askd

Going Places

The distribution of the King Penguin, the worlds second largest penguin behind the Emperor Penguin, has been significantly reduced due to the impacts of human s...
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The distribution of the King Penguin, the worlds second largest penguin behind the Emperor Penguin, has been significantly reduced due to the impacts of human settlement. While once colonies were found throughout the southern tip of South America they have largely retreated toward the Antarctic. However, in one nondescript location in Chilean Tierra del Fuego a colony has returned and established itself, successfully raising their young, in what is hopefully a return to their former abundance.
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Jul, 2014

Views

1365

Likes

+107

Awards

Contest Finalist in High Contrast Photo Contest

Peer Award

+21

Top Choice

Superb Composition

All Star

Outstanding Creativity

Absolute Masterpiece

Great Find

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

One Of A Kind

Emotions

Happy

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

The photo was taken in Chilean Tierra del Fuego, technically the largest island in South America, although it really is just part of a huge network of fjords and islands which form the bottom part of the South American peninsula. The photo is of a few members of a King Penguin Colony which has recently returned from Antarctica, many years after they had been wiped out from the South American mainland due to excessive hunting and human encroachment.

Time

The photo was taken at 9am, not long after sunrise at the time and place.

Lighting

The lighting was soft, beautiful and generally perfect!

Equipment

The photograph was taken on a Canon 6D with a 100mm f2.8 macro lens. I had been shooting with a 70-200mm f2.8 and 1.4x tele converter, however these four decided to leave the colony and go wandering off together, like the four musketeers. They walked right up to me! I had just enough time to change to the shorter focal length, and managed to get this shot.

Inspiration

These animals are just spectacular - we had come past the day before and the colony was huddled together on the opposite side of a small river, too far away from a safe viewing area (to avoid disturbing the animals), so we decided to come back the next morning. When we arrived we sat down and started observing - to our surprise, about half an hour in, they all started wandering straight towards us, around us, completely ignoring us and seemingly without a care in the world!

Editing

The image was edited in Lightroom, the clarity and sharpness was boosted, highlights dropped a little and the tone curve was modified.

In my camera bag

Canon 6D Canon 70-200mm f2.8 Canon 100mm f2.8 Canon 24-70mm f4 Canon 50mm f1.4 Samyang 14mm f2.8

Feedback

As with all wildlife photography, take your time - the shot will come to you (eventually, and probably after sitting around for a very, very long time haha). Scout your location, read about the biology of the animals, observe, take your time, which you will have plenty of while you wait, wait, wait!

See more amazing photos, follow askd

askd

askd

Going Places

The distribution of the King Penguin, the worlds second largest penguin behind the Emperor Penguin, has been significantly reduced due to the impacts of human s... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow askd

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

The distribution of the King Penguin, the worlds second largest penguin behind the Emperor Penguin, has been significantly reduced due to the impacts of human s...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.