Janus, two faced god
Puffins make their nest underground and when they emerge from their burrows they check out the area to see its safe before going off to fish, here like the two-...
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Puffins make their nest underground and when they emerge from their burrows they check out the area to see its safe before going off to fish, here like the two-faced Janus: God of gates and doors. Taken on a brief supervised landing on a small island off the East coast of Scotland.
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Jan, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Since there is very restricted access to the breeding grounds of Puffins one has totake a boat trip to Farne Islands where many sea-birds are breeding. One has a short time to visit the colony where the birds have occupied old rabbit warrens.Time
No choice here since the visiting hours are fixed. The cloudy afternoon lighting was ideal , reducing problems that can be encountered with too much contrast, with overexposed highlights on sunny daysLighting
I usually work with ISO 200 and -2/3rds off-set when photographing on the ground. For this shot it was desirable to allow the black regions of the two birds to merge so underexposure would be just fine.Equipment
This was a pelagic boat trip so a light hand-held set-up was ideal: Panasonic Lumix FZ 150 with lens adapter tube (Lumix DMW LA7) and 1.7x DMW-LT55 Teleconversion lens to allow good pictures at a distance from the birds. [I later moved on to upgrade to a Canon 7D mk II with 300mm f4 lens and 1.4x adapter: the higher resolution, faster focussing and better picture processing in the camera actually gives better pictures under similar conditions, but of course a lot more expensive]Inspiration
Puffins are dying out in many areas such as the Orkneys where predation by Skuas is a problem. I wanted first to experience these wonderful birds first hand. Arriving at the site no birds were to be seen. After about 15 minutes most of the tourists had moved on to other places on the little island. I stayed very still, had removed all flashy or noisy objects (rings, watch, keyring, cellphone) and waited. Eventually a few heads started to appear at the mouths of some burrows. Remember the Skuas. There was a method in their cautious behavior beyond avoiding noisy tourists. Capturing this pair scanning their entire horizon, apart from being fascinating and beautiful, also covered this basic activity, so important for their survival. Perhaps some observation of such an event had given rise to concept of the two-headed gods of the ancients such as Janus, guardian of the doorways.Editing
Post-processing I try to keep to a minimum, not overdoing sharpening which I find on birds gives an unnatural feeling of silkiness which is not there. In this particular shot increasing the black intensity gave the desired ‚fusion‘ effect on the dark parts of the two birds..In my camera bag
In addition to the equipment mentioned previously a pair of good binoculars (x8 or x10) really help to home in on what may be really interesting but which may have been missed at a distance with the bare eye. I also have a 25-110mm Canon lens to capture an overview of the area, although smart phones these days are amazing for panoramas.Feedback
In bird photography it is important to do background research on where and when a particular species can be best seen. Being informed on the threatened status should always be a concern. Respect for the birds comes first. If you feel the birds are disturbed withdraw quietly, even without a photo! Young birds on their nests are generally considered a taboo and most serious journals and newspapers will not consider publishing them. Exceptions are where hides or remote hidden cameras are used. Be patient. Be quiet and don‘t wear flashy bright clothing. Practicing hand-held shots with light eqipment will often allow you to capture the magic moment, often before your companions even notice that something happened.
