Puffin in Flight
A Puffin coming into land on Skomer Island.
A Puffin coming into land on Skomer Island.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Awards
People's Choice in Birds, Birds, Birds Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph of a Puffin in flight was taken on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire, Wales.Time
The photograph was taken in the morning. I had an early start as it takes around 2 hours to travel to the the car park from where I live and then I had to queue for landing tickets before waiting for the boat. Trips to the island are so popular that it is necessary to arrive before 7.30am. I was on one of the first boats to the island.Lighting
Only natural lighting was used as I would not want to upset the birds by using flash plus the distance was too great for flash to be productive. It was a fairly bright day and as I was photographing the birds as they came in to land on the top of the cliff there were no real lighting problems.Equipment
I used my Canon 5D MkIII with a Sigma 150 - 600mm lens and shot hand held.Inspiration
I had been taking portrait shots of the Puffins and noticed a good spot to observe the birds returning from the sea and landing near their burrows on the cliff top. I watched for a while so that I could choose the best angle to shoot from and then positioned myself as best I could to ensure a decent background. I had the camera set to continuous shooting mode and Al Servo to enable me to start shooting as I followed the bird to it's landing point.Editing
As I shoot in RAW it was necessary to carry out some post processing. In Lightroom I made slight adjustments to the levels and increased the Clarity / Contrast. I cropped the photograph to remove some of the negative space and put greater emphasis on the Puffin.In my camera bag
On a trip to Skomer I will always take my Canon 5D MkIII with my Sigma 150 - 600mm lens. I also take a 50mm Prime lens and a 100mm Macro Prime lens just in case I want to shoot a few landscape or Macro photos. I normally also carry an 85mm Prime lens on other shoots.Feedback
It is always important to observe the birds and the surroundings to see where the best shots are. Background is important as you do not want it to interfere with or distract from the main subject. Shooting with a wide aperture and making sure your subject is not too close to the background will help to blur whatever is behind. Therefore take this into account when positioning yourself prior to shooting. Make sure you have your settings right. A fast shutter speed equal to or greater than the lens you are using is important to avoid blur from camera shake and it must be fast enough to stop the motion of the bird in flight although a little movement blur to the wings can add to the picture. A panning motion when following the bird in will also help to add blur to the background. Avoid shooting when there are people visible in the background. Patience is key and take a lot of photos. Don't be put off if you don't get the shot in the first batch of photos you take. Keep trying as you will get there. Practice makes perfect. When post processing, don't be afraid to crop the photograph so that it is more pleasing to the eye.
