Puffin Pictures

I went up to Machias Island off the coast of Maine (claimed by both the US and Canada) that is a breeding ground for puffins with my grandfather (Don LaVange). I had a Mark III with a 70-200 F/4 IS lens and a 1.4x extender.

#1

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Magic!

I think I'd prefer no. 3 without the frame, but that's just personal preference, not a comment on the quality of the image - these have the kind of natural, unprocessed "own eyes" look to them that I love to see.

They almost look like toys....very impressive photo's.

Amazing photos. And they do look like adorable toys.

Thank you all! They are a lot smaller than most people think so yes, they are a lot like toys. Although I don't know if I would want #5 as a toy!

Photonfinder wrote in post #5993908
Thank you all! They are a lot smaller than most people think so yes, they are a lot like toys. Although I don't know if I would want #5 as a toy!

I don't know, he's kind of cute, like a walkin'-talkin' puffin

Wow! I see how folks get fixated on puffins, they're such amazing birds. Thanks for the pix. #6 looks like it should be hanging in the hall of famous ancestors - very cool.

Great series of a bird I hope to see some day. Excellent work David.

wow those are awesomes. all i cany say about it.

Bill 1

Wow nice shots. I recently had been in Bar Harbor Maine and I took a puffin and whale watch tour. The puffins that I saw looked like little black chickens in the water because the boat did not come to close to them. I had my canon 40D and the 70-300 lens and I was not able to take a good shot. So for those of you who consider taking a puffin tour: unless you want your puffins to look like a little black chickens on the water do not take a Bar Harbor puffin tour, go for a Machias Island.....

Beautiful shots of an adorable bird. I would love to see one someday!

These are great. I think I like number 1 best, but 5 and 6 are great, too. I know some people prefer motion in a bird shot, but I love a classic shot when it comes to puffins. I was also at Machias recently. It is so wonderful. I had been there before (long time before - 1992) and this time I came away with better shots because I knew more what I was doing and also had a longer lens. However, it's a great place because you can get good shots even with a little point and shoot. You gotta love those puffins!

roothy123 wrote in post #5995777
These are great. I think I like number 1 best, but 5 and 6 are great, too. I know some people prefer motion in a bird shot, but I love a classic shot when it comes to puffins. I was also at Machias recently. It is so wonderful. I had been there before (long time before - 1992) and this time I came away with better shots because I knew more what I was doing and also had a longer lens. However, it's a great place because you can get good shots even with a little point and shoot. You gotta love those puffins!

yeah the people we were sharing the blinds with had little point and shoot camera's but got some pretty good shots, battery life wasn't good for them though. This cocky german guy (who claimed he only needed 10 shots!) once stayed with the lighthouse keeper way back when.

I always love good photos of this bird! Thanks for sharing this bundle of loveliness!

Photonfinder wrote in post #5993700
I went up to Machias Island off the coast of Maine (claimed by both the US and Canada) that is a breeding ground for puffins with my grandfather (Don LaVange). I had a Mark III with a 70-200 F/4 IS lens and a 1.4x extender.


All criticism and comments are welcome!

Nice stuff David! The only thing I would add for the record is that the lens was the 70-200 f2.8L, not the F4.

And Andy, the Captain of the "Barbara Frost", that runs these trips out of Cutler Maine, is a rare individual, who cares about his customers and getting them to have and understand this great experience. He takes the extra time to get you photo ops in addition to the Puffins and the Razorbills. We saw Seals and shot them as well as a few Eagles in the distance and Guilliemots in the water. I was his guest twice this year.