King Penguin fresh from the sea

[Ian Wilson]

King Penguin are the second largest penguin species, standing up to 1 m tall. They incubate their eggs on their feet and both males and females have a kind of fur-lined skirt that can be pulled down over the egg. You can see the opening in the skirt in this picture. The shot was taken at Macquarie Is, Australian sub-Antarctic, where there are huge colonies, the largest one estimated to be 180,000 birds. It is a 'standard' portrait which I will follow up with some more interesting captures of the behaviour of these beautiful gregarious birds. The WB and brightness were adjusted on the bird's front below the the yellow breast.
Canon 5DIII + 300 mm f/2.8L II + 2x III extender, 600EX-RT flash with Better Beamer, Gitzo 3532LS, Kirkphoto King Cobra gimbal.
Manual, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO 200, 1/8 flash power.
Processed in DPP: crop, adjust WB, shad/h'lights, saturation, USM, RAW-TIFF. PS Elements: adjust brightness, lighten iris, downsize TIFF-JPEG, USM.
Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice one Ian, such an interesting and unique bird. Thank you for sharing.

[keith mitchell]

Ian you have done very well with the white and dark areas as far as exposure which can't have been easy, just a little thought and of course I could be very wrong but I wondered if the face could be a little lighter, bet it was good photographing these and getting the chance of a very good image such as this.

Cheers Keith.

[John Robinson]

Interesting text and a fine pic to go with it !an. Looks about right on my screen. You handled the contrast pretty well here. Love the feet on Penguins.
John

[KathieThomas]

Lovely shot Ian, when did you go there? What a wonderful experience.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Ian, cool pose, and the yellows and oranges really pop on this fellow, and you certainly nailed the exposure too. Comp wise, I would take a touch off the left, and add to the right.

[gail bisson]

A really nice solid image of a beautiful penguin.
I enjoy your narrative very much and always learn something new or see something new (like the opening in the skirt).
Looking forward to your " more interesting captures". You know how to set the stage for the rest of the show!
gail

[Ian Wilson]

Lovely shot Ian, when did you go there? What a wonderful experience.

Hi Kathie, Sorry, I sometimes forget to give details of time and location. The capture was made at Sandy Bay, Macquarie Is, on 5 January 2014.

[Ian Wilson]

Ian you have done very well with the white and dark areas as far as exposure which can't have been easy, just a little thought and of course I could be very wrong but I wondered if the face could be a little lighter, bet it was good photographing these and getting the chance of a very good image such as this.

Cheers Keith.

Thanks for your feedback Keith. It wasn't easy getting the exposures just right on these birds but one had the advantage that they are very obliging and there were lots of them. One of the issues was the large number of birds - it was difficult to get a background without distracting oof white fronts everywhere. Speaking of oof white background, the little white dots sprinkled all over the background in this image are moult feathers from lots of juveniles going into adult plumage. The overcast conditions worked in one's favour for a change, especially as I had the flash with me. Cheers, Ian

[Ian Wilson]

Hi Ian, cool pose, and the yellows and oranges really pop on this fellow, and you certainly nailed the exposure too. Comp wise, I would take a touch off the left, and add to the right.

Thanks Stuart, I will give it a try. I will need to add some canvas as I at full frame. Cheers, Ian

[Binu John]

Lovely shot, Ian! Love the pose, colors and exposure! Excellent work!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Lovely casual pose, Ian. Perfect exposure, sharpness and comp. Flash used masterfully. Very nice!

[arash_hazeghi]

i love the pose, details and POV

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone for your generous and helpful feedback on this image - much appreciated. Regards, Ian