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Atlantic Puffin And Fish
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Atlantic Puffin And Fish

by Jay Levin

Gallery: AvianPosted February 6, 2011746 views22 comments
This photograph was taken on Gull Island, Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland on July 6, 2009. A friend and I obtained a permit from the Canadian government to photograph puffins with the requirement that a government guide accompany us. Only two people are allowed on the island on a given day to avoid disturbing the puffins. The trip involved a treacherous boat landing on sharp wet rocks that I will never forget!

This image was photographed with a Nikon D300 and Nikkor 300mm f/4 ED-IF AF-S and Nikon TC20EII teleconverter. I use this light lens because of a back problem. 1/400s f/8.0 at 600.0mm iso400. The image was cropped to obtain this head shot. The puffin was standing on a grassy hill, causing the background to be green. The fish were to be delivered to a chick in a burrow.

I have been pursuing a photography hobby in retirement for about five years. This is my first post on naturephotographers.net, so please be gentle. :-) Thank you for looking and feedback welcome.

Comments

22 comments
Comment posted by Keith Bauer on February 6, 2011 at 11:07 PM
Hi Jay, and Welcome to NPN. This is a fine portrait of the puffin. Classic pose, lovely soft background and nice sharp details on the bird. I'd be tempted to give it a little more room with less of a crop. Just a personal preference... Thanks for sharing this fine image. Looking forward to your participation. :smile:
Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on February 7, 2011 at 12:32 AM
Welcome!
Lovely portrait of the puffin!
Tack-sharp, fine detail, perfect colors, great fish.
I'd also prefer just a bit more room, although I sure understand wanting to crop tightly to show off the head.
Really looking forward to more from you!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Sogn on February 7, 2011 at 12:35 AM
Welcome, terrific first post.
Registered on January 17, 2007, 68 Posts, 210 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on February 7, 2011 at 6:31 AM
Hi Jay,

Welcome to NPN's avian critique gallery. You will find it a great place to learn and to grow as a photographer. You'll learn as much from giving well thought out critiques as getting comments because you'll learn to be objective about your own images.

Love the look into the puffin's eye, the natural colors, the visible details in the lights & darks, the light and the food in the bill too. It will help us if you tell us how much of a crop you took in the future when posting. The comp might be more appealing if it had a little more space in front of the bill. But that is just my personal tastes.

I am looking forward to seeing more of your work. I would love to see and photograph puffins one day.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on February 7, 2011 at 7:15 AM
How the heck can he catch that many fish in one bite? Great portrait and detail. Well done! :toast:
Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments
Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on February 7, 2011 at 7:18 AM
Entering NPN with beak full ! :biggrin: WELCOME !
Terrific opening shot, I do agree with previous suggestions, would like to know, how much crop is this.
Jagdeep Rajput :wavey:
Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments
Comment posted by Maurizio De Vita on February 7, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Welcome Jay,

classic and wonderful portrait of a puffin enhanced by the nice contrasting background. Rock steady hand, too, considering the resultant focal lenght and the absence of tripod! :toast:
Registered on August 26, 2008, 11 Posts, 66 Comments
Comment posted by Jay Levin on February 7, 2011 at 2:08 PM
Thank you for your comment, Marizio. Rest assured, I used a Gitzo 3530LS tripod for this shot. I wish I had the steady hands that you suggest!
Registered on April 24, 2009, 21 Posts, 184 Comments
Comment posted by David Williams on February 7, 2011 at 2:24 PM
Welcome to NPN, Jay. Sounds like quite an adventure on the island, but looks like you had a pretty good payoff. Love the full mouth and colors. Lood forward to seeing more from you.
:toast:
Registered on March 8, 2005, 315 Posts, 2291 Comments
Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on February 7, 2011 at 3:28 PM

Welcome to NPN's avian gallery, Jay. Very good entry !
I like very much the portrait of this Puffin. Good exposure, natural colors, rich details in the lights & darks, including the food in the bill.

Looking forward to seeing more of your work. Cheers.
Mauro
Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments
Comment posted by Darren Colello on February 7, 2011 at 5:06 PM
Stellar work Jay. Excellent detail to this puffin portrait. Welcome to NPN, wonderful first post. :toast:
Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on February 7, 2011 at 5:30 PM
Welcome Jay. This is a great first post. The sharpness, detail, and light are really nice. Very natural looking image, which is what I always strive for. I agree with others about a bit more room in front of the beak. Overall, a well executed image. Please post larger versions and provide crop size with your posts when you can. They really help in providing useful critiques.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Karen Summers on February 7, 2011 at 5:56 PM
Welcome Jay and a great shot to start with some lovely detail and colour
Registered on December 3, 2009, 83 Posts, 818 Comments
Comment posted by Simon Bennett on February 7, 2011 at 9:19 PM
Welcome and a very fine image indeed of a wonderful subject.
Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments
Comment posted by Carol Nichols on February 7, 2011 at 10:23 PM
Really nice job with your exposure Jay. It must be very difficult to get the exposure right on these black and white birds. The orange beak stands out nicely against the green background. I will be getting an opportunity to shoot puffins this summer and I can't wait!
Registered on November 7, 2007, 161 Posts, 1420 Comments
Comment posted by David Haynes on February 8, 2011 at 10:51 AM
Jay,
This is an incredible image for your first post. Forget that...It's just an incredible image. The story that accompanied it was great as well. It sounds like the trip of a lifetime. Considering you used a 2x converter this image is tack sharp, exposed perfectly, has a beautiful background, and very soft light on most of the image. My only tiny nit would be that the whites on the neck could be toned down just a little bit. VERY NICE IMAGE Jay. :toast:
Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Hackley on February 8, 2011 at 10:53 AM
Excellent puffin portrait and wonderful first post, welcome to NPN. Nice detail and the fish in the bill really add to this image. That must of been quite an adventure to photograph these puffins. Wonderful color scheme to this bird, way to go.
Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 8, 2011 at 8:34 PM
Hi Jay :wavey: Welcome to N.P.N. Yes the crop is a bit tight, But i too would be carried away by this marvelous capture , and show as much of it as possdible., The detail, color and exposure are all very well done :cool: :smile:
Albert Darmo. CAnada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 8, 2011 at 10:55 PM
Welcome to NPN, Jay! Great first post--spectacular detail and an awesome bird too. Your composition works great for me here. Really nice--I'll look forward to your participation here.
Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments
Comment posted by Rob Drummond on February 9, 2011 at 1:54 AM
Great portrait Jay - stunning detail and nice even lighting

cheers
Rob
Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments
Comment posted by antino cervigni on February 9, 2011 at 8:27 AM
Excellent portrait! Regards Antino
Registered on April 17, 2010, 70 Posts, 202 Comments
Comment posted by Geoffrey Baker on February 10, 2011 at 7:21 AM
Welcome Jay, and what a wonderful image to start with :smile:
One of my favourite birds, they're great to watch, like little waiters delivering sandeels to their chicks.
Well captured.

Geoff.
Registered on August 20, 2010, 192 Posts, 980 Comments