What a catch

Gallery: AvianPosted September 13, 2010235 views27 comments

Taken last year on Skomer Island in West Wales.
I was in the company of Andy Astbury, Andy Snape and Mark Davies that weekend and we had a great time

This is a crop from a landscape format shot with an even amount taken off left and right sides only.

When they land with sandeels they don't stop for long, they have to get into their burrows quickly before the seagulls attack them for their catch so i only had time for this one shot.
I witnessed one such attack and it was brutal

Sony A350
Sigma 50-500 EX
1/1250th second
f7.1
ISO 200
500mm
-0.3 stop exposure compensation
Centre-weighted metering
Hand held

Comments

27 comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on September 13, 2010 at 7:56 AM

Great capture, Geoffrey !!! Superb portrait, exceptional sharpness and detail

Congratulations.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on September 13, 2010 at 9:28 AM

Wish I had this in my portfolio. Excellent catch!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on September 13, 2010 at 11:14 AM

Sweet! Only nit, a catchlight in the bird's eye to make it come to life for me.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by denise ippolito on September 13, 2010 at 11:33 AM

Awesome! I love the sandeels and the eyeballs!! Nice and sharp. A tiny bit of noise in the BG. a WONDERFUL IMAGE.

Registered on December 17, 2009, 202 Posts, 1529 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on September 13, 2010 at 12:16 PM

I'd love to get a photo like this. I love the head-on look and the details are amazing.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Giorgio Gregori on September 13, 2010 at 12:57 PM

Superb portrait, great detail, DOF and BG . I like a lot the direct look ( both of the bird and fishes ).
Giorgio

Registered on November 16, 2007, 87 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on September 13, 2010 at 1:50 PM

Now that is a mouthful. Great shot.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on September 13, 2010 at 3:16 PM

Geoffrey, a big CONGRATULATIONS! I really love the larger version and can't help but imagine how wonderful this would look as a 20x30 framed print. Very well done!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Diller on September 13, 2010 at 3:21 PM

Awesome....what a mouthful! Nice details as well. I agree with Ron B on the catch light to really spice this up.

nice capture once again!

Registered on October 2, 2009, 69 Posts, 434 Comments

Comment posted by Muhammad Zaid Wani on September 13, 2010 at 3:43 PM

Marvelous shot!

Registered on August 18, 2005, 23 Posts, 1406 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on September 13, 2010 at 4:08 PM

Wonderful shot! The eye contact is great!

Congrats

D&L

Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on September 13, 2010 at 4:22 PM

Very nice portrait! The exposure is spot on....and not easy to do with such contrast.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on September 13, 2010 at 4:46 PM

Excellent!

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Bob McQuade on September 13, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Great sharpness, especially for handheld, great catch

Registered on October 8, 2009, 214 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on September 13, 2010 at 6:16 PM

Excellent portrait of the bird and the catch, too. Always amazes me that they can get so many at a time in their bills!

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on September 13, 2010 at 6:21 PM

Oustanding portrait Geoffrey

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on September 13, 2010 at 6:58 PM

Super Cool

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on September 13, 2010 at 7:19 PM

Just excellent, and I DO see light in the eye! Congrats on this one. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by John Fan on September 13, 2010 at 8:04 PM

What a shot!

Registered on August 24, 2010, 135 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on September 13, 2010 at 8:05 PM

Very cool image Geoffrey. I love the look, the sharpness and all of those fish. Very nice depth of field here. Beautifully done.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Butch Lama on September 13, 2010 at 11:05 PM

Mouthful shot, love that colorful bill.

Registered on July 23, 2010, 42 Posts, 316 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on September 14, 2010 at 1:18 PM

This is stellar Geoffrey. Love those crisp details. Excellent work here in every regard.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Doug Gilham on September 14, 2010 at 3:50 PM

A very cool shot Geoffrey. Great job of being in the right place at the right time.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 77 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Elwood on September 14, 2010 at 4:20 PM

Ditto all above Geoffrey!!! A stunner!!

Registered on January 15, 2010, 101 Posts, 396 Comments

Comment posted by Troy Lim on September 15, 2010 at 12:10 AM

Geof,

Stunning shot. Love this bird.

Registered on February 25, 2010, 17 Posts, 50 Comments

Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on September 15, 2010 at 11:26 AM

I love your Puffins, but this one IMO is the Best! Keep shooting puffins,....I never tire of looking at your photos!

Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Levin on February 14, 2011 at 11:04 PM

Wonderful behavioral shot, Geoffrey. The puffin and eels are tack-sharp despite this being hand held. Exposure is perfect and a superb background. I don't know if you are aware of this, but the Audubon Society in the U.S. reports a record mouth catch of 62!

Registered on April 24, 2009, 21 Posts, 184 Comments