Adelie penguins, Paulet Island, Antarctica. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm L IS, (100mm) 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400
Paulet Island, just off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula hosts a giant colony of adelie penguins. The count varies year to year, but approximately 200,000 birds make for a notable population. They are constantly coming and going from the nesting sights to the sea, bringing food back to feed the growing chicks, often two per nest.
Adelie penguin on a floating iceberg, Paulet Island, Antarctica. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 100-400mm L IS, (275mm) 1/640 sec @ f/8, ISO 200
The adelie, of all the penguins, to me looks the most comical. This is perhaps due to the white circle surrounding its eye which gives it a slightly cartoon-like appearance and a look of constant alertness.
The combination of good weather and some free time in the afternoon to photograph, leaves me with fond memories of this wonderful region. Cruising in the zodiacs near Paulet Island is a popular activity, as penguins haul out on the floating icebergs, making great observational and photographic fun.
Zodiac cruising and photographing adelie penguins on floating icebergs, Paulet Island, Antarctica
There is an art to driving a zodiac, since the wind, water current, angle of light, background objects, not to mention finding subjects, all factor into getting good images. I drove a zodiac for the morning session and had some free time in the afternoon to visit the colony on shore, as well as do some zodiac cruising as a passenger.
Adelie penguins on a floating iceberg, Paulet Island, Antarctica. Canon 1Ds Mark III, 24-105mm f/4L IS, (24mm) 1/d800 sec @ f/13, ISO 200
From a photographic perspective, having the versatility of lens focal length is critical. I carried two bodies, the 24-105 on one, and the 100-400 on another. I really like the flexibility of zoom lenses, since distance and positioning is often unpredictable in a zodiac, and the zoom gives compositional freedom not as easily acquired in fixed focal lengths.
Over the years, I find myself gravitating more towards the contextualization of a subject in its surroundings, and therefore often end up shooting wider, as opposed to more telephoto. There is certainly desire for both, but seeing the environment really depicts a sense of place, something often missing with an excessive obsession on close up shots of wildlife. There can be a “tunnel vision” that results with always looking through a long lens, and upon reviewing photos, you end up saying “why did I not shoot wider, I’m missing a sense of place in my images”.
