King Penguin adult & chick

[Nancy Bell]

When the chicks reach the stage of a brown fluffy-looking stuffed toy they are called "Oakum boys". They gather in huge masses as they prepare to molt into adult plumage. Here the sticky stuff on the bill and face of the adult is the result of feeding the chick by regurgitation.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 400 f4 DO IS, 1/500, f6.3, exp. comp. -1/3, ISO 400.

All c & c most welcome.

[Jack Breakfast]

Ah! A photo with some context AND artfulness! Very well done! I enjoy the interaction and of course the colors & details here. Why are they called "Oakum boys", what does it mean?

[Nick Palmieri]

Nice interaction and story telling. I like the bit of rim light on the chick.

[Nancy Bell]

Straight from Google: they are named by sailors for the resemblance of their brown fluffy plumage to the color of oakum used to caulk timers on sailing ships.

Thank you Jack & Nick for your compliments.

[Randy Stout]

Nancy:

Very good story telling image, simple, strong colors on the adult, interesting interaction.

Is this full frame? I could imagine a version with a bit more room on the left for the chick, just a sliver.

Cheers

Randy

[gail bisson]

Hi Nancy,
Randy took the words right out of my post!
I too would like to see a bit more of the chick on the left.
Good IQ and I like the pop of color from the orange.
Gail

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Love it Nancy. Great tender interaction. Nice moment you got.

[dankearl]

I like the intimacy of this also.
The close up and crop are fine with me.
A very nice moment you captured.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all for the compliments. This is full frame so no sliver can be added to the chick.

[Shawn Zierman]

Wonderful. A touching image, and well captured, sharp with good dof.

[Ignacio Yufera]

Great interaction and expression captured on both birds. The clean BG is a bonus. I love the contrast in color between adult and chick.

[PhilCook]

Wonderful detail and loving the backlight through the downy fluff on the chick, great interaction and techs all look great

[Allen Sparks]

Wonderful story being told with great techs. The close up works fine for me. Great behavioral capture.

[Satish Ranadive]

Wonderful moment captured.Beautiful colors,lovely details and nice composition.Love it.

Regards,
Satish.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Nancy, intresting to see the different textures of plumage between chick and parent, and just love the colours of the parent. Of course your BG makes them both pop nicely.

[Bill Dix]

Great interaction captured - amazing to get this at FF @ 400mm. Comp works for me, and I also like the contrast in color and texture between adult and chick. Well done.

[Nancy Bell]

Thanks everyone for such kind words. Most appreciated! BTW, the caulk is used on the ship timbers, not "timers" as I mis-spelled.

[pat lillich]

wonderful Nancy - love the pose and the edge lighting on the oakum boy!!

[Melissa Groo]

This is super, Nancy. So much to engage the eye here, I can't stop looking at them, their behavior, the beautiful detail! Well done!

[Nancy Bell]

Melissa, thank you! That is what it is like to be surrounded by hundreds and hundreds and at times, thousands of these penguins. I just did not know where to look, what to try to capture, or just to sit and watch!

[PhilCook]

Thanks everyone for such kind words. Most appreciated! BTW, the caulk is used on the ship timbers, not "timers" as I mis-spelled.

Darn !....only timber.....I just bought some to fix my broken alarm clock

[Robert Holguin]

Lovely shot.
I really like the tenderness and intamate moment. Great comp, excellent detail, and great background.
What a huge differance between chick and adult.
Well done.

[Rachel Hollander]

Nancy - beautiful image. The colors really pop nicely and the interaction is wonderful.

TFS,
Rachel