Animals in their environment

Learn what to include and exclude from a scene for maximum impact

The most important thing when deciding at which aperture to shoot is to consider which parts of an image you want in focus, and which parts you don’t. My general rule is that if an element adds to the image then try to include it but if it detracts then try to exclude it.

Critically important to maintaining the painterly feel of this image was to produce front to back sharpness and to achieve that I shot this image at f/16. I still needed to maintain a fast shutter speed of 1/400sec to compensate for the buffeting that I was getting, sitting with my legs draped over 150m high cliffs whilst a surging, 65mph wind tried its best to dislodge me. The habitat in this image is every bit as important as the birds themselves. It is what gives the gannets context, and it is the relationship between the gannets and their environment that gives the image its narrative.