# Photo Workshop Report: Puffins In The Midnight Sun 2026

URL: https://jvn.photo/photo-workshop-report-puffins-in-the-midnight-sun-2026/
Last updated: 2026-09-23

> A June storm turned out to be the best thing that happened to this year’s Puffins in the Midnight Sun workshop on Grímsey. Here’s my report, and my five favourite shots.

The wind was strong enough to lean on. I was flat on my stomach at the edge of a cliff on [Grímsey](https://jvn.photo/grimsey-puffin-paradise/), a puffin hovering barely two metres past the drop, hanging in the updraught like someone had pinned it to the sky. Nobody said a word. When the shooting conditions are that good, that unique, everyone goes a bit quiet.

That was this year’s edition of Puffins in the Midnight Sun, my few days out on Grímsey, which is located right on the Arctic Circle. I hosted a very small group last June, and the island handed us everything from flat midnight calm to proper stormy conditions. **The stormy weather, as it turned out, was the best thing that happened to us.**

**Interested in joining the next edition of Puffins in the Midnight Sun? You’ll find the upcoming dates and how to book on the [workshop page](https://jvn.photo/photo-workshops/puffin/).**

*Disclaimer: some of the links in this article are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend gear I actually use.*
Table of Contents

- A Midnight Sun Start
- Why The Worst Weather Made My Puffin Workshop
- My Five Favourite Images Of This Photo Workshop

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*We had a lot of stormy/windy weather during our stay which meant we had a lot of great opportunities in terms of photography.*

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*A happy group of participants on Grímsey after a great shoot at the tallest cliffs on the island.*

## A Midnight Sun Start

Our first night on the island was the gentle one. No wind to speak of, flat calm, the midnight sun doing that slow golden thing it does this far north, and puffins pottering back and forth to their burrows, some with beaks stuffed full of sand eels. It was the postcard version of Grímsey, and it was lovely. But, if I’m honest, **this postcard version is rarely where my best puffin photographs come from**.

We were a very small group this time, which suited Grímsey just fine. Then the forecast turned.[image_with_animation image_url=”1222720″ image_size=”full” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default”]

*[Optional opening image: set a scene/context shot in WPBakery, or delete this row]*

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*[Optional opening image: set a scene/context shot in WPBakery, or delete this row]*

## Why The Worst Weather Made My Puffin Workshop

Most people get one thing backwards about bird photography: **the rough days are the good days**.

The next days, a proper storm came in, with some light rain and heavy wind, the sort of forecast that makes people want to sit in the guesthouse with a coffee. However, we went out anyway and the puffins did exactly what I was hoping for. They are not elegant fliers at the best of times, but put them into a strong headwind against a cliff and they stop being little torpedoes and start to hover, wings hammering, more or less parked in mid-air while they line up the landing.

That is the shot. A puffin frozen against a grey sky, feet down, beak full, close enough to fill the frame. On a calm day you almost never get those shots because they are so quick and the backdrop behind it is too “soft”.

The birds that were not flying had tucked into the grass and the rock faces to shelter, which meant we could sit low, keep our distance, and work slow, tight portraits of birds that were completely settled. That is [how I like to photograph them anyway](https://jvn.photo/puffin-photography-ethics/), on their terms and never crowding them. Rough seas below us, spray coming off the dark blue water… and the best run of puffin photography I’ve taken a group through in a long while.

I shot most of it on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/canon-eos-r6-mark-iii-review/) and the R5 Mark II. The 100-500mm lived on one body and the 70-200mm, [which I tested for the occasion](https://jvn.photo/canon-rf-70-200mm-f2-8-z-wildlife-photography/), went on the other.

## My Five Favourite Images Of This Photo Workshop

The pace and subject of this workshop means you shoot a lot, and narrowing it down is always the hardest part. Here are the five that stood out for me, and why. Fair warning: **I do love a good puffin portrait**.[image_with_animation image_url=”1222730″ image_size=”full” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” img_link_large=”yes” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default”]

*Every workshop I try to focus on different aspects. When I saw this puffin land right in front of me, I couldn’t resist capturing only its feet to highlight this peculiar detail.*

*Shot on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/go/canonr6markiii) with the [Canon RF 100-500mm](https://jvn.photo/go/rf-100-500mm) and the [RF 2x Extender](https://jvn.photo/go/rf2xconverter).*

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*A dream shot for a long time for me: a puffin cozying up into itself to protect itself from the heavy winds on the cliffs.*

*Shot on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/go/canonr6markiii) with the [Canon RF 100-500mm](https://jvn.photo/go/rf-100-500mm).*

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*This scruffy looking puffin really stole the show for me during the workshop. He looked so rugged, so weathered. And he was also a very skilled fisherman that came back with new catch every 10 minutes or so.*

*Shot on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/go/canonr6markiii) with the [Canon RF 100-500mm](https://jvn.photo/go/rf-100-500mm).*

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*This seemingly sleeping puffin was undisturbed by the stormy weather and our presence.*

*Shot on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/go/canonr6markiii) with the [Canon RF 100-500mm](https://jvn.photo/go/rf-100-500mm) and the [RF 2x Extender](https://jvn.photo/go/rf2xconverter).*

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*Beautiful crystal blue water with a soaring puffin in front. It took hundreds of images to get the waves to line up exactly right with a flying puffin.*

*Shot on the [Canon EOS R6 Mark III](https://jvn.photo/go/canonr6markiii) with the [Canon RF 100-500mm](https://jvn.photo/go/rf-100-500mm).*

## What Previous Participants Shared About Their Experience