Puffin Action Shot - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

08/03/2004 04:23:41 PM · #1

I'm currently on holiday and today I went on a trip to the Farne Islands near Newcastle, where hundreds of puffins go to nest. This week there were only 40 or so left, but a few weeks ago the islands would have been covered.

This shot is one I took at 300mm from a boat of a Puffin running on the sea ready to take off. I'm only on a laptop at the moment so can't tell how the shot will look on a normal monitor. How does it look?

I took around 200 shots on my visit today, so there'll be plenty more birds coming from me in the coming weeks when I get home, along with a print of this one :)

It's a shame the splashes are out of focus but I didn't have much time to play around with settings or compose as this kinda shot doesn't come along every minute.

Message edited by author 2004-08-03 16:24:57.

midnightride2

Canon EOS-10D

08/03/2004 04:26:06 PM · #2

great shot, looking foward to seeing more.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/03/2004 04:27:17 PM · #3

I think it's cool that the "footprints" are still there even if a bit OOF ... great job.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

08/03/2004 04:27:26 PM · #4

looks pretty good to me - see what you mean about the water splashes, but I like the light on the fish - very silvery.

Kylie

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

08/03/2004 04:27:53 PM · #5

Konador, I am on a terrible monitor at the moment (dark, grayish), but your shot still looks superb! Great sharpness on the bird. I will be looking for more, too.

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/03/2004 04:57:21 PM · #6

What a coincidence, I'm going on holiday soon up to Scotland, and was hoping to go island hopping to get some Puffin shots. Our itinerary is pretty open... any recommendations on where to sightsee up north for good shots? We may return down the east coast via Newcastle.
I was thinking of taking my laptop... have you got insurance on it? If so, could you let me have details?

Cheers,

Bob

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/03/2004 05:15:50 PM · #7

well done - sharp on the bird - feel of action.
is it cropped alot?

08/03/2004 05:22:04 PM · #8

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

The Farne Islands are great for sight seeing, and nearby there's a huge castle (cant remember the name right now).

We've also been to Hadrian's Wall which has some great views along it.

There is also some great architecture in Newcastle city centre.

The laptop I'm using belongs to a friend of my mum's whose house we're staying at, so it's not got any travel insurance or anything on it.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/03/2004 05:23:44 PM · #9

Originally posted by soup:

well done - sharp on the bird - feel of action.
is it cropped alot?

It isn't cropped that much, probably about the width of the bird off each side. It was taken at full zoom on my 300mm lens.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

08/03/2004 05:24:39 PM · #10

Originally posted by Gordon:

... I like the light on the fish - very silvery.

They make it look like he's got a Fu Manchu beard or something : )

Message edited by author 2004-08-03 19:25:11.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

08/03/2004 05:30:25 PM · #11

Originally posted by BobsterLobster:

Best place for Puffins in Scotland is probably the Bass Rock on the East coast If you need ideas for other places to visit - start a thread on it :)

Message edited by author 2004-08-03 17:39:12.

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/03/2004 07:23:55 PM · #12

Thanks, I'll put up a thread tomorrow...

bacchus

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6G

08/03/2004 08:58:29 PM · #13

Absolutely beautiful photograph. I only wish I could catch a shot of a moving subject from a boat on the water with such precision! I mean seriously, that's really, really great. I don't know much about puffins, but they apparently know how to bargain-shop when getting dinner. How many little fishies is that?

It looks really great on my monitor - and that's just a standard cheapie dell monitor.

Excellent!

08/11/2004 05:49:51 PM · #14

I'm back home now and I've made this photo available as a print. I said I would have loads more shots from my holiday, but 2 out of 6 of the CDs I archived photos on are corrupt and I can't get anything off them. It really sucks cos some of my best ones were on there and I'll never see them again! I'm just glad this shot survived.

Thanks for all your comments :)

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

08/11/2004 05:53:42 PM · #15

Originally posted by Konador:

On the archived photos being corrupt - are you trying to read them on the same CD recorder/ player that you made them on ? Some CD writers are notoriously bad at reading back on other players - might be worth trying a few other drives if you can or even getting access to the original (which I suspect is half way across the country) or the same model of drive/ laptop.