Tufted Puffin in flight

[Robert O'Toole]

This image of a Tufted Puffin in breeding plumage with nesting material was made during a workshop I was leading last week in Alaska.
Even though we are in Katmai to Photograph Coastal Brown Bear I love to photograph puffins and each trip I schedule time to photograph these guys. For this trip we were blessed with great cloudy overcast weather the entire time.

These are my favorite of the 2 species found in the north Pacific even thought they seem harder to track in flight maybe due to the lower contrast of the all black body. These guys are only found in the northern Pacific and are not found in the atlantic. The cool looking yellow tufts will moult off later when the breeding season is over.


NIKON D300, AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR, Handheld.
1/1600 @ F4, Manual Mode, ISO: 400
Focal length: 750mm equivalent

Robert

Image copyright 2008; Robert OToole Photography .com

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wow what a stunning bird Robert. Wonderful flight pose and excellent color and detail. Would love to see one of these one day. Welcome back !!!!

[Ed Cordes]

Nice and sharp with good wing position. The expression coupled with the nesting material in the mouth make it look like it is on a mission of importance.

[Steve Maxson]

Love the pose, Robert. The vegetation in the beak is a big plus. Maybe it's just my monitor, but the whites on the face look a bit hot. Well done.

[Robert O'Toole]

Wow what a stunning bird Robert. Wonderful flight pose and excellent color and detail. Would love to see one of these one day. Welcome back !!!!

Thanks Judy Lynn!

You need to come with me next year!

Bears, Eagles and puffins all day and the light can be good from 5 am til 11 PM :D

Robert

[Robert O'Toole]

Love the pose, Robert. The vegetation in the beak is a big plus. Maybe it's just my monitor, but the whites on the face look a bit hot. Well done.

I think its a matter of contrast. As part of my workflow for puffins and eagles I mask the head and/or face and use Multiple blend mode to add more detail and of course I make sure not to blow the whites to begin with :)

The whites here are 225-235 measured in CS3 with the sample tool and info palette.

Robert

[Brian Wong]

Welcome back Robert!

Wow, I'm going to have to make time to see these guys next year! They look like fast flyers??? Of course the head, eye, wing and body position is excellent. Sticks are bonus points!

[Grady Weed]

In flight with a stick. What more can you ask for. Down beat on the wings, clean sky is a bonus.

[Doug Brown]

Nicely done Robert!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

This is really cool Robert. The pose is great and it looks rather quick.
I would not dare dispute your perspective on the whites. You know far better, I am a CS3 virgin, actually a post processing virgin. ;D

Love the material in the bills. My question is that are the golden tufts leading out from behind the eye something like a crest?

Thanks. :)

[Jim Fenton]

The whites lok fine on my monitor...they are bright cause they are bright :)

The crop bugs me though as I would have opted to place the bird higher in the frame.

Nobody elese has mentioned it, but it's what my eyes tell me.

Some day I'll get to Alaska....

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I'd love to see this species sometime, quite different than the Atlantic variety. Great wing position and nesting material. I might put the bird a bit higher in the frame and crop a bit tighter. The whites look good here, I think the sky leads to the appearance. Thanks for sharing!

[Jim Neiger]

Great image, Robert! These little guys are fast. The nesting material really puts it over the top.

[Arthur Morris]

I like everything about this one especially the wing postion. Way to go.

[Gayle Clement]

I really love this one. I can't believe you were able to manage such a sharp image handheld.