TITLE: Shadows

I made this image in an old disused building in Vardo, Finnmark, Norway. Kittiwakes can be seen and heard everywhere around this small arctic city, and as the breeding season approaches their activity becomes evermore intense, with birds selecting nesting spots, and defending them from their neighbours who are typically only a few centimeters away. I chose to backlight the scene before me, so that I could get a more detailed image of the patterns and textures of the old corrugated window. As the building was situated on a jetty, and the side where the Kittiwakes were dropped straight into the sea, my only option was to illuminate the scene from a car park on the other side of the water. With eight birds on the ledge, I soon realised that the chance of getting them all to strike poses that were artistically pleasing was extremely slim. However, I became aware that when one of the birds departed, and then returned, the others on the ledge instantly reacted with vocalization, and their interest piqued. I worked at aiming to capture the moment that this happened, but I needed to start shooting when a bird first approached, if I had any chance atall of capturing the moment. I engaged the help of my partner who was sat in the car park, to tell me by phone when a bird flew towards the building, and I then kept my finger firmly pressed on the trigger of my wired shutter release cable. Many attempts failed, but I was overjoyed when I saw this image on the back of my camera, capturing the moment perfectly. With the bird on the bottom right noisily calling out to its returning partner, and four of the others clearly looking directly towards it; poses perfectly aligned.

AUTHOR: Sandra Kenyon (United Kingdom)

Sandra lives in the UK, but as an avid explorer she travels in her campervan along roads less travelled, aiming to photograph the wildlife she encounters amidst some of Nature's most environmentally significant and diverse places. From photographing Puffins on a remote, snowy island hundreds of miles above the arctic circle, to photographing Dalmatian Pelicans in one of Europe's premier wetlands, Sandra aims to capture unique and captivating images that inform and inspire.