The Kiss

This is an image I had hard to work for.... I had to climb on a wet and slippery hill, then sitting in the steep cliff, trying not to fall down with my heavy lens....
But I love pictures, which will always remind you at the situation when they were made.

The pair of puffins was very relaxed, sleeping, stretching their wings, looking around and then they were "kissing" each other. Knocking their bills together is a pairbonding behaviour in the puffin language. (@ everybody: please edit my post and translate it into correct english..;)..)

The day was very cloudy and mist and rain were in the air.

Nice pose, nice clean bg. I like the composition.

I am sure your english is correct. They are engaged in bonding activities. :-)

Which lens was it?

It was the 500mm lens + 1.7 TC

Beautiful puffins, lovely BG. Where did you take the picture??

Hi Nick,
because I am a real puffin fan, I travelled a lot to see those lovely birds. I have been at different places on Iceland, on Skomer Island (West England), Farne Island, Staple Island, Isle of May (Scotland and North England).
This Image is made near Vík on Iceland.

Rosl, the image is superb,
Your english is pretty good too! I think I would be a bit piccy if I corrected it, I suspect it is a lot better than many English folk can express!
Jon

Hi Rols,

What a lovely looking birds and interaction. I think the grass is a little too big in the frame distracting from your main subjects. The light is soft and adds to the feeling of the image. I would also push the colors and contrast a little.

Great behavior and mood captured. I might lighten the eyes and would make the BG in the upper right look more like the rest. I agree with Maxis on saturation and maybe contrast.

I love this image.

I think the saturation could be a tad more?

I wouldn't do anything with the contrast personally. Given the conditions you captured this image under, I think the softness does it great justice.

I agree with Axel's comment relative to the upper RH corner background.

Beautiful image and worth the effort. Loved the composition a lot!

It looks so intimate and cute. Lovely compositioon and BG! Congratulations!

Ps: Your english is sure better than mine hehe...

I wouldn't change a thing :)

I love it as presented just wish it were mine !!!

The puffins look just like they should on an overcast day which is what you will be getting most of the time . I like grasses in front since it shows the habitat without detracting in any way and the interaction is just sweet !!! Big Time Congrats on this one Rosl !!!

I don't mind the grasses either except for the higher one that goes up to the back of the neck...otherwise perfect in my eyes :-) Extremely intimate moment that you managed to capture and share with us. Just the way they are looking at each other gives this image an element of emotion that is very touching. I love it!

Hi Rosl, thanks for the info. I know Skomer quite well - one of my favourite places on earth - about a 31/2 hour drive from my house! I too am a huge puffin fan!! I wouldn't change a thing about your picture.

Cool behaviour and yes, a bit more SAT and contrast would help. My biggest problem with the image is that the upper part of the right hand bird is angled away from you...Guess that that one was shy...

Rosl, absolutely lovely image this one.
Just look at those expressive eyes. Those eyes speak !

Keep it as is! The kissing interaction, the grass and the bg make this one for me. Excellent!