Atlantic Puffin with meal - (Fratercula arctica)

[Steve Kaluski]

They maybe known as 'Clowns' but you cannot help yourself being drawn to them. They are fascinating birds and I would love to have spent more time with them. Last year there was a concern about the huge drop in one of their staple foods, the Sand eel, but glad to say that was only a blip, and this year the colonies are thriving, arriving with truck loads of fresh food for their off spring.:)

The BG might not be perfect, but this is how it was shot and feel it would be wrong to enhance/alter it in any way.

Steve
MKIII 300f/2.8 1/1600sec f/5.6 ISO200 (very slight crop on rhs & top)

[Hendri Venter]

They are indeed fascinating and photogenic and I would love to one day get the opportunity to photograph them. Lovely image Steve. Good angle and very nice BG.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent details and light, like this one a lot

[Kiran Poonacha]

Its beautiful Bhai, nice pose, HA and BG.. loved the details in the blacks too.. the meal adds very well here.. nicely done

[christopher galeski]

excelent shot ,the detail and sharpness,like the BG,pose,magic,well done,thanks.

[Hilary Hann]

Love those puffins, such a worried look on the face! This is a lovely image and that beakful of fish is wonderfully captured. Like the bg too, what issue did you have with it?

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Hilary, the BG area around the tail & chest where it was whitish, plus the slightly darker patches near the beak & close the back. ;)

[Hilary Hann]

Thanks Steve, perfection is hard but just shows how well a strong subject can draw the eye away from minor (in my eye) issues. :)

[Michael Zajac]

I like the fish in his mouth. Good sharpness and exposure.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the scene, and the accumulated fish in the bill is neat. I do wish you were not photographing against the sun, but I suspect there was no way around. Some fill would have at the very least added a catchlight to the eye. If the subject was cooperative and staing still, just moving left or right could have placed those BG patches in better areas. Good call on the crop.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Steve, this is one subject I would really like to see and capture. Good job with the exposure, and just love the detail and colours. Interesting how they gather fish in their beaks as they do. BG looks fine to me.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Composition, sharpness, angle and BG look very good and the fish add to it. I would selectively lighten the iris.

[Steve Kaluski]

Sadly Axel, zippo in there, already looked at that whilst processing. :( They are greedy buggers Stu!

Thanks guys for commenting and girls too. :)

Steve

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I gave it a try, let me know what you think.

[Steve Kaluski]

AHHA, is this with Vista or whatever the software is from NIK to recover dark/shadow areas? Looks good Axel

Steve

[Axel Hildebrandt]

AHHA, is this with Vista or whatever the software is from NIK to recover dark/shadow areas? Looks good Axel

Steve

I only selected the iris in PS and increased the exposure. I guess Viveza would have worked, too.

[Steve Kaluski]

I just dropped the Gamma to 1.30 .

Cheers

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Stunning image of the puffin Steve and it is number one on my want list. Very striking image with a lovely composition, pose and perch. Love it.

[Danny J Brown]

Wonderful shot of a puffin with the forage lined up. About as good as a person can do with challenging light conditions, but either way, very compelling.

DB

[Fabs Forns]

I love Puffin, especially when they look up to Heaven for inspiration :)
Axel caught my idea of lightening the iris, they could have such transparent eyes when the light hits them right.
Great blacks and whites, BTW :)

[Simon Bennett]

A delightful image Stve , exposure is spo on, and I like the fish in bill. I'd really like to photograph this species one day.