Ever Heard of Godthul?

[Arthur Morris]

Gentoo Penguin calling

This image was created at Godthul on the Cheesemans’ 2015 South Georgia Expedition with the with the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens (at 400mm) and the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1 stop: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AWB.

Center AF point/AI Servo Expand/Rear Focus AF as framed was active at the moment of exposure (as is always best when hand holding). The active AF point was placed just forward of and below the eye, just touching the gape–right on the plane of the bird’s eye. Click here to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

To learn more about little known Godthul, see the free excerpt from my Southern Ocean Photography Guide (in progress) in today's blog post here.

Don't be shy: all honest comments welcome.

If you would like to join me on the 2016 South Georgia/Falklands Expedition, click here.

[Loi Nguyen]

HI Artie, lovely colors and the black on black iin contrast with the red/orange is stunning. Exposure and sharpness are perfect. I'm amazed at the IQ you got out of the 7D2 (understand that it was shot at ISO-400) handholding. Loi

[arash_hazeghi]

love the close up details and texture with wide open bill. The dark BG helps him stand out even more.

[Arthur Morris]

HI Artie, lovely colors and the black on black iin contrast with the red/orange is stunning. Exposure and sharpness are perfect. I'm amazed at the IQ you got out of the 7D2 (understand that it was shot at ISO-400) handholding. Loi

Thanks. My best 7D II advice it to use it when it is sunny :) a

[Joseph Przybyla]

Striking, love the black on black. The open bill and blue ring around the eye only add to the image. Thank you for sharing, Artie.

[Karl Egressy]

Very unique and beautiful shot. The inside of the open beak seems to glow, all attention drawn to it and the eye.

[annmpacheco]

Such a striking image Artie, the gape, colors, and the beautiful eye. The BG really makes it jump out at ya! The eye is so expressive; he's being a Gentoo but he's keeping an eye on you as well.

[John Hackney]

I agree it is a striking image.

I will attest to the 7D II is best in sunlight. I definitely get the best shots then.

[Arthur Morris]

Such a striking image Artie, the gape, colors, and the beautiful eye. The BG really makes it jump out at ya! The eye is so expressive; he's being a Gentoo but he's keeping an eye on you as well.

Thanks Ann. To be honest, the birds were in no way concerned with out presence; they were too busy having fun in the stream. I think that the gentoos think that photographers are just strange penguins... a

[Lorant Voros]

Interesting bird, pose, super dark colors, nice detail and the eye is awesome. Dark on dark, only the inside of the beak pops. The thumbnail doesn't show anything, but when I opened it big it looks fantastic. TFS.

[Raybel Robles]

Nice image. The red beak really stands out well.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Knock out Artie, I like the pose and composition, the whole image exudes quality.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Wow, wow, wow.
Terrific details, eye contact and colors.
Fully agree with all the positive comments above.