Land of King Penguins
We landed by Zodiac on the beach of Gold Harbor in the remote archipelago of South Georgia. We could not believe our eyes! For as far as we could see was the wo...
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We landed by Zodiac on the beach of Gold Harbor in the remote archipelago of South Georgia. We could not believe our eyes! For as far as we could see was the world's largest flock of king penguins, an estimated 100,000 birds. Many wore their brown coats to display their newness to the world while the adults were shedding their winter coats.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Top Shot Award
Honorable Mention in Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016
Contest Finalist in Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016
Member Selection Award
Featured
Canon EOS 70D or or Nikon D5300
Contest Finalist in Living Creatures Photo Contest
Runner Up in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12
Contest Finalist in Image Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 12
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
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PRO+
JyoScapes
August 30, 2016
Whoa!
That's an amazing capture.
And I'm seeing brown penguins for the first time. Didn't know such a thing existed. I learned something new today. :) Thank you for capturing and sharing this image. :)
That's an amazing capture.
And I'm seeing brown penguins for the first time. Didn't know such a thing existed. I learned something new today. :) Thank you for capturing and sharing this image. :)
Nicole476
September 02, 2016
curious what camera this was shot on and what your aperture and f stop were, normally viewbug shows that but not on this image ????
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kristinegiammarinonicholas
September 03, 2016
I can't put into words how much I LOVE this photo! Outstanding!
Dals-Photography
September 04, 2016
I am about to go to Antartica, hopefully this year, in which month you saw all this beauties? Lovely aren't they?
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Rainer
October 05, 2016
Question about my settings: 1/200 sec, 14mm using Canon EF14mm f/2.8L II USM, ISO 200, Canon 5D Mark II. Thanks for the comments. Rainer Martens
SonyaL
January 06, 2017
I really love this picture its like a large meeting of penguins. Wonderful job! The mix of brown and black and white penguins is great there are 100's of them. I hope I can someday get the chance to take pictures of something like this.
sarajanellewatson
January 08, 2017
Great composition! The contrast between the young and the older penguins gives image some depth and texture. I want a poster! :)
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Behind The Lens
Location
Traveling with Lindblad Expeditions, we spent two days on rough seas making our way from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia. On the third day in South Georgia we transferred from the ship to Gold Harbour in Zodiacs. The scene before us was the most spectacular display of wildlife I've ever seen. An estimated 100,000 king penguins stood before us as we waded ashore along with elephant seals and a variety of birds.Time
We landed on the beach on November 15, 2011, at about 8 am. The photo was taken at 9 am. We had only 4 days in South Georgia. We've now arranged to return for two weeks this coming February.Lighting
Natural light, no flashEquipment
I took this photo with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 14 mm lens handheld. My settings were 1/200th of a second, f/14 for depth of field, and an ISO of 200.Inspiration
My goal with this photo was to show the huge number of penguins with the glacier in the background. Some of the mature king penguins were still molting their winter coat (see right side) and the young penguins in their brown coats seemed to be very curious about seeing, probably for the first time, a human being. With the wide angle lens I approached the penguins very slowly on my knees to get within a couple of feet of the lead penguin who seemed to stand guard for the chicks. Shortly after taking this photo, to the right a large skua flew in, grabbed one of the chicks, and had a meal. I was surprised and disappointed that the older penguins did nothing to protect the chick.Editing
I made only minor adjustments to the photo in Lightroom to balance the lighting between the foreground and background.In my camera bag
After a career as a sport psychologist and then a publisher, I'm now retired and have been pursuing photography for the last 10 years, traveling to many great locations. I now carry two Canon 5D Mark IIIs and Canon 5Ds Mark III. My "go to" lens is the Canon 24-105 mm. I also carry the new Canon 100-400 lens, which is much sharper than the previous model. I like the 14 mm lens for closer photos and when on wildlife safaris I bring along my Canon 500 mm lens and frequently use the 1.4 extender with it, giving me an effective range of 700 mm. A tripod, flash, and several neutral density filters complete my bag.Feedback
Because I'm primarily a landscape and wildlife photographer, my better photos begin by getting to a great location, scouting it out, and then being there when the light is good (early or late). Next I'm looking for something special, but as I do so I have to wrestle with my impatience. I don't have any special insights into composition or lighting. I simply try to take photos that I think people will enjoy viewing. I share them primarily through our website MartensGallery.com.
