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!

Horned Puffin in flight over the Bering Sea

Once again, the Sony Alpha 1 paired with the 200-600 zoom lens proved to be the most versatile kit during my recent Saint Paul Island workshop. It is easy to carry around and hold all day during our long cliffside shoots. Here I am only a few seconds before making the Horned Puffin image above:

Canadian nature photographer Christopher Dodds high atop the cliffs of Saint Paul Island (The Pribilof Islands, in the Bering Sea, Alaska, USA) with a Sony Alpha 1 camera and Sony 200-600mm lens. June 27, 2022 Image courtesy and copyright Dale Johnson - Thanks, Dale :)

Horned Puffin in flight

“My truest feelings for my Saint Paul Island experiences were self-expressed spontaneously and subconsciously when, as our plane taxied down the runway on our return home, I choked up at the thought that our unique week together was over. Special thanks go to you, Chris, for your special help: giving me physical support to deal with the slipperies in the early days before I developed my sea-legs, directing me to good spots for close-up photos, helping me get into and out of them as needed, and especially for your converting me to use the Manual setting for my exposures. The true value of the latter became evident as I scanned my photo results on the computer. I confess I was plenty tired physically at the end of our week, but it was a week that in retrospect I would not have missed.”

— Charles Wyttenback Cape Cod | Massachusetts | USA

Horned Puffin Dorsal View In-Flight

A Horned Puffin returns to its nest in the cliffs of Saint Paul Island, AK. Very similar to the famous Atlantic Puffin, the Horned Puffin has different bill colors and a longer fleshy "horn" above each eye during the breeding season.

The Horned Puffin is among the Alaskan seabirds facing the challenges of climate change and dying in large numbers. Be sure to see my recent post:

2020 Alaska Seabird Die-offs

Canon 7D Firmware V2.0 Available NOW

Horned Puffin PORTRAIT (Fratercula corniculata, Macareux cornu, HOPU) Saint Paul Island, The Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Canon 1D MK IV, 500mm F4 L IS , 2X Teleconverter III, Tripod & Jobu Jr. 3 ISO 800 f/16 @ 1/250s Manual Mode. PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION HERE.

Canon EOS 7D Firmware V2.0 Available NOW

Canon has finally made the new firmware V2.0 for the Canon EOS 7D that we told you about HERE back in June available for FREE download. With improved buffer size increase to a whopping 25, this will be like getting a whole new camera upgrade free. For a list of features, simply follow THIS LINK to my blog post where I shared the Canon Press Release. To Download the free update, simply click the link below:

DOWNLOAD CANON EOS 7D FIRMWARE V2.0 HERE