This image was created within the first few minutes of landing on Staple Islands on the Farnes.
It is very difficult to make a different image of a puffin as it is so often photographed, however this did not stop me trying. The great Ansel Adams spoke about pre-visualisation but for a wildlife photographer that can be easier said than done however pre-planning will help enormously.
Having observed puffins on Staple Island many times before I knew that the direction of the wind and angle of the sun must complement each other for me to have a chance of getting the image I want. I was also keen to get as good a perspective as possible so I placed myself at the same level as the ground that the puffin would be landing on.
The next consideration was the camera and lens combination. For the camera I chose the Nikon D500 for its fast auto focus as the puffin travels at great speeds even as it comes into land. My lens choice was the trusty Nikon 300mm f4, this is not a stabilised lens but is light and delivers very sharp results. I see many photographers using long telephoto lenses on Farne but for me portability is important and not having the restriction of using a tripod. Stabilisation is not important either for this type of shot as fast shutter speeds will do away with the need to use a stabilised lens.
Next is the camera settings which I set manually. Exposure was 1/2000th sec, f/5.0, ISO 400. From experience I know that a shutter speed of around 1/1600th sec is the minimum to get sharp focus when the puffin is flying towards you.
Processing is a matter of taste but I opted to convey this image into mono as I was keen for the viewers focus to be on the bird and in particular the number of sands eels it was taking back to feed its chick.
As the puffin came into land it lost grip on one of the sand eels which can be seen falling hence the title of the image. It always amazes me how the puffin is able to catch and carry so much food in the first place and despite losing a fish it still managed to provide a good meal for its soon to fledge chick.