King eiders in blizzard over Bering Sea

[Rene de Heer]

I have just returned from a trip to the Bering Sea to photograph the wintering King eiders and other duck species there. The trip was, from a photographic experience, fantastic, but at times it was rather scary, especially a very rough boatride on a tiny boat in heavy seas. I was near s...... myself!

This image was taken during this boat trip. A heavy blizzard with accompanying high winds came in from the North Pole area in no time. The King eiders were floating further out at sea and started to move into the sheltered bay of Vardo, by the time we were back at land, almost 50 centimeters of snow had fallen....that is spring in Vardo for you!

For me this image tells the story of the harsh environment these birds have to cope with, It is a rather RAW but true image.

Technical details:
Nikon D3, Nikon 200-400, handheld, 1/2000 sec F9, Exp com -2/3, ISO 800, AF mode AF-C, ARC, CS3

Rene de Heer

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Looks really cold and windy. I'm glad you had a good a time. I would crop some off the top.

[Glenn Bartley]

I love the environmental feel to this one. What a harsh place to live.

[Fabs Forns]

Sacry to be there at that time, agree on cropping the top some.

[Grady Weed]

Super habitat image here. This almost looks like the Gulf Of Maine.