Photography Chronicles-Atlantic Puffins: Iceland
TL;DR
Where we went for puffins (no boat rides necessary!)
Camera techniques and settings
Strategies for bad weather or unanticipated circumstances
You can try mornings, but late afternoons and evenings were far better at both spots we visited. Puffins return from the ocean to roost for the night, and the sweet spot seemed to be anytime after 4 p.m.
While puffins aren't exclusive to Iceland, it offers some of the most accessible locations to capture incredible behavior and landscapes—no boat ride required. Here are three popular no-boat-needed spots:
Látrabjarg sea cliffs
Cliff viewpoint on the Tjörnes peninsula
The puffin marina in Borgarfjarðarhöfn
We skipped Látrabjarg due to time constraints (and frankly, awful weather that day). Our main goal was to see the country and drive the Ring Road, which we did in a camper van. I was secretly—and not so secretly—excited to see the puffins. I’d photographed tufted and horned puffins in Alaska before, but never the irresistibly charismatic Atlantic puffins.
Here’s a breakdown of the two locations we did visit:
"The Puffin Marina"
It’s a bit off the Ring Road, but 100% worth the detour. The town is small but charming (and like most of Iceland, has amazing food). You’ll need to drive over a serious mountain pass—I wouldn’t want to attempt it in winter—but once you're there, the parking lot is easy to find. From there, it’s a short walk down a staircase to the colony.
The boardwalk has some restricted viewing spots, but there are still plenty of angles for behavior shots. Sadly, we didn’t get any sunny days, but the grey skies actually offered a lot of flexibility.
Located via google maps satellite view. It's a bit out of the way from the Ring Road, but it's well worth the stop. It's a small but nice town (really great food, much like the rest of Iceland). You have to go up over a very foreboding mountain, I would not want to drive that road in the winter! The parking lot is easy to find and is only a short walk down some stairs to the colony.
Above: Someone was very mad at having another puffin in its space! (@200mm)
The puffins here were surprisingly tolerant of humans, mostly keeping an eye on each other rather than us. The boardwalk limits your angles a bit, and I definitely caught myself taking the same shot a thousand times, but it’s still a phenomenal spot.
You can also visit this area at your own pace—no tour required.
When to go: Puffins are typically present from May to August, peaking in June and July. In early season (like our late May trip), they’re still nest-building. The best action happened after 6 p.m. and lasted until dark.
Section 2: Photography/video
Equipment:
-Canon 200-400 F/4
-Canon R5
-Canon 28-70 II EF f/2.8
-Canon 16-35 III EF f/2.8
-Small rig fiberglass tripod with geekoto video tripod head
-Feelworld External Monitor
Gear I Wished I Had brought:
70–200mm
Macro lens or extension tube
Tension arms for tripod stability
70–200mm
Macro lens or extension tube
Tension arms for tripod stability
Recommended Settings:
For flight shots, for sharpness in the wings, I used a minimum shutter speed of 1/2000 sec. With no clear skies, I had to push ISO up to 25,600 in the evenings for some things. The grey skies gave soft, even lighting—but you miss the dynamic contrast of directional light, I discuss this more below.
Photo review
Telephoto
Shutter: 1/5000" f-stop: f/5 ISO: 25,600 Focal length: 200 mm. My older camera (Canon Mark III) could not have taken this photo. After studying my images (always do an in field image review) I knew I needed higher shutter speeds. I did an auto-ISO with about -1/3 exposure compensation if I recall correctly. this is my favorite photo from the trip due to the landing puffin, the two puffins in good Frame on the right, and the puffin easily visible in the background with no clipped wings in frame. I will say DXO Photolab 8 has really won my heart. Their de-noise capability is even better than Lightroom I'd say. I chose this angle of the hill because the reflection of the light was low and allowed for a naturally black/dark background ( I did not artificially blacken the background like you'd see a lot of people do). Auto exposure modes help with situations like these.
Section 3: Tips for Crummy Conditions
We’ve all been there: You dream of a spot, imagine golden hour light, silhouettes, stunning cross-lighting… and you arrive to flat grey skies, rain, or both. So what now?
We’ve all been there: You dream of a spot, imagine golden hour light, silhouettes, stunning cross-lighting… and you arrive to flat grey skies, rain, or both. So what now?
Tip 1: Roll with it.
Sure, it’s a bummer not getting those epic golden shots. But once you accept the conditions, you can lean into creativity. Grey skies are nature’s softbox—shoot from any angle without worrying about harsh shadows.
Sure, it’s a bummer not getting those epic golden shots. But once you accept the conditions, you can lean into creativity. Grey skies are nature’s softbox—shoot from any angle without worrying about harsh shadows.
Tip 2: Survey the scene. “Shoot around the world.”
This is key no matter the weather. It’s tempting to snap a thousand photos of the first puffin you see, but trust me—walk around. Try different angles. Look for high-key or low-key opportunities. Observe their behavior. What’s their “tell” before they flap their wings? Learning your subject is half the battle in capturing a compelling shot.
This is key no matter the weather. It’s tempting to snap a thousand photos of the first puffin you see, but trust me—walk around. Try different angles. Look for high-key or low-key opportunities. Observe their behavior. What’s their “tell” before they flap their wings? Learning your subject is half the battle in capturing a compelling shot.
Tip 3: Shoot to your conditions.
Rain adds mood and drama. Don’t use too fast a shutter or you’ll freeze raindrops in a way that flattens the emotion. Let them blur a little for effect. For perched birds, water droplets can look amazing on feathers.
Example:
This raven was searching for fish in the rain. Mist and moisture added atmosphere to the story. Don’t fight the weather—use it.
Shooting to condition also means using your situation to your advantage. So maybe the conditions are grey, but less light means you can play with slower shutter speeds. 
This was shot at 1/30th of a second shutter speed @ 400 mm. There were a lot of failed shots, but the slower speed shows the movement of their wings when the puffins would stretch and warm up. I'd like to get this shot when the puffin is face on to me, but alas, I was not able to capture that angle. Unless you have a filter to darken the scene, low light scenarios are great for this type of shot.
Feel free to reach out with questions. Thanks for reading!
Rain adds mood and drama. Don’t use too fast a shutter or you’ll freeze raindrops in a way that flattens the emotion. Let them blur a little for effect. For perched birds, water droplets can look amazing on feathers.
This raven was searching for fish in the rain. Mist and moisture added atmosphere to the story. Don’t fight the weather—use it.
This was shot at 1/30th of a second shutter speed @ 400 mm. There were a lot of failed shots, but the slower speed shows the movement of their wings when the puffins would stretch and warm up. I'd like to get this shot when the puffin is face on to me, but alas, I was not able to capture that angle. Unless you have a filter to darken the scene, low light scenarios are great for this type of shot.
