Bass Rock Landing 2016
Yesterday morning, after three months of trying, I finally got to land on Bass Rock to visit the Gannet colony that is visible from the end of my road here in Dunbar. The Bass has been described as one of the natural wonders of the world by no less than Sir David Attenborough, so who am I to argue with 'the man'? I just also happen to agree with him!
On Monday evening, for the fifth time this year, I waited anxiously for a text from the Scottish Seabird Centre to say that the trip had been cancelled. No text arrived so I set the alarm clock for 5:30am and went down to Dunbar harbour to meet our guide Maggie and the other guests on this trip out to Bass Rock on the Dunbar based fishing boat 'Fisher Lassie'.
Now we had got this far on the 26th June and with the island shrouded in mist I still wasn't convinced we would be able to land.
However my doubts were banished when the mist lifted enough to see Bass Rock and the thousands of Gannets that call this lump of rock in the Firth of Forth home. The sea mist was still hanging around the top of the island but this didn't deter us from landing.
As I had been here before in 2014 I had a better idea of what I wanted to photograph this time and so I was more methodical in my approach. I also listened to Maggie who advised the guests not to start taking pictures as soon as we landed but to take our time and take in the spectacle first.
I had already decided to head up to the plateau where the ruined chapel was sited and then sit on the ground near to the birds so they would get used to my presence. If you are lower than the birds they don't think of you as a threat but if you stand over them, especially with a camera and long lens, they get agitated as they see you as a threat to them and their territory.
The good thing about being delayed until August was the fact the gannet chicks were quite big, some were nearly as big as their parents, but were covered in white down and unable to fly. Some of the chicks were fledging and we observed the parents helping to shed the downy plumage to allow the feathers to come through.
As with all natural spectacles there is always death alongside life and there were a number of dead birds lying around, some chicks and some young birds. However Bass Rock is teeming with life and the noise and the smell is constant and nearly overwhelming.
After spending an hour near the chapel using the 100-400mm on the Fujifilm X-T2 and the 16-55mm f2.8 and 8mm fisheye lenses on the X-Pro2, I headed back down to the lighthouse and then finally down to the landing site. As well as shooting on the Fujifilm cameras, I also was shooting video and panoramic images on my newly acquired iPhone 6S Plus. I will be posting a separate blog on the use of this device.
After three hours on the island we headed back to the boat and the return journey back to Dunbar. This was the highlight of the trip as we get to see the seabirds feeding up close as the crew chum the water with fish. We were also lucky with the weather because as we left the sun burnt off the remaining mist and the sea was bathed in warm sunshine just as we moved away from the landing site.
The gulls were the first birds to arrive swiftly followed by the gannets and the air was filled with thousands of seabirds. The gannets started to dive into the water right next to the boat allowing me to try the underwater housing containing the Fujifilm X-T1 to capture these magnificent birds underwater.
The capture the birds above the water I fitted the X-Pro2 with the XF10-24mm f4 ultra wide zoom lens and the X-T2 with the XF50-140mm f2.8.
We then headed back to Dunbar and the finish of our morning on Bass Rock. It is a privilege to be able to visit Bass Rock and share the island with over 150,000 gannets for a few hours. Because I had been out there before I was much happier with the images I returned with and here are a few examples of the pictures I obtained during this trip.
CLICK HERE for more information on the Scottish Seabird Centre boat trips.
I also shot plenty of video footage on the X-T2, X-Pro2 and on the iPhone 6S Plus and CLICK HERE to see the final cut.
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ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION
MacLean Photographic run Tours and Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland. CLICK HERE for more details and availability
Jeff Carter is an Official Fujifilm X Photographer and was named as a Fujifilm brand ambassador in June 2015. In 2016 he worked with the company on the launches of the Fujifilm X-Pro2 in Tokyo and the Fujifilm X-T2 in Paris in July 2016. You can view his profile and gallery on the Fujifilm website HERE
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