After a day on Tiritiri Matangi, Dad and I were keen to head out to Muriwai and visit the gannet colony again. The sea was a mess, grey foam tossed up from frothy breakers haphazardly crawling up the shore. Fine black sand, invisible in the wind, embedded itself in my eyes in little stinging grits. The haze of salt-spray rose up the cliffs, a fine mist that clings to everything – especially lens elements. But wind is what the gannets love, and those of us that love gannets must brave it to see them at their best.
Weather that is good for gannets is not always good for photographing them. Even though the light was rich and warm, a startlingly clear spring evening, the wind was casting the birds in poor directions to photograph from the platforms above the colony. They were too far away, going in the wrong directions. It was frustrating. The wind was a constant roar. My arms and back were sore from lifting the camera all day. We entertained the idea of going back to the car, getting dinner, and heading home.
But we didn’t. We never do. And the reason is – it’s always worth staying longer. It’s always worth taking the most of opportunities. During the year my photography is patchy at best, and most of my time is spent staring at a screen. If you give me an evening at Muriwai, I’m staying there until there’s barely a memory of light in the sky. It’s not just about getting photographs, it’s about enjoying the experience. The joy I find in being outside is enough to offset any little discomfort – be it cold, or wind, or hunger.
And the wind turned. The gannets began to return from foraging as the sun dropped lower and lower. The frothy sea glowed pink, spray shattering against the rocks and tossing diamonds into the air. Coming in to land, gannets would skim just over our heads. I could hear their feathers slicing through the wind.
Sometimes, it all comes right. I’ll admit to spending more time just taking in the view at Muriwai than photographing on this occasion. But I did get a few photos that really capture the evening for me.
