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Puffin at Sumburgh Head
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Puffin at Sumburgh Head



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Shetland Islands, Scotland

Shetland Islands, Scotland
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cameraNIKON D800

settings Aperture f/4 ISO 320 Shutter 1/2500 Focal Length 2000/10 

upload_dateFeb, 2016

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5 Comments |
NeilW Premium
 
NeilW May 20, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
NeilW Premium
 
NeilW May 20, 2016
Write a comment
jimfbauty
 
jimfbauty May 21, 2016
Great capture. Lighting and focus spot on. Beautiful.
BarbMarszalek Premium
 
BarbMarszalek July 11, 2016
So jealous. I love puffins.
darrellgillenwater Ultimate
 
darrellgillenwater November 16, 2017
Great shot

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at Sumburgh Head on the very southern tip of mainland Shetland Islands on my second trip there in 2014. The first time I went there in 2011 is when I rediscovered my childhood love of photography and what set off a chain reaction of events that led me to be the full-time professional photographer that I am today.

Time

I honestly don't remember what time of day this was taken because in the summer's in Shetland they have what's called "Simmer Dim" where it is basically light out for 20+ hours a day. It makes for fantastically long photo shooting days, but makes it hard to tell the night from the day sometimes!

Lighting

Natural light is my favorite thing in the planet. I don't like creating fake scenarios where it seems like there is light where there is not because you can almost always tell. Instead, I wait for light to cast naturally and shoot what I see. Every once in awhile I get lucky and get a really well lit photo like the ones of puffins that I took on Shetland.

Equipment

I shoot with my Nikon D800. I made the upgrade to that camera impulsively the week before I left for my trip. I also had purchased the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8...which is a great lens. But for some reason it was glitchy when I was out taking photos at this particular sight. So I wound up using just my 50mm prime lens. That probably speaks to just how close you can get to puffins. They are not afraid of humans (even in the very remote area of Hermaness on the northern part of the island). It's very rare that I use a tripod. I find them to be too confining. I prefer the flexibility and movability of shooting off tripod. Plus, I like to get down at ground level too much.

Inspiration

I love puffins. I mean, how can anyone not love puffins? They're adorable. When I travelled to the Shetland Islands in 2011 the first time I missed the last of the puffins by a week. So when I came back in 2014 I made sure that I would be there the same time they were. Puffins are friendly and have an adorable waddle as well as a hilariously awkward looking landing when they come in from flying around. I just loved how stately this particular puffin looked. And I remember being particularly impressed with the crisp details that my Nikon D800 captured.

Editing

I don't do a ton of post processing in my photos. I use lightroom to kind of brighten any shadowy areas and to give the color a little bit of a boost. But short of that, I don't do much with post processing.

In my camera bag

I am a notorious overpacker. Both personally with my luggage and professionally with my camera gear. I always take my prime lens and my wide angle lens no matter where I go. They are the two lenses I use the most. For my day job (where I work as a photographer for an engineering firm) I also use my tilt shift lens a ton. I always carry an extra case of memory cards just in case i forget mine in my camera or if I happen to run out at just the wrong moment. I have a whole bunch of other stuff I carry in there, too, but it's mostly stuff that I rarely use. The important thing is the camera and lenses.

Feedback

Get down to the level of whatever subject you are wanting to photograph. I spend a LOT of time laying on my stomach when I am photographing things, especially wildlife and babies/kids. It's all about perspective.

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