On Sunday I decided to make the trip with Rob to Pembrokeshire, Wales to visit the island of Skomer to photograph Puffins.

From home its about a four hour drive and then a 10 minute boat crossing to the Island. Another early start and Rob and I were on the road by 3am.

Once there we waited for the booking office to open an secured our place on the first boat. 

On my previous visit two years ago the sun was very bright and Skomer can be a difficult place to get Puffin shots in these conditions despite the fact that there are thousands there, this time however the forecast was bright but with a bit of cloud cover for the morning we were hopeful of some better shots. For anyone who has never seen Puffins before this is the place to go! On my last trip I lugged a 500mm lens and tripod around the island…big mistake!….as these birds will come within a couple of feet from you so this time I took a 300mm and a monopod.

Flight shots as usual were difficult as these birds are a lot faster than you may think and when they come in from the sea with sand eels they have to be quick as the gulls will mob them for their catch. A thoroughly enjoyable day