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PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS IN WITH CROWD OF PUFFINS BY WEARING DECOY

Published: 2023-06-21 14:37:51 Last Updated: 2023-06-21 16:37:11

There's an old saying, if you can't beat them, join them. Photographer Martin Yelland applied this idea to wildlife photography, and it was as entertaining as it was successful. While snorkeling off Skomer Island off the coast of West Wales, he placed a puffin decoy on his head while getting close to real birds swimming nearby and it worked! Yelland piqued the curiosity of the puffins, resulting in stunning photographs that simultaneously show the view from the water and from the water.
In addition to the puffin lure attached to his head, Yelland had other lures that were free to move through the water. “We were told to move the decoys,” Yelland explained, “and that's what attracted the puffins. It was one of the best things I've ever done. Magic Encounter is dedicated to the island of Skomer, known for its puffin colony. In 2015 there were over 20,000 individual birds within the 1.1 square mile reserve.

Yelland has always had a special connection to water. "I used to do a lot of surf photography and released my own UK bodyboard DVD in 2008," he tells My Modern Met, "before discovering my passion for wildlife on a surf trip that didn't go well in 2016."

Yelland's animal photographs led to further work on animals. He and his wife Zoe-Elissa George Yelland write children's books based on the photographer's photographs. He is an author and Zoe is an illustrator.

Article Tags: Animals Decoy Birds Puffin Photographer