Kings
Apr, 2013Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on South Georgia Island in the Antarctic circle. It took a week in stormy seas to get here. The wonderful thing is that the penguins are so relaxed around people and will often come up to you to investigate this strange two-legged beast.Time
It's hard to tell the time of day in an Antarctic summer. The sun is up nearly all the time so it's easy to get confused about time. However, this was in the late afternoon on a day of snow squalls.Lighting
It's a very black and white landscape so looking for splashes of colour in the icebergs and penguins make them stand out a lot. There's not much you can do about light when you're shooting wildlife but sometimes it's better to wait for a cloud to take excess glare off snow.Equipment
This was my first camera - a canon Powershot S3 IS Aperture: f/7.1 ISO: 75 Shutter Speed: 1/1600 I was only just starting out with photography and this camera, whilst simple taught me a great deal until I was ready to upgrade. In fact it helped me completely fall in love with photography, letting me find my eye and then work on the advanced settings.Inspiration
I wanted to capture the harsh environment that these incredible birds live in. The weather kept changing with snow squalls coming in. Nothing phased the penguins at all - they just carried on and this couple were standing on their own, almost holding wings. They looked so relaxed and serene while snow started to fall behind them. A pair united in a difficult world.Editing
There was very little post processing needed. A slight brightening to bring the penguins into sharp relief and a slight push on the vivid colours around their throats to contrast with the white snow.In my camera bag
I've come a long way since my beloved Powershot. I now have 2 camera bodies - one wide angle and one telephoto because in the wilds there is not time to change lenses and also you don't want to open your camera in these conditions. I now go everywhere with a Canon 6D a 5D MKIII and my trusty lenses that I fit in expectation before going out, a 16-35mm and a 100-400mm zoom. I have a couple of other lenses but these two are my favourites.Feedback
If you're trying wildlife photography of any form I would stress that patience is king. Watch the animals and their movements and try and anticipate what they are likely to do next. If you know anything about animal behaviour this will help. Sit quietly to become a part of the landscape yourself and wait for those moments to show themselves. Be prepared to get a bit cold or wet. It's worth it.
