July Image - Puffin with Sand Eels #2

How I did it - One of our club members recently organised a visit to the Farne Islands of the north east coast of England to photograph the seabirds there. We had a whole day out, visiting two of the islands. There were lots of puffins on the first island, Staple Island, and I had a lot of fun and frustration trying to photograph them in flight. They are surprisingly fast and manoeuvrable so it was not easy, but I managed to get one or two reasonable shots. This one had caught some sand eels and had managed to dodge the gulls which were trying to rob them of their catch. The image was shot on a Nikon D300 with a 70-300 mm lens at 135 mm. Exposure was 1/2000 at f/10. Post processing was limited to cloning out two very out of focus birds in the distance and then using curves to darken the sky and lighten the shadow under the wing. The image is a crop from the full frame. OK, I know it’s not up to Erik’s standard, but I really did enjoy the experience.

COMMENTS:
 

Jerry Appel	. At first, I thought the bird occupied too little space in comparison to the sky. However, the more I look at the image, the more I experience the proportions to be just right. The space around the puffin (which is beautifully sharp and colored incidentally) reinforces the sense of a wild bird in an open sky. The placement in the lower right corner – just perfect! The wings are simply gorgeous.
Bill Buchanan	Very nice composition. The image appears to be sharp. I may be inclined to crop tighter and eliminate some of the sky. I am tempted to work on the sky to try and bring out more detail and darken it a bit. Sometimes we have to take what we get and make the best of the situation. The company of friends and emotions of the moment are never captured in our images, however the memories are there forever.
Joe Hearst	Wonderful bird shot but I would crop out some of the sky if the bird is sharp enough to stand more enlargement.
Karen Kotner	The Puffin looks sharp and its placement in the image is good. For me, it is difficult to tell what the Puffin has in its mouth. The cloud formations in the sky add interest without being overwhelming. I am wondering if you cropped a little closer if the image would be more interesting as the focus would be more on the Puffin and there would be less negative space. I am in awe of those who can capture these birds and keep the focus. You did a great job.
Erik Rosengren	The Puffin is neat photographic subject and you captured it with a good wing position, with fish in his mouth, creating a good Nature story. That said, on next bird outing, try shooting a similar flying image at f5.6 at 2500 to 3200th second. It doesn't appear that you needed f10 and the extra speed would help in obtaining a sharp image. You might consider 1/4 in crop on the right side and 3/4 in above the wing and an inch in front of his beak and a slight crop of the foreground. You might want to leave a little more space on top as the bird appears to be climbing at a slight angle.
Rafal Kowalkowski	I saw puffins on Iceland and they are amazing and really fast. I even didn't try to catch them, they were too fast and I was on the boat (whale watching tour). But I think you have a nice photo and I would like to have a similar one.

Member Bio

Guy Davies - Biography Although I started in photography as a boy in 1946, and was soon developing and printing my own films, I really did not get serious until 1989 when I joined a camera club. I then realised just how very ordinary my pictures were! I started to enter club competitions and to listen carefully to the critiques, with the result that my photography gradually improved. In 2003 I decided to try the international exhibition scene and was pleasantly surprised to get some acceptances. This led on to joining the PSA and aiming for star recognition as well as trying to achieve FIAP acceptances. In March 2009 I was awarded the AFIAP distinction, and in September 2009 I was awarded PPSA. Also in March 2009 I was successful in achieving the ARPS distinction of the Royal Photographic Society. I lived on the south coast of England between Portsmouth & Southampton for about 30 years, working in the aircraft industry (jet engine control systems), having previously worked in aerodynamics and then flight test in other parts of the country. Now retired, I live close to where I was born, in the north-east near Middlesbrough. The scenery here is beautiful and my wife Paula and I both enjoy getting out to take pictures. I can be reached at guy-davies at gdpix.co.uk My preference is for landscapes but I also love waterfalls and seascapes. I have tried photographing people too, but only in the environment, not in the studio. Until early 2004 I shot slides on a Nikon F90 (N90 in US), but now use a Nikon D300 digital SLR camera. I find that changing to digital capture has released my inhibitions as I am now much more willing to try out shots as experiments, whereas with film, I was always conscious of the cost. I don't claim any greater success rate than with film, but it's much more fun!