Went along to Chanonry Point today, and joined in with a crowd waiting for the next performance. There were a few sunny intervals, but a strong and strengthening wind kept things cold. Some light to heavy showers, of the horizontal variety, added to the mix.

Upon arriving, I was gleefully greeted by a man saying "Oh you've just missed them. They were great!" Resisting a potentially snide reply, I matched his news, and raised the mark, "That's alright, I've seen them loads of times." As they weren't about, I stayed back against the lighthouse's sea wall, sheltering from that wind, and scanning the sea from a point of better vantage.

From looking at local photographers work on the Flickr website, I was aware that some folk spend an awful lot of time here. And as time went by, quite a few of these 'regulars' appeared, and joined me and others sheltering from the wind, chatting, and waiting. I'm not one of the regulars, and normally am nowhere near the place at this time of day, partly because of the ever increasing crowds. Today I was wanting to try-out a telephoto lens, and thought this might be a good venue.

Eventually the artists turned up, and the show commenced. Everyone moved out in to the wind, and closer to the sea. It was a good performance for the growing crowd. There were plenty of 'aas', 'oos', and 'wows', along with the occasional shriek of disbelief when a dolphin launched itself fully in to the air. The old hands kept their cool, and focused on the action, attempting to establish where the next breach may be. Good spots were easily lost with the incoming tide pushing those up front back up the beach... probably why the regulars come with wellies and waterproofs.

As far as my experimenting with that lens went, it was great, with sharp results, though the photographer failed to catch any airborne dolphins with it. The small angle of view can make it difficult to catch the subjects when they (fairly) randomly appear... at least, that's my excuse. Lots of bits of dorsal and tail fins. After a couple of hours I was too cold, with shivering adding to the factors likely to give camera shake. So stood back and took a couple of shots of the scene with a 'normal' lens. Here some of the regulars are up front, appropriately attired, and at work. From our brief meeting, they are a nice bunch.