Ode to a Puffin

Hello and welcome to the Puffin Man blog

I hadn't  met a puffin until June 4th, 2009  and now 3 months later, I'm publishing a Puffin-centric blog, photo-site and web store! . In 15 years as a bird photographer, I was never inspired to open a website called "The Mallard Man",  "The Heron Man" or the "White Ibis Man" ..........

So why puffins?
The answers lie  on the rocks of Machias Seal Island, Maine and in my photo galleries.  

Viewing the Puffins was an incredible experience

• The creatures are as cute, lovable, and strikingly beautiful in person as they are in the photos and trinkets you see in gift shops.
• Most of us tend to "anthropomorphize" about animals we see.  There's the wise old owl, the cuddly bear, the wily coyote  metaphors  based mostly on physical features. "Owls really aren't very wise at all", a raptor expert recently told me.  Try cuddling up with a bear, grisly or otherwise; you'll get mauled or worse. Can we know what a puffin is thinking or feeling?  Nope. Yet, the indelible impression they make is one of joy, cuteness and need I say it, "humanity".
• With the exception of my visits with captive parrots, I've never felt so much personal interaction with birds. Were the puffins really checking me out with curiosity when they peered up at me?  Maybe. Those who landed with a few feet from my camera lens were definitely  making "good,  eye contact" with their visitors.Yes, these Puffins probably would do well in an interview!

The Photographs

•   The photography gods were with me on both puffin trips

Bright mid-day sunlight is rarely ideal for  photographing  living or inanimate subjects, but it's better than shooting in  the fog, rain and gusty winds that can envelope the Bay of Fundy. The strong light allowed let me get  blue seas and skies in the background,  and  good detail  in  the birds' feathers, bills and feet.

• My  photographic "technique" is usually to show up and shoot. While  most professional nature photographers stress the value of "planning" and "pre-visualization"  I rarely heed that advice. But I knew that chances to photograph puffins are few and brief, unless you're a harbor seal. (the number and length of visits to Machias Seal Island are tightly restricted by wildlife authorities) 

The night before my trip I searched the web for other photographers'  puffin  images to get an idea of what to expect and mentally map out my shots. This helped me make the most of my brief opportunity.
Even with my planning I was overwhelmed by the number of birds and the spectacle that greeted me.  Luckily I remembered to take pictures and filled all my 4gb media cards.  "Take many shots, cover many angles" and use "auto-bracket"(3 different exposures for each shot.) Those are my trade secrets!

• A lot of  Photoshop editing
  

When I got  home and uploaded my media cards,  I knew I had high percentage of "keepers", probably the highest I've gotten on a photo trip.  I flagged the best ones and got to work on tweaking  colors, contrast and composition to come up with the images the shots you see on my websites.


A Big Audience
These images are very special for me because I got to spend a brief but intense time living amongst  the puffin colony and many hours viewing them on my  monitor. Judging by the number of comments and hits on my  galleries, some other people were able to enjoy the experience with me.

Hence, the Puffin Man website, blog and store!!!