Love Puffins

I wanted to include one group image, and this one captures what steep precipices these birds have to nest on, and their sheer determination to breed and raise their young. Subtle lighting, DOF slightly out on the rear bird, but it works for the shot. Did you know: Puffins spend most of their lives out at sea, resting on the waves when not swimming, and only come in to land to breed.

I really like this one, its the expression on the face of the bird on the right that clinched it. Its subtle. I also love the defused light and pale colours. This shot is an excellent example of how nature photography is best taken in natural light and should not be overly processed, if at all. Did you know: Puffins are so-called because puffin chicks look swollen or ‘puffed’ up, hence the name.

Well, I had to include one iconic close up head shot with a beak full of eels of course. I chose this one because I like the darker background and the sense of drama. Very nice detail captured around the bill, and eels detail is pretty good too. Well done Top Ten. Did you know: Puffins mate with the same partner throughout their lives.

Excellent image, full stretch landing with eels and head on shot! Toning might be considered a bit on the dark side but that's not a bad thing as it was likely taken in harsh sunlight. Nice toning. I love the shot and thanks for entering. Did you know: There are four species of puffin: Atlantic; tufted; horned; and rhinoceros auklet.

We had some wonderful entries and thanks to all who entered, it seems a lot of us do love puffins! Fantastic entry this one and a little bit different to the usual puffin shots. Not only capturing rain, but excellent depth of field across the whole image. The birds are completely relaxed about getting soaked - well they are sea birds after all and spend a lot of their time getting wet! Molto bene, I'm giving this image Judges 1st place, well deserved. Did you know: Puffins are one of few birds that can hold several small fish in their bills at a time, and the oldest recorded Atlantic Puffin was banded as a chick in Norway and lived to be 41 years old!

A rather nice example of capturing a puffin in the preferred light ie at sunrise or sunset! Unfortunately its not often possible to be in this position when photographing puffins due to lack of access. So well done to you! Did you know: Puffins are excellent flyers, they have a wing flap of 400 beats per minute, and can fly up to 88km per hour! Making photographing them in flight a challenge!

Another excellent inbound full stretch flight shot with eels! These shots are hard to capture because a lot of the time the light is just too bright in the daytime in locations such as Skomer, Farnes etc., especially when shooting upwards. Looks like you had reasonable light for this one, and managed to achieve balanced exposure compensation across the bird. Lovely capture, thanks for sharing, and well done.