Yesterday, I visited Kaena Point (Oahu, Hawaii) to continue my Laysan Albatross project. I started studying and photographing the Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) last November and I was lucky to document their nesting season which lasted till July. After leaving the island, they spent months over the ocean without setting their feet on land. Albatrosses arrive back to the island when their instinct calls them to breed. It happens usually in November and yesterday I found that many albatrosses have already answered the call.

Albatrosses are very awkward on land and this is why they are called gooney birds. Although, they are ungraceful on land, the albatrosses are very elegant and impressive in flight. I think, the albatross is definitely the lord of the air so I’ve always wanted a picture that shows how this bird rules the sky. I’ve taken many birds in flight images during their last nesting season at Kaena Point and finally, yesterday I was able to take the picture I imagined in my mind.

Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 L lens, handheld