03/06/2025
Thanks for using our filters 💫 Posted • Surfing The Torrent.
I hope everyone had a great weekend.
When conditions are right, there is no better wilder place to photograph than Hermaness NNR, Shetland. Northern gannets are the largest seabird in the North Atlantic, with somewhere between sixty and seventy per cent of the world’s population choosing to nest on the British Isles each year. They nest in locations with big updrafts to assist them when taking off, making the windy stacks and tall cliffs of Shetland ideal. The opportunities this extreme weather offers are hard for a wildlife photographer to resist, although there are times when I question my own sanity. I am not especially afraid of heights, but facing the full brunt of the storm in such a location was an intimidating experience. The abyss I looked down into was awe-inspiring, as was the uncontrollable, immeasurable power of the sea, and this solitary gannet flying across the swell helps show this.
I can’t wait to get back up north again this summer and once again lead my ever-successful Shetland seabirds & otters tour with my good friend