shooting puffins....

stan the man

stan the man

Nutkicker
Messages
7,299
Name
mark
Edit My Images
Yes
going to skomer island tomorrow to shoot the puffins,guillemots and whatever else is there that catches my eye..but mainly for the puffins.as we're all aware,puffins are mostly black and white,so my question is...what is the best way to meter for these birds?

it's probably the only chance i'm going to get this year,so i'm hoping to get some decent shots on this trip......please feel free to add anything which will make my trip worthwhile/more successful,so i don't make a c**kup of things :lol:

thanks in advance :thumbs:
 
If it's still in the shops Digital Camera magazine had a section on doing just that.... I can't remember exactly what it said as I don't have it to hand but it was a good magazine and I would recommend it if you can get a copy
 
If anything I'd say don't overexpose as once you do that, you've lost irrecoverable detail.

Puffins may be mainly black and white, but they have a myriad of colours too!! I won't post the image as it's not my post, it is yours - but here's the link of an image from Skomer just a few weeks ago. http://www.reflectingme.com/p502472125/e2047d5d

PS: Have a great day, the forecast is excellent... I envy ya!
 
thanks both..i doubt i'll find the time to search for digital camera mag,so i'll go with what folk say here.

john..great shots..i remember commenting on your thread a wee while ago :thumbs:

would you recommend multi segment metering,and under expose a little to combat loosing detail in the highlights?

shame you can't join us tomorrow....especially with the weather forecast :D :lol:
 
stan the man said:
going to skomer island tomorrow to shoot the puffins,guillemots and whatever else is there that catches my eye..
Click to expand...


my personal must have would be...

gunporn-usas12-blog.jpg



on a serious note... :-) i went to an island in the river forth where there were supposed to be loads of the little blighters....

only to find b****r all.
 
GavSt said:
on a serious note... :-) i went to an island in the river forth where there were supposed to be loads of the little blighters....

only to find b****r all.
Click to expand...
Well that won't be the case on Skomer... there's over a hundred thousand nesting pairs I believe...:eek:
 
As a newbie to photography I have abso-bloody-lutely no clue what metering is yet, so can't help there. But, since the topic is on puffins, I managed to get the following shot of one when I was up in Shetland at the April/May crossover. Apparently this was partial metering: now I need to go read up on what that actually means/


​
 
My best advise is not to go too long on the lens front. I went to Skomer a couple of years back with 'only' a 400 f5.6. I hadn't realised how close you get to them and was having to constantly back off. 70-200 or 100-400mm would have given me much more scope.
As a starting point for exposure I'd go for manual and spot meter off the grass. Take a few test shots and adjust as needed. You'll get plenty of opportunities.

The sea should be calm tomorrow but a plastic bag for the camera is always useful on the boat. A hat and sunblock are a must have for the island.

Have fun, its a great place!
 
stan the man said:
thanks both..i doubt i'll find the time to search for digital camera mag,so i'll go with what folk say here.

john..great shots..i remember commenting on your thread a wee while ago :thumbs:

would you recommend multi segment metering,and under expose a little to combat loosing detail in the highlights?

shame you can't join us tomorrow....especially with the weather forecast :D :lol:
Click to expand...
Hi Stan

I think I used center weighted metering [not spot] and set the +-EV to -.3 though many of the shots I took on my recent trip were close-up ones of the Puffins - so close in fact that I could have managed with the 11-22mm they were that close... :)

Have a great day tomorrow, I really would love to be coming with ya. I mean, really.:'(
 
thanks for all the feedback folks...much appreciated :thumbs:

sunblock is at the ready as i don't intend repeating this weekends mistake :bang:

lens wise...i'll be taking the 70-200 plus the 1.4 T/C(although i probably won't use/need it),24-70 and may take the 105 macro just in case....

will try centre weighted metering as well as multi segmented metering and check the histogram etc,to see which gives the best results.

it's gonna be a scorcher tomorrow....:woot:

john..if you're ever looking for company to skomer :naughty: :thumbs:
 
puddleduck got some cracking shots of puffins at the weekend, might be worth finding him
 
stan the man said:
luke...

is matrix metering the same as multi segmented metering...:shrug:

blimmin' nikon users :bonk: :lol:
Click to expand...

not sure mate but all I EVER do is matrix or sport and just adjust the exposure conpensation as needs be. Id just meter for the bit you want sharpest, use your form of matrix then adjust exposure conpensation if you need. Not that I know much on the technical side but it works for me :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top