Puffins

In 2024 I spent some time in Iceland, and was lucky enough to get to see Atlantic Puffins (Common Puffins / Fratercula arctica), in two, very different, places.

The first was at Borgarfjörður Eystri (about 2 hours drive from Egilsstaðir). There is a colony on a small outcrop in the harbour, and the puffins nest around the stairs and viewing platforms, oblivious to the cooing of entranced people and the snapping of camera shutters. The Puffins are relatively close to you and it was my first try at bird photography, so it was a great place to learn, without a lot of pressure.

The second was on Grimsey (a 30 minute “exhilarating” flight from Akureyri, or 4 hours on the “vomit comet” ferry from Dalvik). Grimsey is a tiny island sitting on the Arctic Circle, where the Puffins are as wild and changeable as the weather. I spent two days just sitting quietly, alone, near the cliff edge watching how they interact and falling even more in love with these little Clowns of the Sea.

Settings and Approach

90 to 280 mm lens (f/2.8 to 4.0).

Shutter Priority, with the shutter speed set to between 1/500 and 1/1000 seconds to freeze movement.

ISO set automatically or limited to ISO 400 to try and keep noise to a minimum.

Challenge: Weather. It was heavily overcast and often raining, so it was hard to balance the need for shutter speed with limiting noise, especially as the black of the puffin showed the noise so clearly. Hence it was a constant balance to make the most of the available light.