Sometimes everything lines up.
The first golden light was burning through the morning fog and illuminating the cliffs behind this Atlantic Puffin as it flew directly towards me with a beak full of fish.
At 1,200mm, the bird and its outstretched wings filled the frame. That is part of the thrill of photographing fast birds in flight so tightly: the subject gets larger with every split second, and there is almost no room for error.
For a brief moment, the puffin, fish, fog, golden cliffs and light all came together.
Camera settings: 600mm lens with 2× teleconverter at 1,200mm, 1/5,000 second, f/8, ISO 10,000.
The photograph above is mine, but today’s story belongs to Joanne Johnson—a landscape photographer who arrived at my Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Workshop wondering whether she could photograph these extraordinarily fast little birds in flight.
Landscaper Attempts Birding
“I prefer to shoot mostly landscape photos. It's what I enjoy but more importantly, the scenery doesn't move! That means there's lots of time to figure out composition, lighting and focusing. Then I attended Chris's Atlantic Puffin Workshop. Boy, was I out of my depth!
The first day my photos were either empty of flying subjects or out of focus. Chris encouraged me to try a number of things: Instead of using the display screen to compose (my standard landscaper's option), he suggested using the viewfinder. That took some getting used to for these old eyes. He pointed me towards reviewing my manual for specific auto-focus settings (Canon's ‘Whole Area Tracking Servo AF’ and ‘Subject to Detect’). We talked a lot about how to track flying birds and the importance of practice.
After incorporating these changes, I was capturing puffins focused and completely in the frame more often than not. One of his last suggestions, but one with the most impact, was to customize a button to switch back and forth between the display screen and the viewfinder. So simple but an enormous help when switching from shooting to reviewing. And all these suggestions were for a camera system that was not what Chris currently shoots. He sure knows his stuff!
I also loved the picturesque, small island abundant with colorful wildflowers. At first glance, it appears there's not much to photograph other than birds but if you slow down, breathe and explore, I found there was a lot of beauty to discover & capture. The lighthouse was absolutely breathtaking in the early morning fog! I came home with wonderful landscape photos that recorded my time there in addition to some amazing puffin shots (FISH). The lightkeeper's house was rustic and charming, the food was amazing (best breakfast sandwich EVER) and the staff wonderful and kind. Chris was also very engaging and entertaining at the meal table so lots of laughter.
I highly recommend Chris's workshop to anyone of any skill level as he tailors his help according to each person's skill level and equipment. I did not have the best long lens (100–400mm), nowhere near the size of my fellow participants, but I came home with some amazing photos that I am very pleased with. This workshop was definitely out of my comfort zone and I'm so glad I went. Thanks, Chris, for a great few days.”
— Joanne Johnson | Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Photography Workshop Aug. 2026
Joanne’s photograph says the rest.
Atlantic Puffin flying in front of the lighthouse on Île aux Perroquets on a foggy morning. Photograph © Joanne Johnson, created during the Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Photography Workshop.
She arrived most comfortable photographing landscapes—subjects that gave her time to think about composition, light and focus. By the end of the workshop, she was successfully tracking Atlantic Puffins in flight and keeping them sharp and inside the frame.
She did it with her Canon camera and a 100–400mm lens.
Helping photographers understand the fundamentals, get the most from their own equipment, recognize developing behaviour and build the skills to make photographs they are proud of is exactly why I lead these workshops.
Photograph Atlantic Puffins in Quebec
My small-group Deluxe Atlantic Puffins Photography Workshop takes place on Île aux Perroquets in Quebec’s Mingan Archipelago. We stay beside the colony and photograph in changing light and weather while working together in the field on exposure, autofocus, flight tracking, composition and anticipating behaviour.
You do not need the biggest lens or years of bird-photography experience. Bring the equipment you own, a willingness to learn and plenty of memory cards.