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PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
Knut-Sverre Horn | Puffins in storm

Name: Knut Sverre Horn
Picture title: Puffins in storm
Category: People’s Choice
Nationality: Norway
Occupation: I am a reporter for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, working mainly with general news stories for TV, radio and web, but nature / conservation stories are also part of what I do. Most of my nature photos are done in my spare time, and the vast majority of them include birds.

Technical information
Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: Nikon Af-S 300 mm f/2.8
EXIF: 1/800 sec at f/3.2, ISO 200
Accessories: None, handheld shot

Knut says:

I have spent several days on the famous bird cliff on the island of Hornøya in Varanger, Northern Norway (slightly north of 70 degrees). Hoping for some heavy snow showers to make their magic work in my photos of the seabirds. Falling snow always breathes an illusion of life and presence in still images, and I will take snow photos whenever I can. (I also do this from people or dogs, too, if there’s no wildlife around.) However, the weather forecast was not very accurate though, and I returned home disappointed. After a few days, the weather reports were favourable again, and I rushed back to the island. This time, luck was on my side: dense clouds rolled from the Barents sea and shrouded the seabirds in white. I knew the shower would probably not last long. I shuttled frantically between shags, guillemots and puffins, taking flight shots and portraits as fast as I could. The island was flooded in sunlight again 34 minutes later. This puffin shot is one of the best images of the day. Nothing special – just a regular documentary photo – like 98 percent of my photos.