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Landing gear down

Puffin coming back to nest empty handed

Puffin coming back to nest empty handed
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NIKON D700

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 800 Shutter 1/1000

upload_date

Jul, 2014

Views

1442

Likes

+177

Awards

Editor's Choice

Contest Finalist in The Art of Wildlife Photography Photo Contest

Peer Award

+26

Top Choice

+23

Absolute Masterpiece

+16

Superb Composition

+15

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

Outstanding Creativity

All Star

One Of A Kind

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken on the Isle of Lunga which is one of the Treshnish Isle's of the West Coast of Scotland and home to a thriving Puffin colony. The picture was taken mid July 2014 when the birds are kept busy feeding their young. This guy came into land after being mobbed by some gulls who relieved him of a beak full of sand eels.

Time

I had spent the full day on the Island and decided near the end of the trip to capture some flight shots, this was taken around mid afternoon and I was able to isolate this bird from the heavy air traffic all around us.

Lighting

The light was just about perfect for the time of day and directly behind me lighting up the Puffin as it came into land.

Equipment

This was shot on a Nikon D700 with a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens

Inspiration

I kinda had an idea of the shot I had in mind and just needed the perfect subject to fly directly toward me to try and capture the Puffin slowing down to land on the cliff edge in front of me.

Editing

This is pretty much how it came out the camera, apart from a small crop as I don't tend to do much post processing with my wild life.

In my camera bag

Whenever I visit Lunga I always take my trusty 300mm f/4 lens which is a brilliant piece of glass and a 70-200mm f/2.8, a wide angle comes in handy and to top it of a 1.4 TC. On the mainland it's primarily my Nikon 500mm f/4 lens.

Feedback

As with everything in wildlife photography patience is the key, it's very easy to get distracted by everything that's going on around you and inevitably when your not paying attention you miss the shot. Paying attention to how the subject behaves and anticipating the moment is key to getting your shot, so a few minutes observing how the birds approach their nests and how they appear to hoover in the air for a few seconds before landing should give you time to focus and get your shot.

See more amazing photos, follow jamiesnr

jamiesnr

jamiesnr

Landing gear down

Puffin coming back to nest empty handed

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow jamiesnr

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