A Mouthful

Gallery: AvianPosted July 26, 2011218 views18 comments

I was amazed at how many sardines this puffin was able to put in his mouth, so I decided to do a close-up of his head to show his full mouth.

Canon 5D
300mm f/4L IS
1/1600, f/9, ISO 400
handheld, no flash
13% of full frame
6-26-2011, 12:30pm

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on July 26, 2011 at 9:05 PM

Love the puffins. DOF here really allows everything to be at it's peak in the image. In the larger version, the crop has created some noise, but amazing detail at 13% still exists. I think that the noise can be easily fixed.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on July 26, 2011 at 9:28 PM

Nice detail and I like all the eyes!

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

Comment posted by Navin Sarma on July 26, 2011 at 9:50 PM

The name of this photo was EXACTLY what I said when I saw it! Awesome shot. The eyes of his prey are a morbidly beautiful pattern.

Registered on July 17, 2011, 233 Posts, 1373 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on July 26, 2011 at 9:59 PM

Boy, that's a lot of detail for so much of a crop! Really, really beautiful. It's a really terrific pose.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Levin on July 26, 2011 at 11:42 PM

Outstanding detail on the head and fish, Carol. A great head on look with all those fish!

The details look better in the smaller version because of the cropping. So if you decide to print this, I would recommend that you print small.

Most people might not realize that the fish are destined for the puffin's chick occupying a burrow. The record number of fish was counted at 62 by the Audubon Society at an island in Maine. The average catch is 10. Your puffin is an excellent fisherman!

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on July 26, 2011 at 11:43 PM

A terrific portrait, Carol. I am stunned by the level of detail and absence of noise in the extremely high crop. I can only envy you the pixels.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by keith mitchell on July 27, 2011 at 2:51 AM

Hello Carol.
That's amazing! what a beak full,you have got some super detail and the exposure looks spot on.

Keith.

Registered on July 12, 2008, 127 Posts, 1735 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on July 27, 2011 at 11:44 AM

I really like the head on view and amazing the crop held up so well, very creative approach, way to go.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Olsen on July 27, 2011 at 5:30 PM

Great view of the prey and the preditor!..
Great detail and very interesting. Am I morbid when I say "it puts a smile on my face??"
Thanks for posting this!

Registered on October 19, 2006, 306 Posts, 1571 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on July 27, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Carol,

This is an interesting Puffin portrait and the fish in the bill add even more interest. I like how this is head on. I do see some loss of fine detail and that is most likely from the large crop. If I were to print this I'd print it small ans use a large mat, maybe in black, white and an orangey red. It would still make a great impact that way small.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on July 28, 2011 at 1:30 PM

This looks great especially considering the crop. I like that you can see all those eyes on the fish.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on July 28, 2011 at 7:38 PM

The 'classic' puffin shot - well done Cariol

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on July 28, 2011 at 11:01 PM

Wonderful portrait Carol, like all the fish eyes and the detail is excellent.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on August 8, 2011 at 1:56 AM

How marvelous to have been able to capture all those eyes, perfect amount of DOF you have with this shot Carol, you must be very pleased with this one, I know I would be :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Spencer Cake on December 14, 2011 at 12:02 PM

Carol,

I saw this, or one very close to it, in a Photography magazine two months ago. Was it yours? If not, it was nearly the same. Really a super image!

Spencer

Registered on November 28, 2011, 39 Posts, 34 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on December 14, 2011 at 1:16 PM

three thumbs up!

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on December 15, 2011 at 12:32 PM

Incredible shot! I really like the DOF, nice to have the fish eyes in focus too!

Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Nichols on December 15, 2011 at 12:40 PM

Spencer, no that was not my photograph in the magazine, but thanks so much for the compliment!

Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments