This is one of my favourite shots from our recent UK photography trips – it was taken aboard the Yorkshire Belle off the coast of Flamborough, East Yorkshire, UK. We’d set sail on an RSPB puffin cruise hoping to spot one or two puffins and became quickly overwhelmed with the sheer volume and variety of seabirds flying all around us.
I took a particular interest in the puffins – having only seen one or two at a distance before I was really keen to see if I could get some shots of them flying and swimming. After about 2 hours of choppy seas the water magically calmed as we circled round Flamborough cliffs and a the skies opened. The rain was heavy and persistent for about 20 mins until the clouds parted and the sun broke through, casting a rainbow across the sky. I temporarily diverted my attention from the cliffs to face the open water and caught this photo of a puffin taking off from the water, flying towards the rainbow. For me, this image literally captures the calm after the storm.
Further photos of the puffins from Flamborough Cliffs are available in the Taraji Blue Yorkshire photo gallery.