I went to Kaena Point again this week to check the fledgling Laysan Albatross chicks (Phoebastria immutabilis). As I expected, most of them (including „my” bird) have already left the island. Once the albatrosses leave their nests, they won’t return to land for 3-5 years until they are old enough to find a mate. Have a safe flight, buddies! 🙂
Although the majority of the birds have already flown away, there are still some young albatrosses at the nesting colony. One of them looks to be about four months old according to its fluffy head. I usually prefer to photograph my subjects with front or side light, but now I wanted to picture this bird in backlight, so I got down to the ground with my big lens to emphasize the backlit effect and to get a pleasing background and took this photo.
Gear: Canon EOS 7D, Canon 300mm F/4 lens, Canon 1.4x extender, Manfrotto tripod
2 Comments
Saw one of these guys on Kaui, sitting in a front yard, from about 8 feet while my wife and I were visiting Hawai’i a couple weeks ago. Our guide said even the pros don’t get this close to them. We felt quite privileged.
Hi Brad! According to my experiencies, these birds are very friendly and if you know how to approach them carefully, you can get very close to them. Last year, I was able to photograph one of these birds from one foot. Check out my previous post to see that picture.