Northern Gannet Branch Manager

A Northern Gannet “The branch manager” bringing a branch back to its nest over the cliffs of Bonaventure Island during my Gannets Galore and so much more workshop in Quebec. While most of the Gannets returning with something to line their nests bring seaweed, grass, and sometimes sticks or feathers, I have occasionally seen them return with fishing nets and garden hoses over the decades of leading workshops at Bonaventure Island.

Northern Gannet in flight with seaweed

A Northern Gannet returns to its nest on Bonaventure Island with seaweed during my Gannets Galore and so much more workshop. This one is from a folder I found from my 2022 workshop. We had a pretty great day with some spectacular skies!

Black-legged Kittiwakes

A pair of Black-legged Kittiwakes joust against the shadowed background under the cliffs of Bonaventure Island during my Gannets Galore and so much more workshop. The daily four-hour Zodiac adventure under the island's cliffs makes for some pretty incredible imagery, even after the light gets harsh, as was the case here.

Northern Gannet love

The last frame from the first day of my Gannets Galore and so much more workshop on Bonaventure Island. I had to lie in the wet grass to get this, but it was well worth it - smile.

Northern Gannets reinforce their bond through mutual preening, nape nibbling, and "fencing," where the pair knocks bills together.

Northern Gannet Preening

A Northern Gannet Preening photographed during my recent Gannets Galore and so much more workshop in Quebec.

Preening allows the bird to remove dust, dirt and parasites and realign each feather and their tiny barbules in the correct position relevant to the next feather, following the body's contours underneath. Birds preen several times a day, often for hours, to keep their feathers in top shape.

Northern Gannet in flight with seaweed

A Northern Gannet brings home seaweed to line its mud bowl nest during my Gannets Galore and so much more workshops on Bonaventure Island in Quebec. This dark grey background made standing in the rain all day well worth it - smile! Join me next June for the adventure!

Northern Gannet in flight with seaweed

A Northern Gannet landing with seaweed during my recent GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP on Bonaventure Island in Quebec. The heavy fog during our first day became patchy, and I made this image while wandering between the main colony and the tower during a brief window of light fog at the end of the first day.

There are many ways of dealing with fog post-capture, including the dehaze tool, curves and levels adjustments, etc. I usually try to preserve the foggy scene but occasionally process a foggy image so the result negates any sign of the fog.

Common Murre (bridled) calling in flight

The opportunities were endless during the early morning boat cruise below the cliffs of BONAVENTURE ISLAND during my recent GANNETS GALORE and so much more workshop.

I love the white spectacles on this bridled common Murre. The key to success while working at 20,000 ISO is to pay particular attention to two things:

1. Ensure you have exposed the image correctly and pushed the whites all the way to the right of the histogram; correcting a poorly exposed image will always result in much more noise than getting it right in the camera.

2. Try to work full-frame; the more you crop an image, the more you magnify any noise that there may be.

Northern Gannet foggy landing

A Northern Gannet landing in the fog from my recent GANNETS GALORE AND SO MUCH MORE WORKSHOP on Bonaventure Island in Quebec. I always keep an eye open for unique backgrounds and love the foggy background here; I think this was the only bird that swung around and landed away from the gentle breeze.

Northern Gannet landing with seaweed

A Northern Gannet brings home some seaweed to line its mud-bowl nest during my recently concluded GANNETS GALORE AND SO MUCH MORE Workshop on BONAVENTURE ISLAND.

After spending an incredible four hours on the Zodiac, we loaded our gear on the park’s four-wheeler (a special arrangement only available to my group) and made our way up to the fog-enshrouded Gannettry; it is always an impressive sight. The fog was heavy, but the rain was manageable. This image was made towards the end of the day as the fog let up a little.

Common Murre with baby food

I photographed this Common Murre (bringing fish home to feed its baby) against the out-of-focus cliffs of Bonaventure Island hand-held from a Zodiac Hurricane during my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP last June. I love my time on the daily Zodiac excursion photographing the other species that call Bonaventure Island home. The open boat trips are weather permitting, and there is some rain in our forecast, but my fingers are crossed that the current sunshine manifests and we start big on the Zodiac tomorrow morning.

Northern Gannet Landing with seaweed

This is the very first image from the last day of my recently concluded back-to-back Gannets Galore workshops on Bonaventure Island in Quebec, Canada. The sky was a gift with its pastel pallet shifting with the changing, but diffused light. The Sony Alpha 1 performed flawlessly even when no one else could rely on auto-focus in the heavy fog we had on two mornings; The newest Nikon and Canon cameras were struggling. More in a future post….

Join me next June for my June 5-7, 2023 Gannets Galore and so much more workshops. Learn more HERE.

Northern Gannet Over-the-Top

A Northern Gannet cartwheels while calling at the top of its dive in the Gulf of the Saint Lawrence, Quebec, Canada. We have had some epic time photographing from the early morning Zodiac excursions during my Gannets Galore Workshops in Percé, Quebec, Canada.

Harlequin Duck

A Harlequin Duck stretches its wings on the rocks of Bonaventure Island. Image made hand-held from the early morning Zodiac boat trip around the island.

KUDOS

Many thanks to Chris for a wonderful and exciting photography experience. Your professionalism, talent, patience and knowledge helped to make the Gannets Galore photo trip an experience of a lifetime. The hundreds of thousands of Northern Gannets on Bonaventure Island were unbelievable. I took thousands of photographs of Northern Gannets in their everyday activities. They were elegant, comical, clumsy, arguing, fishing, sleeping, working, copulating, preening and fencing. It was nonstop and exhilarating. Now, I get to my favourite part - the Zodiac tour around Bonaventure Island. It’s 5:00 am and we start the 4-hour trip to see dozens of species of birds and seals as well as a couple of Minke whales. The 4 hours seemed to pass like minutes. The Harlequin ducks and Black Guillemots were among my favourites and a real treat to observe and photograph.

- Gordie Kadonoff Hampstead | Quebec | Canada

Red Fox on the cliffs of Bonaventure Island

Aside from the 100,000’s seabirds on the cliffs of Bonaventure Island, there are always special treats available from the Zodiac for the adventurous photographers. Here is a Red Fox emerging from a hole in the rocks along the cliffs of Bonaventure Island. Photographed from our Zodiac during my Bonaventure Island Gannets Galore workshop.

"An excellent professor of the art"

"Now in September, with the images of our Northern Gannet workshop processed and filed, I want to thank you for your outstanding planning and execution of our adventure/trek/shoot on Bonaventure Island this summer. It was a pleasure to be your customer/client.
 Your execution provided an experience to make it one of the two best that I have been a part of in my many years of summer shoots. Given the uncertainties of rain, tides, winds, and clouds, you exploited so well every opportunity that came our way. On these trips the purpose is to get good looks at the birds. The some 3,100 exposures that I came home with were solid evidence that I got the looks at this magnificent gannet I was hoping for ---I netted many quality images. Good stuff now in the files. 
Our housing was just what we want: accessible, comfortable, clean and a good buy. The schedule was chock full, we did not have avoidable down minutes, and we squeezed all of the looks available to us out of the time and conditions available. The access to an ATV to tote our gear from the dock to the colony, for a guy of my age, was a real plus and that comes about only with your obvious advance work and solid relationships with the park folks.
 The trip on the water to the far side of the island was a highlight for me and shows best your foresight and planning to get us in not otherwise available, shooting positions. That was unique time, extraordinary. 
But most of all, Chris, your ever-present availability to be immediately responsive to our technical photographic and logistical questions makes this trip so exceptional. So many of the shoot producers put themselves above and before the client-photographer and are spending more time getting their own shots or just not being around when you need their advice. You stay available to provide professional guidance to the guys and gals paying for the experience. I observed that no question is too mundane; you patiently helped the rookies, just as you did the most advanced. Personally, I improved my techniques and banked a good range of knowledge, thanks to you. 
 

My summary: You are an excellent professor of the art, a solid expedition planner, a constant steward of the details, and a good guy with whom to spend days on a trek. 
I'm very interested in getting some Spring/nesting shots of that Atlantic Puffin. If you put together such a trip, please let me know. 
I look forward to another shoot with the unique Dodds' touch. 
Continued success to you, with all best wishes,

Andy Hays Chicago, Illinois, USA"

Learn more about the Gannets Galore Workshop Adventure with Christopher Dodds CLICK HERE

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Learn more about the Gannets Galore Workshop Adventure with Christopher Dodds CLICK HERE 〰️

Northern Gannet Singing in the rain

Last Chance to join the Ultimate Northern Gannet Adventure CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE or SIGN-UP!!

〰️

Last Chance to join the Ultimate Northern Gannet Adventure CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE or SIGN-UP!! 〰️

Northern Gannets SINGING IN THE RAIN (Morus Bassanus, Fou de Bassan) from my Gannets Galore Workshop on Bonaventure Island, Quebec in 2013 ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. 70-300mm @188mm ISO 400, F9 1/400s Manual exposure with balanced flash.

A Northern Gannet calls in the rain and I used a flash set in manual mode as balanced light to add the glitter :)

There is still a couple of spots available for my June 10-13, 2022 Gannets trip due to unvaccinated participants who decided to postpone another year.

Join me for the ultimate immersive bird photography workshop! We start each day onboard a 28-foot Zodiac Hurricane under the bird-filled cliffs of Bonaventure Island. We’ll be photographing diving Gannets, Common Murres, Razorbills, Harlequin Ducks, and Black Guillemots while getting close to Grey Seals and Whales. After our daily Zodiac adventure, it’s off to the colony with the park staff transporting our gear on their Kawasaki Mule, making our walk an easy and pleasant one!

Join the ADVENTURE to Bonaventure Island for Gannets Galore LEARN MORE CLICK HERE

〰️

Join the ADVENTURE to Bonaventure Island for Gannets Galore LEARN MORE CLICK HERE 〰️

Northern Gannets SPOONING

Here is an image from 2013 that I have looked at so many times! It is extraordinary how affectionate Gannets can be!

There is still a couple of spots available for my June Gannets trips due to unvaccinated participants who decided to postpone another year.

Join me for the ultimate immersive bird photography workshop! We start each day onboard a 28-foot Zodiac Hurricane under the bird-filled cliffs of Bonaventure Island. We’ll be photographing diving Gannets, Common Murres, Razorbills, Harlequin Ducks, and Black Guillemots while getting close to Grey Seals and Whales. After our daily Zodiac adventure, it’s off to the colony with the park staff transporting our gear on their Kawasaki Mule, making our walk an easy and pleasant one!

Northern Gannet Calling

Keywords are important

Here is an image of a Northern Gannet from my workshop on Bonaventure Island. I named the image “Northern Gannet Calling” despite the fact that it was yawning to make the image more visible to photo buyers who are more likely to search for “calling” than “yawning” - smile.

Make portraits more intimate

I always strive to get down to my subject’s eye level or lower to make a more intimate portrait. Waiting for the perfect pose, catchlight and behaviour from a low vantage point always makes for a more successful image.

Northern Gannet Lovebirds

Happy Valentines Day!

I just love the super saturated colors immediately after a rain storm passes at the largest Northern Gannet colony in the world. Join me in June for my Gannets Galore Workshop on Bonaventure Island in The Gulf of the Saint Lawrence. This is, by far, the very best venue in the world to learn, refine and master your bird photography skills!

Red Fox of Bonaventure Island

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpus, Renard Roux) Parc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, Bonaventure Island, Quebec Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens  with Sony FE 1.4X Teleconverter @560mm ISO 6,400, f/9 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure.

We had a few really great encounters with the resident Red Fox during my Gannets Galore workshop last June. Traditional symbols of cunning and craftiness, foxes are, in fact, agile, intelligent, and above all, adaptable creatures. Bushy-tailed, long-snouted members of the dog family, they are quick and skilful hunters that eat a broad range of wild fare, including insects, rabbits, berries, and all sorts of rodents, birds and their eggs.

The predatory behaviour of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in relation to a large multi-species seabird community was studied on Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland, from 1983-1986. Fox diet was assessed by examining the faecal composition, avian prey remains and larder hoarded prey. Leach’s Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) made up of 75% of scat by wet weight, 89% of remains and 95% of prey items in and scattered about larders. Black-Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica), Common Murres (Uria aalge) Northern Gannets (Sula bassanus) and Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) formed 19% of scat by wet weight and 11% of remains.

Learn more about my June 5-7, 2019 Gannets Galore (and so much more) workshop HERE.

"An excxellent professor of the art"

"Now in September, with the images of our Northern Gannet workshop processed and filed, I want to thank you for your outstanding planning and execution of the our adventure/trek/shoot on Bonaventure Island this summer. It was a pleasure to be your customer/client.
 Your execution provided an experience to make it one of the two best that I have been a part of in my many years of summer shoots. Given the uncertainties of rain, tides, winds, and clouds, you exploited so well every opportunity that came our way. On these trips the purpose is to get good looks at the birds. The some 3,100 exposures that I came home with were solid evidence that I got the looks at this magnificent gannet I was hoping for ---I netted many quality images. Good stuff now in the files. 
Our housing was just what we want: accessible, comfortable, clean and a good buy. The schedule was chock full, we did not have avoidable down minutes, and we squeezed all of the looks available to us out of the time and conditions available. The access to an ATV to tote our gear from the dock to the colony, for a guy of my age, was a real plus and that comes about only with your obvious advance work and solid relationships with the park folks.
 The trip on the water to the far side of the island was a highlight for me and shows best your foresight and planning to get us in not otherwise available, shooting positions. That was unique time, extraordinary. 
But most of all, Chris, your ever-present availability to be immediately responsive to our technical photographic and logistical questions makes this trip so exceptional. So many of the shoot producers put themselves above and before the client-photographer and are spending more time getting their own shots or just not being around when you need their advice. You stay available to provide professional guidance to the guys and gals paying for the experience. I observed that no question is too mundane; you patiently helped the rookies, just as you did the most advanced. Personally, I improved my techniques and banked a good range of knowledge, thanks to you. 
 

My summary: You are an excellent professor of the art, a solid expedition planner, a constant steward of the details, and a good guy with whom to spend days on a trek. 
I'm very interested in getting some Spring/nesting shots of that Atlantic Puffin. If you put together such a trip, please let me know. 
I look forward to another shoot with the unique Dodds' touch. 
Continued success to you, with all best wishes,

Andy Hays Chicago, Illinois, USA"

Andy will be joining me this August for my Deluxe Puffins Galore Workshop in Quebec. Learn more about my Puffin workshop HERE.