A few weeks back I had the privilege of going the legendary Kaikoura albatross encounter where I spent lots of time with the beautiful albatross. But the first bird seen was actually a very regal-looking White-Faced Heron who was standing near a Little Shag.

White - Faced Heron (Egretta Novaehollandiae)

After 15 minutes of sailing we finally stopped and soon a steady trickle of petrels and ALBATROSSES came through.

Cape Petrel (Daption Capense)

Northern Giant Petrel (Macronectes Halli)

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea Antipodensis)

White- Capped Albatross (Thalassarche Steadi)

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea Antipodensis)

The albatrosses were very confiding and I found myself frequently reverting back to my minimum focal length. Close up portraits were very easy.

Antipodean Albatross (Diomedea Antipodensis)

Surprisingly, out of all the wonderful seabirds it seemed the black-billed gulls captured my attention the most. So I made it my goal to photograph one with the beautiful landscape in the background. Spoiler alert: I succeeded.