This Galapagos Penguin was photographed from a wave-tossed panga with the the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens, the Canon EF 1.4X III TC, and the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/5 in Manual mode.
Once I had the exposure right for the bird I set it manually so that I did not have to worry about the tonality of the background be it light buff as here or black rock the next moment. As described in detail in Digital Basics, I added canvas to the top of this image. Losing the bit of rock was an option but I feel that it adds to the image.
As I have said before and often, photographing from a panga (Zodiac) is–with the boat rocking from the waves and the wind–very challenging. Thanks a stack to Bart Pembroke who loaned me his 300 f/2.8 IS for this panga ride. As we floated by this bird the backgrounds were changing constantly. I know that the distant buff rock wall was the winner. Having this bird call at just the right moment was pure luck. I do remember praying that I would be able to keep the sensor on the bird as we swept past the perch rock. This is the sharper image from a two-frame sequence.







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