Rim light Puffin stretching his wings
Photographed in the wild just off Ireland on a glorious evening using a tripod and a Canon 5DIII and ef 400mm f2.8 LIS
Photographed in the wild just off Ireland on a glorious evening using a tripod and a Canon 5DIII and ef 400mm f2.8 LIS
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Jun, 2016Views
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GMCPhotographics
June 23, 2016
I saw there for 20 mins waiting for him to do his thing. He flew off twice, but returned soon after. I think the shot was worth the wait. It was late and I was tired from the day's shooting. once I got this shot, I could pack up and leave.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo on one of the two Saltee Islands, off the coast of southern Ireland. I was on the island for 5 sessions and this was easily the best light.The island is only commutable via fishing boat and then dingy, which has to be done twice per day, weather permitting. Over night stays are also not permitted.Time
Around 7:30 pm (local time). I'd been tracking this fellow for about 1/2 an hour. He'd jump on to this rock and then fly off a few mins later. After about 2 mins he settled and I waited for him to flap his wings. I was hopeful that I'd capture the setting sunlight through his wings and after a short wait...he put on quite the show!Lighting
Natural light at the end of the day...Exposure of 1/1000 sec is a minimum for this type of shot...I would normally go for between 1/1600th and 1/2000th. But I wanted a little bit of movement in the feathers. I stopped down to f7.1 to capture as much front to back sharpness. This close with a 400mm lens at f2.8, the depth of field is super slim. But I had the time to guess where how wings would be in the frame, compose accordingly and work out the kind of depth of field required. I also realised that a little bit of wing / feather movement would hide the fact that total front to back sharpness would kill the background isolation too.Equipment
Canon 5Dmk3, ef 400mm f2.8 LIS and a sachtler flowtech 75 tripod.Inspiration
I'd missed a few shots like this the day before...but today was my last evening on the island and I wanted to make it count. It's easily one of my favourite puffin shots that I've taken. I personally like the back lighting, the slightly unusual composition as a result and I really love the fact that he's looking at the camera with a little glint in his eye.Editing
This is pretty much out of camera. No crop, just carefully framed at the point of capture. A little post white balance and contrast, but that's about it.In my camera bag
It depends on what I anticipate shooting. I usually carry 2-3 camera bodies (a pair of 5DIII's and an older mkII for wet work). My camera bag usually has a range of zooms and primes depending on what I'm expecting. My primes are 35mm f1.4L, 85mm f1.2IIL, 100mm f2.8 LIS Macro, 135mm f2.0L and a 400mm f2.8 LIS. My zooms are 8-15mm f4L fisheye, 16-35mm f2.8 IIL, 24-70mm f2.8 L, 70-200 f2.8 IILIS and a 1.4x and 2x TC. For wildlife, I use my big 400mm f2.8LIS with or with out tele-converters, depending on focal length required and shooting speeds. My general walkabout kit are my 4 zooms and a 100mm macro, plus extenders.Feedback
Go where the birds are, go to their natural habitat. Learn the right animal / field craft so you don't disturb or agitate them. Move slowly and respectfully. Let them come to you and once they realise that you don't want to eat them, they pretty much ignore you.
