Bank swallow or Sand Martin banking in flight

Here is a Bank Swallow (Sand Martin) banking in flight; certainly a little more challenging than Puffins in flight. We had some great fun trying to get these Ariel acrobats in the frame during my recent Deluxe Puffins Galore workshops.

Razorbill in flight with Capelin fish

A Razorbill brings Capelin fish back to its nesting site to feed its baby. The very last frame of a sequence of 32 was captured; This one was chosen for the visible Capelin head and its position.

Atlantic puffin with bill full of fish

Here is an Atlantic puffin bringing a bill full of fish (Capelin) to its baby. The background is out of focus seaweed covered rocks. It was a dark and stormy morning and I opted to start to lower my shutter speed (to 3,200/second) once I got to ISO 12,800.

Atlantic puffin with fish silhouette

Here is a silhouette of an Atlantic puffin returning to its nest with some Capelin for dinner. I absolutely love the light shining through the translucent fish tails and the little parts of the Puffin’s primary feathers where the red shines through.

Atlantic puffin with nesting material

Atlantic Puffins dig a burrow in the soil under the grass at the top of a cliff. After cleaning out their burrows, many puffins line their nest chamber with grass, twigs, and feathers. The slightly enlarged nest chamber where the egg is laid is usually placed at the end of the burrow.

Atlantic puffin The Twist

After our fantastic crew (Janine, Brigitte and Jean-Paul) served an amazing gourmet dinner (braided salmon and cod with aux gratin potato, broccoli, tomato and pepper casserole and sautéed purple cabbage followed by the best lemon meringue pie that I have ever had), we ventured out for more Puffin Photography. The Puffins were all flying back and forth to the water for baths and a few of us got some great airborne shakes in the golden light…..the ones who were willing to skip photographing only the puffins with fish - smiles.

Learn more about the dream deluxe lighthouse island accommodation Puffins Galore Workshop CLICK HERE

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Learn more about the dream deluxe lighthouse island accommodation Puffins Galore Workshop CLICK HERE 〰️

Atlantic puffin Sunset Silhouette

Here is another silhouette of an Atlantic puffin from my recently concluded Deluxe Puffins Galore Lighthouse Adventure. Spots are filling very quickly for next year :) Learn more HERE.

Atlantic puffin silhouette

We were treated to some pretty spectacular sunsets during my five back-to-back Deluxe Puffins Galore workshops. This one was made in camera and then I pulled the blacks and added contrast in Photoshop.

Atlantic puffin in flight with Capelin on golden cliffs

An Atlantic Puffin brings Capelin (fish) to its baby in a cliff-top burrow. The sun rose through a bizarre melange of light fog and residual smoke from forest fires further north. The resulting golden honey-brown light only lasted a short while before a heavy blanket of fog rolled in.

As much as I love shooting tight, frame-filling action images, I always make sure to cover the bases for all uses and shoot some images where the subject is less than 30% of the frame; a requirement often requested from magazines and calendars.

Atlantic puffin landing at last light

The light was sweet and there were so many Puffins landing right in front of us! We had such an awesome time as they landed in the last drops of sweet light directly towards us. Once the sun set, we walked about 200 meters (200 yards) into the lighthouse for another awesome gourmet meal - life is good - smile.

Atlantic Puffin twist and shake

We were set-up on the beach at last light waiting for the take-off as this Puffin sat there bathing on the water too far away and just out of reach….as I was thinking about switching to my 600 fé4 lens with 2X extender, It took-off and stalled to shake off the water right in front of me :)

Join me August 2023 for Deluxe Edition Puffins Galore with Exclusive Lighthouse Accommodations CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

〰️

Join me August 2023 for Deluxe Edition Puffins Galore with Exclusive Lighthouse Accommodations CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE 〰️

Atlantic puffin with bill full of fish

Everyone who joined my five back-to-back sold-out Deluxe Atlantic puffin workshops in Quebec was treated to many opportunities with Puffins bringing back fish for their babies. Many of the Puffins were bringing back mixed loads of Sand Lance and Capelin, while others brought back different sizes of the same species. The colony is in fine form with more Puffins than seen on past trips.

This image was made on a foggy morning with the Puffins appearing out of the fog so fast, it was like a video game; so many Puffins with fish, but really challenging photography.

Atlantic puffin banking in first drops of golden light

There were so many opportunities for Puffins with fish, it was an exercise to remember to get some without a beak full of Sand Lance or Caplin :)

Common Raven with Razorbill egg in golden light

All of the seabirds on the cliffs evacuate at the first sight of the Raven. They are quite skilled at carefully carrying stolen eggs :( Part of their success as a species is due to their omnivorous diet: they are extremely versatile and opportunistic in finding sources of nutrition, feeding on carrion, insects, cereal grains, berries, fruit, small animals, nesting birds, and food waste.

Atlantic Puffin in flight silhouette

I can love making silhouettes at sunset on windy days at seabird colonies :) The biggest mistake folks make is not using a fast enough shutter speed to capture sharp edges - wink.

Crested Auklet Vertical

Shoot it vertical and practice!

Here is a Crested Auklet from my recent Saint Paul Island Workshop. If you want to improve your birds in flight skills, try shooting with your camera turned vertically to Portrait mode. As I age, my vision, reflexes and hand-eye coordination are all working hard to slow me down - I stay sharp by spending hours tracking super small, fast and erratic birds in flight and often orient the camera vertically - smile.

Red-faced Cormorant in flight

Here is a Red-faced Cormorant returning to it’s perch on the cliffs of Saint Paul Island. It was great to see the species doing so well with many more accessible for photos than in recent years. Also known as the Red-faced Shag and Violet Shag, this is likely the least studied North Pacific bird species.

Crested Auklet in flight on black

Here’s another Crested Auklet in flight a la Sony 200-600mm lens and Alpha 1 camera. This combo is such a bomb that I am seriously considering leaving my prime 600/4 at home next year. Getting tired of Crested Auklet pics?

Peek-a-boo Horned Puffin

After seeing the effects of avian flu on the Bonaventure Island Northern Gannet colony firsthand, it was nice to see more Horned Puffins than there have been during the last decade on the cliffs of Saint Paul Island this year. This Horned Puffin has a great home with a fabulous view of the Bering Sea!

Backlit Crested Auklet in flight

This image has been on my bucket lit for a very long time. Crested Auklets are the least abundant seabirds on the cliffs of Saint Paul Island, so finding them flying into the right background can be challenging. All of the other images in this sequence had busy and bright coloured rocks in the background. I was fortunate to have a few sequences as this bird circled multiple times waiting for the right wind to land.