Pic of the Day

     Horned Puffin – Saint Paul Island; Pribilof Islands, Alaska:  With millions of seabirds nesting on the cliffs of Saint Paul Island, finding an interesting and unconventional pose can be difficult as most species of seabirds typically perch the sameway.  After days of shooting the standard seabird photos, I spent many hours walking the cliffs looking for something unique.

     While shooting along Ridge Wall, on the southwest shore of the island, I found this horned puffin tucked away in a hidden nook.  To access the puffin I had to slide down a wet and slippery grassy slope, then climb a few feet down to a narrow ledge.  In after thought, it was a risky move just for a photograph.  I not only got myself to the ledge, but a camera backpack and tripod as well.   Had I slipped, or the ledge given way I would a fallen eighty feet or more to a boulder strewn shoreline.  Since I was on my own, it would have been days before anyone would have noticed I was missing. 

     The ledge on which I stood was only thirteen or fourteen inches wide, barley enough room for me to stand.  Once on the ledge I barely had room for the tripod.  I actually placed two legs of the tripod on the ledge about ten inches apart, while the third extended to rest on a rock protruding from the wall of the cliff.

     Puffins, auklets and murres were all about me.  As I stood shooting the puffin, parakeet auklets landed on shallow ledges only inches below my feet, they seemed to have no fear of me.  After I was home and had the developed slides in my hand I was very happy I had made the effort.  This image was unique among my seabird photographs; the puffin seemed to be in meditative repose.  I did find that unconventional pose after all.  I spent more than an hour on the ledge that day, and returned three more times during my two-week stay.  The little niche I had found provided one of my favorite images from the pribilofs, and most definitely, one of my most unique experiences.

Nikon F5, Nikkor 500mm f4, Fujichrome Provia 100

Pic of the Day

     Dawn on Anhinga Trail – Everglades National Park, Florida:  My favorite time to shoot is the hour before and after sunrise.  This image was taken about thirty minutes before sunrise when the saturation of colors in the sky and reflections were at their peak.  In the predawn light the common egret was stalking prey along the waters edge.  After a short time of shooting the egret jumped into the air and flew across the water to the opposite shoreline.  Though blurry, the egret’s movement provides action that gives the colorful landscape a focal point and interest as well as an overall pleasing aesthetics. 

Nikon F5, Nikkor 24mm, Fuji Film, ISO 100,  Shutter and f-stop unkown

Pic of the Day

Atlantic Puffin – Machias Seal Island, Maine: Often referred to as avian clowns, Atlantic Puffins have the most colorful beak of any bird in North America. During the breeding season the drab color of the winter beak turns bright. Both male and female sport this multi-colored beak that plays an important roll in breeding rituals.
A colonial nester, puffins congregate on off shore islands and high cliffs along the mainland to breed. They lay a single egg in rock crevices and earthen burrows protecting the egg and young from predators.
Machias Seal Island, where this image was taken is a fifteen acre, treeless island about ten-miles off the coast of Cutler, Maine. The island is claimed by both the United States and Canada. The Canadians have established a wildlife sanctuary on the island and its lighthouse is the only manned lighthouse left in Canada.
Nikon F5, Nikkor 500mm f-4, Provia 100