Puffin Wingflap

[Bill Dix]

One of a thousand Atlantic Puffin frames from our just-completed trip to Iceland. This one from the Latrabjarg cliffs.

D7200, 80-400 VR @ 140 mm; ISO 3200, 1/500s @ f/6.3 manual.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely image, Bill. I like the wing position, the grass perch and flowers. Nice composition. Thank you for sharing.

[Isaac Grant]

Going to echo what Joseph says on this one. I very much like the wing position and the bird in the grass. Great background as well. Hard to find something wrong with this shot but since this is a critique forum, perhaps the blacks are a bit too dark, especially on the birds neck. Also if mine, I would probably try and clone out the few grasses and flowers that are touching the birds belly and see how that goes. I think you should be able to do that without too much problem. Despite that, a beautiful pose of a great bird.

[David Salem]

Great looking pose and I love this species. The colors are beautiful. Looks like it was pretty dark and overcast by the blacks being blocked a little and the high IOS shooting you were shooting. I probably would have had the tendency to over exposed this a bit at capture and then toned down the whites in PP. Well done and looking forward to more from your trip.

[John Robinson]

Slightly unusual Puffin pose Bill./
Like it.
JohnR

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like it lots Bill! Nice wings open pose, and good habitat. There is a faint white spot near the head that grabs my attention - easy fix. I suppose those grasses in front of the belly could be removed but they do not bother me in this instance.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

He's a beauty as well is the image, Bill. Like the wings, head position and the color and detail showing in the eye.


Geoffrey

[gail bisson]

Hi Bill,
So nice to have met you and Geoffrey. An unexpected pleasant surprise!
Looks like Latrabjarg was productive!
Very nice "wings out" pose and I love the little flowers.
I noticed the white area that Daniel mentioned right away so I agree with getting rid of it.
The grey skies really help with the correct exposure for these guys and you nailed it.
Looking forward to seeing your stuff,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all for looking. It was indeed dark and cloudy, thus the high ISO. The neck isn't really blocked ( get RGB of about 28 or so) but I admit there's not any detail there. Thanks for pointing out the white spot -- I had seen it but hadn't thought to remove it, which I will do forthwith, along with the two under the wing. I prefer to leave the flowers against the belly, which I feel help to anchor the bird in the habitat. What a great surprise to run into Gail on the ferry!

[keith mitchell]

The colours on the beak lift this against that dull looking sky and as you say Bill a high iso to achieve the quality you have got,nice pose and the grass and flowers set the whole scene off nicely.

Keith.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Bill, very nice capture and i like the exposure and the flowers/grass even at the belly. The "white" spot on the head doesn't bother me at all, at the top of the beak it is always lighter... Sorry I missed meeting you on the ferry but i was catching a few zzzzzz's, next time. Looking forward to more of your Iceland trip.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Ann. Sorry to have missed you on the ferry. But in Iceland, as we discovered, sleep is a precious commodity. Looking forward to seeing some of your shots as well.