This image was created on Inner Farne.
I love trying to make images of the Arctic Tern. These are particularly grumpy birds and this is borne out by the number of wounds they inflict on poor unsuspecting visitors to Inner Farne who will leave with sore heads unless they come prepared with head protection as the tern will swoop and peck peoples head to encourage them to move away from its young.
You might think it is a shame that these birds are provoked by humans but their time on the island is strictly limited to avoid disturbance to wildlife and it is also the case that birds nesting near the walkway used to navigate the island suffer less predation as gulls will avoid areas where there is a human presence.
What attracted me to this image was the fact that the bird stayed still long enough for me to capture some detail of the birds and its surroundings which in this case was a white painted wall.
The camera I chose the Nikon D500 for its fast auto focus as when fling the Arctic Tern travels at great speeds even as it comes into land. My lens choice was the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 which is fast becoming a favourite wildlife lens of mine. I see many photographers using only long telephoto lenses on Farne but for me portability is important and not having the restriction of using a tripod. Although this lens has image stabilisation is not important either as fast shutter speeds will do away with the need to use a stabilised lens.
Next is the camera settings which I set manually. Exposure was 1/2500th sec, f/5.6, ISO 250. The camera was set to capture birds in flight but was fine for the shot I wanted to capture here. I could perhaps have lowered the shutter speed and increased depth however I was also prepared for any action that might present itself to me.
For anyone who is wondering if this is a sharp camera / lens combination I have included a crop below for you to decide for yourself!
