK. This colony is rapidly expanding its range and will probably be one of the largest in the UK. The mist was very thick at first and you couldn't see much at all but every now and then it would lift exposing the colony.
I like it. the diminutive size of the gannets gives a good impression of scale, height and the vastness of the colony.
The black and white treatment suits the scene very well.
Posted by Andy Astbury on July 21, 2009 at 7:53 AM
You know my thoughts on this one mate - stunner - a photographers shot
I hope you were well secured to the ground! I agree Hermaness is stunning, visited for the first time in May, wish I'd got anything as good as this. Great atmospheric shot.
Youv'e succeeded in making my head spin and fall off my chair . I don't like heights, this image gives one a sense of falling, which works nicely indeed, I too would be interested in seeing what it does look like in colour...
Posted by David Kjaer on July 21, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Like Phil my head spins when I look at it - but I still love it!
David
Posted by Mark Hamblin on July 21, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Danny, trying to send you a personal email to danny @ dannygreenphotography.com but coming back as undeliverable. Cheers, Mark
Posted by Peter Cairns on July 21, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Its a nice shot/composition and has a bit of atmosphere, whether or not it works best as black and white I'm not entirely convinced. I'm a bit on the fence about this one...I'm in the colour camp with this one - and would like to see it in colour too...
My first impression when I opened this one was that it was an underwater shot. Then it came to me.
Black and white or colour, either way a good photo is a good photo
That's verrryyy high!! Most unusual and very effective.
Posted by Paul Hillion on July 21, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Wonderful shot Danny of my favourite bird. The sight, sound and smell of these Gannet colonies just has to be experienced to fully appreciate the sheer majesty of them. If ever the Alderney Gannet Rocks are on your hit list then please don't hesitate to get in touch, that goes for anybody else who would like to come visit.
Cheers Guys for your nice comments, some have asked to see the colour version so here it is both work but for me the black and white images gives more depth and scale. I climbed down to a better vantage point but must stress that these cliffs are extremely dangerous so if you go take care. I was there with a friend a few years back and he slipped and had to let go of his camera to save himself
Discussion
29 repliesCanon 1DS MK11, 70-200mm lens, F13, ISO 400
Danny
Robert
Rene de Heer
Love it!
Greetings,
Jeroen Stel
The black and white treatment suits the scene very well.
Did you try any with shorter lenses? 70mm is still fairly wide
David
Pete
Chris
I think you did great by converting this to black and white.
Job well done.....again.
Edwin Kats
Ian
Black and white or colour, either way a good photo is a good photo
B & W works well here, and the sense of scale is superb,
Fran
Danny
Brett
Ian