Adelie penguin photographed on one of the Fish Islands in Marguerite Bay, Antarctica. I liked the pose which seemed like someone directing the way or pointing to the tourist that crossed the line of approach. I love the Adelies, one of the little guys in the penguin world.
D7000, 28-300 @ 300, f10, 1/2000, ISO 800
Slight crop, levels, S/H, some removal of dust spots, sharpening.
The thumbnail doesn't do this image justice.
Brought a smile to my face for its "sweetness' factor.
Love the pose and excellent exposure.
I like the comp you chose.
A very fine image,
Gail
Thanks everyone. This is almost full frame. It's the image I saw and I was close enough to get this little one from chest up. As most of you know, you are restricted in how close you can get to the penguins. I wanted to photograph this guy because he was nicely posed against a "clean" background and then he started to flap his wings ending with just the one flapping. The head tilt was a bonus.
While on the trip one of the biologists had a talk about penguins and how they have been used in toys, advertising, print, movies, etc. Their cuteness factor comes out in all sorts of ways.