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EmperorFamily



behind the lens badge
cameraCanon EOS-1Ds Mark III

settings Aperture f/32.0 ISO 160 Shutter 1/250 

upload_dateDec, 2014

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People's Choice in The Animal Kingdom Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Animal Kingdom Photo Contest
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6 Comments |
SherranAndersen
 
SherranAndersen October 01, 2015
So sweet.
AliAlzuhair
 
AliAlzuhair October 02, 2015
Lovely!
Eleasahphoto
 
Eleasahphoto October 07, 2015
Beautiful phototure beyond words, :)
edandaniphone PRO+
 
edandaniphone May 10, 2016
Great shot.
Bgshots
 
Bgshots May 05, 2017
Absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Amazing capture!
rochelle_hadfield
 
rochelle_hadfield May 07, 2017
This is beautiful! Such a precious moment in nature captured! You've got an amazing eye

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photograph was taken on Snow Hill in Antarctica. We were a part of an Quark expedition and we arrived at Snow Hill on a Russian icebreaker. We helicoptered in to a point that was 1 mile away from the Emperor Penguin colony. We then hiked the mile to the colony and spent 5 hours among the penguins. There were two rules concerning the penguins. 1) We were to stay at least 6 feet away from the penguins. 2) The penguins do not know the rules. They recommended picking a spot, sit down and they will come to you because one of the most fascinating aspects of penguins was that they had no fear of humans. They were also very curious about the sudden appearance all of these "creatures" in bright yellow jackets.

Time

This was taken just after noon but daylight in the Antarctica summer is 24/7. There was some sunshine thru thin clouds.

Lighting

This was all natural lighting. It is very difficult to get the proper lighting on Emperor penguins so that you can see their dark eye against the background of their dark feathers.

Equipment

This image was taken with a Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III using a Canon 500mm lens. The exposure was 1/250s at f/32. No flash and the camera was resting on a bean bag on top of a short tripod.

Inspiration

Penguins have always been fascinating to me. Growing up in south Florida penguins are literally a world away. I was interested in trying to get shots that showed penguin "families" and did not include "headless" penguins. Those are penguins who may be in your shot but appear to be "headless" because they have extended the heads down their back (or front, or side) so that when you take a picture they are headless! This picture of the two adult penguins with the chick in the middle was the perfect "portrait" shot.

Editing

Other than the usual removing spots most of the post processing concerned the eyes. It took several passes before I could get the eyes to show in a manner that looked natural without looking processed.

In my camera bag

On this day (due to the two mile hike thru the snow and ice) my bag was lighter than usual. I had the 500mm lens, and a 24-105mm lens, extra batteries and media cards. I had my tripod and a bean bag which allowed me to change quickly as the conditions and the penguins dictated. Normally I would have a backup body and a couple more lenses.

Feedback

In the time period of 2006 - 2008 there were some unique opportunities to get to Antarctica and actually be able to "go ashore". There are many "cruises" to Antarctica but on these are not able to venture into areas were there is thick pack ice which being on an ice breaker allowed us to do. We were blessed to be able to take 3 trips to Antarctica during this time frame.

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