Puffin against 'The Wick'

[Mike Poole]

172151


On Skomer Island, the classic place for photographing Puffins is at a location called 'The Wick' which is a cliff top where the backdrop is a cutout of the far cliffs, and it is this area that provides the background for this shot.

Canon 1dx
Canon 100-400mm ii
ISO 3200
1/2500th f5.6

Mike

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Mike, I like this habitat shot. The bird is super sharp and the fish and wing position are fantastic. You might try it with some off the back and some off the bottom, as per my repost. Are the white things on the cliff birds?

with love, artie

[Mike Poole]

Hey Mike, I like this habitat shot. The bird is super sharp and the fish and wing position are fantastic. You might try it with some off the back and some off the bottom, as per my repost. Are the white things on the cliff birds?

with love, artie

Cheers Artie, food for thought. I think maybe somewhere in between might work, I do like the crop you gave but maybe the puffin is a little to close to the bottom corner now?

Regarding the white things, there are Kittiwakes that nest over on that side but they are sadly not accessible for shots. There is also some grey rock that in this light can look brighter. Google maps have just done a shot from the place I was stood - https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.7316304,-5.2938721,2a,75y,202.63h,73.11t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZ5fceReFRhfpAEAwdEF8NA!2e0!6s% 2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DZ5fceReFRhfpA EAwdEF8NA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_ sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26y aw%3D214.5%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i 6656

The thin area just behind the rope is crammed with 100s of puffins in season, with 100s more in burrows just behind you (if you spin the camera round 180 degrees) and the BG for this shot is the cliff face thats in shadow, jutting out at 90 degrees here

Mike

[Alex Becker]

Pretty cool one Mike. The small in frame works well here and I like the BG. I like the wing position and sandeels. I think somewhere between your crop and Artie's is good. If you go wider than his though I would clone out that red, hot-pixel near the bottom of the frame about vertical of the puffin's eye. TFS, a lovely frame.

[Tim Foltz]

Mike, sweet shot I really like the repost nice work, one of my favorite birds… maybe one day I will get to see them in person.

-Tim

[Glenn Pure]

Excellent work, Mike. That cliff in shadow provides a great contrasting background and shows off the puffin really well. Excellent detail and wing position on the bird too. As for composition, I also think somewhere between the OP and RP. Thanks for sharing.

[Bill Dix]

Terrific flight shot, with great wing position against dark background. And a mouthful, to boot. Yes, a crop mid-way between would work nicely. Hot pixel noted.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Brilliant capture, Mike. The light is exceptional on this swift beauty, and the fish being swept back give an indication of the speed. Like the degree of softness in the BG.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)