Atlantic Puffin taking off. 10 x15 inch 2mm acrylic facemount print.

I took this photograph in the summer of 2017. On a glorious afternoon of clear blue skies and no wind. In the sheltered embayment created by the Shiant Islands, the sea was almost mirror smooth. A small group of puffins that were sitting on the water ahead of us suddenly decided to take flight. I steadied my camera as much as possible and took careful aim on one. The sun was already low in the sky, giving just the right amount of back lighting, but taking a shot of a fast moving bird, from a drifting boat, took all my attention so I wasn't really thinking about that at the time.

The Shiant Islands are one of my favourite locations in Scotland, in fact one of my favourite in the World. Rugged, uninhabited and teeming with wildlife, especially seabirds, they are one of the lesser known jewels in the Atlantic Ocean.