The Atlantic puffin with Krill for its pufflings - Grimsey, an island off the northern coast of Iceland ( 3 hours by ferry )
Weather has not been co-operative- cold windy rainy at times - but this was a welcome break though you can still the effect of the wind on its hair do
Anything useful
I love the head turn and crazy eye positions, Karl. I do find the tip of the beak and nearest krill being out of focus a bit troublesome.
I like the pose and the look he’s giving you. Since we’re not seeing the entire puffin, anyway, I wonder about cropping out the green at the bottom. I also like the effect the wind has on the feathers.
Looks like you had tough conditions to photograph in Karl. You certainly captured a quizzical look with that head turn and I love the head, chest and cheek feathers that are blowing in the wind. I really wish there was more depth of field on this shot as the Krill are kind of the star of the show yet they are out of focus and so is the entire chest of the bird. I love the image anyway Karl.
You have a great pose here Karl, a really nice shot of the bird and its catch. Some of the whites are very bright on my screen. It’s not unusual with many birds in strong sun but you might get a bit of detail back using a mask in your processing software.
Puffins are very difficult to expose properly. One needs to get all the detail in the light plumage in the dark plumage which has a tendency to be really shiny. The main issue here as others have mentioned is the krill and the beak is out of focus. This behavior is exhibited to feed the young. Nests are built into this hillside’s and dug out. You can tell that the eggs have hatched when you see the parents was krill in their beaks. Finding a site with a lot of puffins and krill in the beaks is a matter of luck and timing.
Karl, that is just fantastic all around. WOW.
Thanks you all for your appropriate observations - working on my laptop in Iceland - which can be more forgiving - thankfully I have 1500 images to choose from and will make a better choice when I get back home!
Hi Karl
Puffin rate in the top 2 or 3 birds I have on my list to photograph. I can live with the beak and Krill being a little soft, because they bring my eye straight back to the head turn and eye contact of the Puffin.
Peter
Hi,
Eyes are quite sharp and wish for slightly more DOF. Also, try sliding back on the highlights in post processing. The spot above the beak is quite bright and you should be able to recover the details with no problem. Still, a wonderful photo…Jim
Thanks Peter!
Fortunately I have a lot of images to go through - hopefully i will get it right 
Much better focus on that bill tip, and the close-up is more striking and immediate.
The slight difference in focus made a world of difference in the image, Karl. An excellent image.
This guy makes me smile every time I look at the photo. I do like the re-processed version better. DOF is better and the green off the bottom works. I might leave just a little more of the bird’s chest on the bottom edge. Fantastic photo!
