Atlantic Puffin - Cape Breton, NS

[Jamie Douglas]

Just got back from a trip around the Canadian Maritimes and took an extra day off to recover and start sorting through my photos.

Went out on a Puffin tour and although I would have liked the water droplets and feet to be sharper in this image I liked the feel and need a little advice on how to clean up the whites if recoverable at all. The sun was stong and these guys move mighty fast.

Techs...

Shooting Date/Time 25/06/2010 11:24:40 AM
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Lens EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (I love the 70-200 but time to think about a 400mm I think.)

Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
ISO Speed 400
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/2000
Focal Length 200.0mm
Exposure Compensation -1/3
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF area select mode AF Point expansion

This image is a crop and was edited using Adobe CS5 (trial version).

Thanks

Jamie

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Jamie Lots of detail on that bird and exposure on the money Would crop to more of a pano to accentuate the forward motion !! Like the bird placement since the water trail is significant and should be included !!

Love that area and wanting to go back !!!

[Bill Dix]

I like this. I never got this close on my Puffin trip off Nova Scotia; and they do indeed move fast! Great pose, and sharp on the bird. Pano sounds like a good idea, and maybe a bit more room up front. Hope to go back this year.

[Harold Davis]

nice catch, jamie! another vote for the pano crop. i love those birds and cant wait to get up there, either!!

[Jamie Douglas]

We were lucky these little fellas were about as we also counted 15 or so bald eagles on the neighbouring rocks north of where the Puffins were hanging out. The previous day there was over 30 eagles the guide said. I got this shot early on and from the 8 or so frames this was the best.

I took your comments on board Al and created this pano, also added a little canvas up front as mentioned by Bill.

[Alfred Forns]

Like it better Jamie Now it has a strong feeling of motion !!!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Jamie, good advice given and the pano crop is an improvement. The crop accentuates the bird and the action. For my taste I would try and tone down the very hot breast a bit...

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Jamie - like the repost a lot. Congrats on a great capture.

TFS,
Rachel

[Jamie Douglas]

Thanks Rachel.

Dave, do you have any tips for toning down the blown breast? I tried selecting the area and toning it down using the shadow/highlight adjustment but it ended up looking messy.

[Mark Young]

Nice one Jamie, the repost looks really good. That composition really suits this image very nicely

[Jamie Douglas]

Thanks for the feedback and grateful of the pano advice. I will look into fixing the whites.

Oh, just noticed my signature could be toned down a little in the repost.

Jamie