Name: Noelle Bennett
Picture title: Hey! What's that?
Nationality: New Zealander
Occupation: Retired radiation therapist

Noelle:
‘These magnificent birds are New Zealand King shags – they’re an endemic New Zealand species occurring in one small area: Marlborough Sounds. It’s a situation that hasn't changed for more than 240 years. Unfortunately, this type of restricted distribution makes a species incredibly vulnerable. The only way to see King shags is by boat, which makes my lifestyle ideal, because I live on a yacht!

Naturally, photographing from a boat presents its own challenges – even when it's calm there is usually some sort of swell, which creates movement. A tripod is no use here! The birds tend to inhabit rocky areas and, let’s face it, boats and rocks don’t mix well, so a long lens is essential. The final image is a composite, but each of the additional layers (there are two of them) was produced from the original single file.’

Technical information:
Panasonic DMC-GH4
Panasonic Leica DG 100-400mm f/4-6.3
ISO 200
f/5.8
1/2000sec
Accessories: Flash and diffuser
Post processing: Composite produced in Affinity Photo. The plain blue background was replaced by two layers, produced from the original single image with differing effects (mainly blurs and HSL/colour shifts).

Website: noellebennettphotography.com
Facebook: noellebennettphotography