Few from around Machias Seal Island

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VTRich

VTRich

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Went out on the charter to Machias Seal Island in glorious weather, with high hopes of getting on the island. But, foiled again as the swells were to large in the landing area to bring the skiff in. These are some shots from the boat while we were there. Plenty of seals around as well, especially grey seals. I have one more booked charter on 8/16, so will try to on the island again.

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Still got some great shots despite not being able to land. Did you find the 600 PF adequate or would the 800 PF be a better option in the event the tour is unable to land on the island?
 
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GregT943 said:
Still got some great shots despite not being able to land. Did you find the 600 PF adequate or would the 800 PF be a better option in the event the tour is unable to land on the island?
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Thanks! I got some nice frame filling shots with the 600, but did shoot in DX mode a fair amount too, so I think the 800 PF would work nicely as well. Between the boat rocking, and the fact that the Puffins are FAST, I personally would have a hard time "finding" the birds in the 800. The 600 is just so light as well, made shooting from the boat easier I think.
 
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VTRich said:
Went out on the charter to Machias Seal Island in glorious weather, with high hopes of getting on the island. But, foiled again as the swells were to large in the landing area to bring the skiff in. These are some shots from the boat while we were there. Plenty of seals around as well, especially grey seals. I have one more booked charter on 8/16, so will try to on the island again.

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Nice shots Rich!
 
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I was able to get on the Island on my scheduled slot on July 26. It is an awesome experience. I took a Z8, Z9, Z 100-400mm and a Z 600mm pf. It was a sunny day but we did have some cloud cover for some of the time in the blind. There were a few no shows so there were only three of us in 2 of the blinds. When you walk up toward the 4 blinds I was in the furthest to the right. One thing I noticed, that hasn’t been discussed on this thread, is that I only used 2 sides of the blind as the other 2 sides were looking toward the sun. Even so, I never felt as though I was waiting for a spot to shoot. The other thing I noticed is that if you are tall your back will start to ache as the openings are not set up for those who are tall. The 2 other guys in my blind did find a Puffin Chick on one of the Sunny sides and were able to photograph it. I only saw a few Common Murres and no Razorbills. There was one male Northern Ganet that some were able to photograph from the other blinds. I was told that the Murres and Razorbills breed earlier and leave the island earlier. There were quite a few Artic Terns buzzing around and you had to hold a stick above your head going to and from the blind to keep them from pecking your head. There was a guy in our group who has been to the island 17 times. He said that each time the experience is a little different. He was there 2 days earlier and said everyone got shots of Puffins with fish in their mouths. I didn’t see a single Puffin with a fish. He did say, however that on the day I went, there were twice as many Puffins on the rocks compared to earlier in the week. I predominantly used the 600pf. Only about 15 to 20% of my shots were with the 100-400mm. If I was going to choose one lens for the experience I would definitely choose the 600 pf. It was great for group photos on the rocks further away but I could still get portrait shots on closer rocks. For in flight shots I found I was more successful with Puffins moving from rock to rock rather than those inbound. I will post some images in the wildlife forum in a few days.
 
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Rookie Roy said:
I was able to get on the Island on my scheduled slot on July 26. It is an awesome experience. I took a Z8, Z9, Z 100-400mm and a Z 600mm pf. It was a sunny day but we did have some cloud cover for some of the time in the blind. There were a few no shows so there were only three of us in 2 of the blinds. When you walk up toward the 4 blinds I was in the furthest to the right. One thing I noticed, that hasn’t been discussed on this thread, is that I only used 2 sides of the blind as the other 2 sides were looking toward the sun. Even so, I never felt as though I was waiting for a spot to shoot. The other thing I noticed is that if you are tall your back will start to ache as the openings are not set up for those who are tall. The 2 other guys in my blind did find a Puffin Chick on one of the Sunny sides and were able to photograph it. I only saw a few Common Murres and no Razorbills. There was one male Northern Ganet that some were able to photograph from the other blinds. I was told that the Murres and Razorbills breed earlier and leave the island earlier. There were quite a few Artic Terns buzzing around and you had to hold a stick above your head going to and from the blind to keep them from pecking your head. There was a guy in our group who has been to the island 17 times. He said that each time the experience is a little different. He was there 2 days earlier and said everyone got shots of Puffins with fish in their mouths. I didn’t see a single Puffin with a fish. He did say, however that on the day I went, there were twice as many Puffins on the rocks compared to earlier in the week. I predominantly used the 600pf. Only about 15 to 20% of my shots were with the 100-400mm. If I was going to choose one lens for the experience I would definitely choose the 600 pf. It was great for group photos on the rocks further away but I could still get portrait shots on closer rocks. For in flight shots I found I was more successful with Puffins moving from rock to rock rather than those inbound. I will post some images in the wildlife forum in a few days.
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Wow, glad you got to land on the island. I was wondering about the sun in relation to the blinds. I kept moving from side to side on the boat to keep my back to the sun. I was thinking I would hate to be stuck in a blind and shooting directly into the sun. Sounds like I was there 10 days earlier than you, and I was thinking there were more Razorbills then Puffins. I also saw several Puffins flying with fish in their bills and I was hoping some of my flight shots would capture that, but no luck. I am heading back out on August 16th to try again, and hopefully there are some birds left LOL I know the last day the boat runs is Aug 18th, so I'm at the tail end of it. Looking forward to seeing your images.
 
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VTRich said:
Wow, glad you got to land on the island. I was wondering about the sun in relation to the blinds. I kept moving from side to side on the boat to keep my back to the sun. I was thinking I would hate to be stuck in a blind and shooting directly into the sun. Sounds like I was there 10 days earlier than you, and I was thinking there were more Razorbills then Puffins. I also saw several Puffins flying with fish in their bills and I was hoping some of my flight shots would capture that, but no luck. I am heading back out on August 16th to try again, and hopefully there are some birds left LOL I know the last day the boat runs is Aug 18th, so I'm at the tail end of it. Looking forward to seeing your images.
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Rich, the sun can be bad. It was bad on 2 of the sides for me. We were fortunate, however, to have some intervals of cloud cover.
 
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VTRich said:
Went out on the charter to Machias Seal Island in glorious weather, with high hopes of getting on the island. But, foiled again as the swells were to large in the landing area to bring the skiff in. These are some shots from the boat while we were there. Plenty of seals around as well, especially grey seals. I have one more booked charter on 8/16, so will try to on the island again.

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Beautiful shots Rich! Razor sharp. Well done👍👍👍
 
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