Shy Albatross - Pelagic Waters off Tasmania, Australia

After several days of rain, wind, and storms, I have been thinking about photographing in adverse conditions.  I just haven’t had the desire to go trudging out on a heavy overcast day with a constant drizzle.  Of course, it’s the perfect conditions for photographing small intimate landscapes like creeks and waterfalls, especially with fall color just getting good, but I just haven’t done it.

Today I was looking back through my old files seeking some inspiration and I came across some photos from my time in Australia in 2007.  In February, I went out on a fishing boat to spend the day at sea off the coast of Tasmania, searching for pelagic birds such as albatrosses and petrels.  Pelagic birding can be fantastic or it can be miserable, it all depends on the conditions.  Of my four pelagic trips during that year, this was by far the worst.  It was gray, wet, windy, and cold.  If we weren’t getting soaked from the rain, then we were getting soaked by salt spray from the waves (worse for camera gear).

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