Canon EOS20D, 400mm, 7.1@1/320, ISO 200, Tripod, FF
Hi all,
Managed a day out at Skomer last week - fantastic place and the puffins are just such charming little birds I ended up staying at the Wick all day long!
Exposure was fine in the end as had been worrying about it, but had an overcast day with good light levels and found that underexposing by a full stop was generally the ticket.
This was the last shot of the day and one of my favourites, in the late afternoon the puffins would settle down to some socialising once the chicks were in bed (I know that feeling!), and I realised I only had one shot left so kept trained on this pair for 10 mins before getting this shot - makes me wonder whether I would be better off ditching the motordrive sometimes
Like this a lot too. Good composition and nice skills on the exposure and sharpness. well worth the wait. I reckon I must be the only person in the world who hasn't been to Skomer!!
Well done for catching the two Puffins in such an interesting pose, and both looking in the same direction, against such an appealing background. Personally, I would prefer a touch more space below the birds, and a bit less above. Ideally, a bit more DOF would be perfect, as the left-hand bird does not look as sharp as the right on my screen.
The overcast light has done you a favour regarding the exposure.
I agree that the last shot on the film/card is often the best!
Jeremy has pretty well summed up what my thoughts on this one are.
Not sure about ditching the motordrive though, some of my better shots have been taken in the middle of a 2 second rat-a-tat-tat burst.
Graeme, you can count me as another who's never been to Skomer. Takes me all my while to get out of N. Argyll
Tips for Skomer? make sure you expose for the highlights, stick with individuals/pairs and you will be rewarded for your patience, take a 100-400 (or equivalent) for more composition scope, take a tripod, take a large stick to beat any unscrupulous photographers with!
Seriously, it was quite saddening to see how some people behaved out there with the puffins, one guy in particular who hassled a puffin with sand eels and stopped it going into its nest quite outrageously (as I pointed out to the t**t) - makes you relaise not everybody knows how to behave I had to lose the perfect shot when one puffin flew in directly in front of me with a face full of eels - simply stood up and walked away and let him go round my tripod and over the path into the nest. Didn't get the shot but felt better knowing the chick got his eels
Get down there early to make sure you get on the boat - go right down and queue at the landing platform. There are Swallows nesting in the toilets if you're interested as well.
I spent all day at the Wick (go up the path and left to reach it from the landing area) and was quite happy, although I did go there expressly for Puffins.
Other than that, I think there was a recent forum entry with tips as well
A delightful and well composed shot. No real nits from me, I would prefer the birds just slightly higher in the frame with a bit more grass or ground in the frame. Otherwise a great shot. Puffins work very well when photographed in pairs or small groups.
Discussion
14 repliesHi all,
Managed a day out at Skomer last week - fantastic place and the puffins are just such charming little birds I ended up staying at the Wick all day long!
Exposure was fine in the end as had been worrying about it, but had an overcast day with good light levels and found that underexposing by a full stop was generally the ticket.
This was the last shot of the day and one of my favourites, in the late afternoon the puffins would settle down to some socialising once the chicks were in bed (I know that feeling!), and I realised I only had one shot left so kept trained on this pair for 10 mins before getting this shot - makes me wonder whether I would be better off ditching the motordrive sometimes
Cheers,
Mark
Fantastic composition.And i love the way they are both looking in the same direction.Makes me want to know what they are looking at
I'm hopefully going to the Farnes later in the month, depending on the weather.So i cant wait to see with my own eyes these birds
Nice image - good composition and nice to see both birds sharp!
David
Rene de Heer
Like this a lot too. Good composition and nice skills on the exposure and sharpness. well worth the wait. I reckon I must be the only person in the world who hasn't been to Skomer!!
Graeme
Major.
The overcast light has done you a favour regarding the exposure.
I agree that the last shot on the film/card is often the best!
Not sure about ditching the motordrive though, some of my better shots have been taken in the middle of a 2 second rat-a-tat-tat burst.
Graeme, you can count me as another who's never been to Skomer. Takes me all my while to get out of N. Argyll
Cheers,
John
Tips for Skomer? make sure you expose for the highlights, stick with individuals/pairs and you will be rewarded for your patience, take a 100-400 (or equivalent) for more composition scope, take a tripod, take a large stick to beat any unscrupulous photographers with!
Seriously, it was quite saddening to see how some people behaved out there with the puffins, one guy in particular who hassled a puffin with sand eels and stopped it going into its nest quite outrageously (as I pointed out to the t**t) - makes you relaise not everybody knows how to behave
Get down there early to make sure you get on the boat - go right down and queue at the landing platform. There are Swallows nesting in the toilets if you're interested as well.
I spent all day at the Wick (go up the path and left to reach it from the landing area) and was quite happy, although I did go there expressly for Puffins.
Other than that, I think there was a recent forum entry with tips as well
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=8078&b=se&st=0&la=18&ph=11&sid=25609&u=25609
You'll have a great time - wonderful birds and place,
Mark
Lovely shot of a lovely bird had a great time photographing them last week.
Dan
A cracker
A delightful and well composed shot. No real nits from me, I would prefer the birds just slightly higher in the frame with a bit more grass or ground in the frame. Otherwise a great shot.
cheers
Sean