Photographing Puffins in Flight in Elliston and Cape Bonavista

Why Puffins Will Humble You

If you have spent any time around puffins, you already know this. They are not as easy to photograph as you might think, at least not in certain situations.

On land they are almost cartoonish. Waddling around, tripping over their own feet, looking like they could not possibly manage controlled flight. Those shots come a little easier, thankfully. And while they can be incredible in the right light or showing some unique behaviour, they are not the ones that tend to challenge you.

It is when they fly.

Small, fast, erratic, and completely uninterested in making your life easier.

The first time you try to track one through the viewfinder, it usually goes the same way. Lost focus, missed frame, and a whole lot of empty sky, or an out of focus bird drifting through your frame.

Shooting puffins in flight is not about luck. It is not easy. It can be frustrating.

But when you get it, it is incredibly rewarding.

It comes down to stacking small advantages until everything starts to come together.

Where You Stand Matters More Than Your Settings

At both Elliston and Cape Bonavista, you have one major advantage. Geography.

The cliffs naturally funnel puffins into fairly predictable paths as they move between the ocean and the colony. It can look chaotic at first, but if you take the time to watch, patterns start to emerge.

The first thing I pay attention to is the wind.

Puffins almost always land into it. If you position yourself properly, you can line up birds coming straight toward you instead of cutting across your frame. That one adjustment will improve your results more than any change in gear.

I like to set up near the edge of the cliffs. Puffins will often dip below the crest as they approach, then rise up and almost pause for a split second before landing. That moment gives you just enough time to lock focus and stay with them.

Once you find that angle, stop moving. Sit back and let the birds come to you.

The Settings Without Overcomplicating It

Shutter Speed Is Everything

This is the one place you do not compromise.

If your shutter speed is not high enough, nothing else matters. Puffins beat their wings quickly, roughly 300 to 400 times a minute, and they rarely fly in a straight line for long. You need to freeze that motion cleanly.

I do not go below 1 over 2000. Most of the time I am closer to 1 over 2500 or higher if the light allows.

Everything else supports that decision.

Aperture and ISO Just Need to Work With You

You are not chasing extremely shallow depth of field here. There is too much movement and too much unpredictability.

Something in the range of f 5.6 to f 7.1 gives you enough flexibility without sacrificing light.

ISO follows. If it needs to climb, let it.

With modern cameras and editing tools, noise is manageable. Missed focus is not.

Autofocus Needs Flexibility

Single point autofocus sounds precise, but puffins are not cooperative.

Using some form of expanded or zone tracking gives you a bit of forgiveness while you are panning and adjusting. You are still tracking the bird, but you are not relying on perfect precision every frame.

Burst shooting helps here as well. You are increasing your chances during a very small window of opportunity.

Time of Day Changes Everything

Early morning is hard to beat in these locations.

The wind tends to be more consistent, the light is softer, and the birds are easier to read. It is not that they are slower, just more predictable.

Evening can be just as good. Warmer light, more atmosphere, and often more feeding activity. The trade off is that you are working against fading light.

Midday is still usable, just less forgiving. Stronger shadows and harsher contrast. The one advantage is having more light to maintain higher shutter speeds, but ISO is not the limitation it once was.

When to Be There

If you are after flight shots with a bit more story to them, timing matters.

Late July through mid August is when things really come together.

Puffins are active around the colony, bringing in nesting material or feeding chicks. That means constant movement between the ocean and the burrows.

And more importantly, later in the season, say from Mid-July through August, they are often carrying fish.

Those moments, a puffin coming in low, wings working, beak full of capelin, lined up into the wind, that is what you are trying to capture.

It is not an easy shot. Even with time and repetition, it is one that takes patience.

Outside of that window, you will still get flight, just with less consistency and fewer chances to anticipate what is coming next.

The Part Most People Skip

The biggest improvement I made had nothing to do with settings.

It was slowing down.

When I bring people out with Newfoundland Photo Tours, I always tell them to take a minute when we reach the colony. Take in the landscape, the wind, the sound. It helps you settle into the place.

Then start watching.

You will begin to notice where the birds are coming from, where they are landing, and how they adjust in different conditions.

Once you recognize those patterns, everything changes. You stop reacting and start anticipating.

Tracking and Movement

This is closer to shooting sports than traditional wildlife.

You are rotating, following, matching speed. The smoother your movement, the better your results.

Most missed shots come from reacting too late. Quick corrections, overcompensating, losing the subject entirely.

Pick the bird up early. Stay with it. Let it move into your frame.

And do not worry about taking too many frames. Storage is cheap. Missed opportunities are not.

What Actually Improves Your Results

It is never just one thing.

It is positioning yourself correctly in relation to the wind.

It is committing to a fast enough shutter speed.

It is recognizing patterns in how the birds move.

And it is giving yourself enough chances to get it right.

Once those pieces start to come together, puffins stop feeling unpredictable.

That is when your keeper rate starts to climb and the frustration begins to fade.

Every once in a while, one of those moments stands out a little more. One of mine from a puffin in flight ended up becoming one of the cover options for my 2027 calendar. It was one of those frames where everything lined up just long enough to make it work.

If you want to take a look, the presale is open until April 30th and you can find it here: 2027 Calendar

And most of all, take the time to appreciate where you are.

It really is something special.

 

Notes:

All of these were taken out around Elliston and Bonavista over multiple trips.

I was shooting primarily with the Canon R5, paired with the Sigma 150 to 600.

Settings varied depending on the light and conditions, but shutter speed was always the priority.

These locations are ones I come back to often, both on my own and while out with Newfoundland Photo Tours.