I have heard of a place to photograph Atlantic Puffins from a blind where you only need short lenses. I assume its in Maine or the Canadain Maratimes. Does anybody know the location or any other particulars about this place?
Posted by jeff acreman on July 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
hi pete
puffins can be shot (photograghed i mean) at a very short range, with lenses of 28-105mm no telephotos reqd at skomer island, wales.
this is off the penbrokshire coast of wales i the uk
Hi Pete, I´ve never been there but I believe the location you are thinking about is Machias Island or Rock in Maine.
Posted by Garth McElroy on August 1, 2009 at 6:36 AM
Machias Seal Island here in Maine is the only place you can photograph Atlantic puffins from a blind in Maine. They nest on several Maine islands but they are all closed to the public. MSI is actually in Canadian water. Go with Bold Coast Charter out of Cutler for MSI and pray for cloudy conditions.
Posted by Mickey Turnbo on August 6, 2009 at 9:36 AM
Pete I was out to Machias Seal Island just last year for the second time. If you have any question about it just drop me a line.
I wrote this up on another website. You may find this useful. I have been to Machias a number of times, unfortunately mostly during the afternoon sessions which are not the best for photos if it is sunny. Morning trips are better. You get an hour or less in the blinds. If you want to see and photograph Puffins for longer than that, try a search for Elliston in Newfoundland. Also, there is another location near Elliston where you can see Puffins.
"I have photographed on Machias Island a few times and it really is not the best place to photograph Puffins well. Cons include limited time (maybe 45 minutes to 1 hour if you're fortunate), bad lighting in the afternoon, too many Puffins, cramped blinds and/or too many people in a blind.
On Machias you have 2 options. One is to go on the island and shoot from the blinds or get into a small boat and go around the perimeter of the island. I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be better just to go around the island and photograph puffins from that perspective. From the blinds you'll be shooting out to sea with lots of sky.
The boat from Grand Manan leaves either in the morning or in the early afternoon depending on the tides. Morning is best. If you go in the afternoon, hope for bright overcast or filtered light. If it's sunny then it's tough lighting. If I recall, the light is coming from behind. My best day was a cloudy one. Not many keepers when it's sunny on the afternoon trip.
I got crammed into a blind one time with 3 or 4 others. It gets hot with that many people in a tight blind. No room to move around either. You need to move around in the blind to get into better position for some shots. On one of the trips there were only 2 people in my blind. People tend to stay put whatever side they happen to be once inside the blind. I'm guessing this is the result of seeing Puffins for the first time and wanting to just shoot away (and there are plenty of Puffins no matter what window you're shooting through, so no incentive to move around) and also because of the limited time. I wanted to open one of the side windows to get some vegetation into my shot (for something different) but couldn't because someone was already on that side.
I know someone who heads out to Newfoundland almost every year and manages some Puffin photos. They look great and I don't think she was even really trying. The lighting in the shots she showed me look very similar to what I saw in puffin photos from the folks here who went to Newfoundland last summer. It must be the lighting. So, if you want to shoot Puffins well, (by "well" I mean being able to get some variety in your Puffin photos, having the time to wait for the right shot, being able to move around or choose the time and weather condition to shoot in) then it's best to do it somewhere else than on Machias Island. Certainly good images of Puffins can be had on Machias Island but many photographers would prefer to have better working conditions than those found inside a tight blind like at Machias. They now charge $80 to shoot in the blinds. And that's only for 45 minutes to 1 hour on a good day. The boat only makes 1 trip a day."
Discussion
5 repliespuffins can be shot (photograghed i mean) at a very short range, with lenses of 28-105mm no telephotos reqd at skomer island, wales.
this is off the penbrokshire coast of wales i the uk
jeff acreman (uk)
"I have photographed on Machias Island a few times and it really is not the best place to photograph Puffins well. Cons include limited time (maybe 45 minutes to 1 hour if you're fortunate), bad lighting in the afternoon, too many Puffins, cramped blinds and/or too many people in a blind.
On Machias you have 2 options. One is to go on the island and shoot from the blinds or get into a small boat and go around the perimeter of the island. I sometimes wonder if it wouldn't be better just to go around the island and photograph puffins from that perspective. From the blinds you'll be shooting out to sea with lots of sky.
The boat from Grand Manan leaves either in the morning or in the early afternoon depending on the tides. Morning is best. If you go in the afternoon, hope for bright overcast or filtered light. If it's sunny then it's tough lighting. If I recall, the light is coming from behind. My best day was a cloudy one. Not many keepers when it's sunny on the afternoon trip.
I got crammed into a blind one time with 3 or 4 others. It gets hot with that many people in a tight blind. No room to move around either. You need to move around in the blind to get into better position for some shots. On one of the trips there were only 2 people in my blind. People tend to stay put whatever side they happen to be once inside the blind. I'm guessing this is the result of seeing Puffins for the first time and wanting to just shoot away (and there are plenty of Puffins no matter what window you're shooting through, so no incentive to move around) and also because of the limited time. I wanted to open one of the side windows to get some vegetation into my shot (for something different) but couldn't because someone was already on that side.
I know someone who heads out to Newfoundland almost every year and manages some Puffin photos. They look great and I don't think she was even really trying. The lighting in the shots she showed me look very similar to what I saw in puffin photos from the folks here who went to Newfoundland last summer. It must be the lighting. So, if you want to shoot Puffins well, (by "well" I mean being able to get some variety in your Puffin photos, having the time to wait for the right shot, being able to move around or choose the time and weather condition to shoot in) then it's best to do it somewhere else than on Machias Island. Certainly good images of Puffins can be had on Machias Island but many photographers would prefer to have better working conditions than those found inside a tight blind like at Machias. They now charge $80 to shoot in the blinds. And that's only for 45 minutes to 1 hour on a good day. The boat only makes 1 trip a day."
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