peterjacoby
Follow4 Gentoo penguins marching (they were really waddling but, marching sounds so much better) on their way down to the shore along one of the many "Penguin Hi...
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4 Gentoo penguins marching (they were really waddling but, marching sounds so much better) on their way down to the shore along one of the many "Penguin Highways" in Antarctica.
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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Contest Finalist in Creators Exhibition Project
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Animals Around Us Photo Contest
HP Portable Photo Printer
Runner Up in Wildlife On The Move Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in An Unforgettable Adventure Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Wildlife On The Move Photo Contest
Top Shot Award
Contest Finalist in Snow Photo Contest
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Amazing Nature Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Virtuoso
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normg123
January 07, 2018
How did you get them to stand that way? And get such a great exposure against all that white??
peterjacoby
January 28, 2018
I took a burst of 6 shots and they were all lined up in the 4th one. I exposed for the snow resulting in a dark image that had all the details and then I raised the exposure as needed in post.
Lifeye
March 16, 2018
Magnificent capture!! Love the coordination in tbeir march, and that you caught it! ;)
mandarose
July 19, 2019
What a joyous photo of the little fellows. Many congratulations. Well deserved : )
DFane
May 31, 2021
Oh my word that is so cool, no pun intended. Penguins just make me smile. Great photo!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Antarctica.Time
The picture was taken mid afternoon.Lighting
Near the Antarctic circle, the sun is never very high in the sky so there's the possibility of good light pretty much all day long, as long as the weather co-operates. On the other hand, bright sun and lots of clean white snow with wildlife that's mostly black & white means you have to shoot to preserve highlights and post process to bring everything back to the correct brightness.Equipment
This picture was taken handheld with a Canon 80D and an EF 100-400 L II.Inspiration
With adorable penguins that are unafraid of people completely surrounding you, there's something to take a picture of in pretty much in every direction at every moment when on shore. Add in birds, seals, some mountains, blue skies or clouds & snowflakes and you don't need inspiration, you need to stop pick a subject and concentrate on some small area so as not to be overwhelmed by how many different directions you'd like to point your camera.Editing
Shooting penguins that are almost completely black & white against bright white snow is a bit of a challenge. Underexposing to preserve highlights and post-processing to bring the scene back to the way it looked in person is a must. The histogram for this picture is a tall & narrow mountain up near right side and probably not an example of what a "good" histogram should look like.In my camera bag
I typically carry 3 lenses while traveling, a Sigma 8-16, Canon's 18-135 kit lens, and either a Canon 100-400 L II for longer reach & better image quality or the Canon 70-300 L for lighter weight if I'm hiking more and not expecting lot's of wildlife. If conditions aren't great for changing lenses, I'll bring a 70D as a 2nd body and leave the longer lens on the 80D the whole time.Feedback
I'd love to say I planned this shot or was even hoping to get something that looked like this but, the fact is, i took a good number of pictures of penguins traveling their "highways" and things just unexpectedly lined up perfectly for this one shot. There were a good number of other keepers but, none as perfect as this one. Penguins in the Antarctic go about their business pretty much ignoring the presence of people. Occasionally they'll come right up to someone to investigate them or more usually make a small detour to avoid getting too close but, in general they just keep on waddling as if you weren't there. That means you can park yourself pretty much anywhere and wait for them to do interesting things. Get on your knees or lie down so you're at their eye level - that is the best advice I got for wildlife photography and makes a huge difference. Next is to pick your angle so you get a good background behind your subject - a simple background that helps draw attention to the subject such as a blue sky or the plain white snow in this one is great. If it's a busy background, try to make sure it's a good distance away so it's blurred and allows your main subject to stand out.