King penguins, Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4L IS (28mm), 1/25 sec. @ f/9, ISO 400.
I wrote from the Polar Star about my first encounter with a King penguin. Now with some photos at hand, and a little more time and energy, I’ll retell the experience. Right Whale Bay, on South Georgia Island, is a beach loaded with fur seals, elephant seals, and king penguins. Throw in some giant petrels and a few other birds, along with lots of noise and distinct odors, and the scene unfolds into a biomass of life and sound. It was my first time ashore on South Georgia Island, that famous place I first read about in the book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, many years ago.
I went with Jim Danzenbaker (one of the bird naturalists onboard) through the sea of life on land, to chart out a path to the king penguin colony prior to the guests arriving onshore. We navigated fur seals with very cute little pups scattered all over the beach. Navigate means that you give berth and beware of defensive, sharply toothed, sometimes charging fur seals which are not to be taken glibly. Closer to the colony we stopped to observe the crowds of penguins. One bird, maybe 30 yards away, singled me out for reasons of sheer curiosity (I think) and started walking directly at me. I knelt down and it came to within 2 feet, poked its head and bill at me, looking very curiously, then after a while proceeded to circumnavigate me, and sauntered off. It was incredulous. I was amazed. And I was without my camera! Except I had my handy iPhone which I pulled out and turned on the video. Excerpts:
It was a very thrilling and anthropomorphic experience, and I had no encounter as distinct and selective as that for the rest of the trip (save maybe Paulet Island-more on that later). It was a very grand welcome to the world of penguins.
After that, I went to get my camera bag, which I left back at the landing location. It was getting late, so the light was pretty shadowy but I managed to get my witts together and grabbed a few frames while feeling totally overwhelmed, and not really knowing where to point the camera. I could hardly sleep that night thinking that was just the first few hours ashore, and we were not even on the Antarctic Peninsula yet.
My friends Bob and Marcia Turner enjoying the sights at Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island. Canon 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f4L (47mm), 1/80 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 400
Hi Patrick, All we can say is: ENVY,ENVY, ENVY!!!
We want to pre-order the DVD of your trip to Antarctica! I hope there is one in the making! PLEASE, PLEASE say it is so!
Awesome pictures as always! BUT, how in the world didn’t you have a camera at South Georgia Island???!! Thank goodness for the Iphone!! LOL
We love the Cheesemans and used to go birding with them in the San Francisco Bay area! I told Doug: as soon as I win the lottery the first thing I’m doing is booking one of your trips there!! HA!!
Enjoying our 2010 calendar every day! 🙂
Kathy
Kathy, no DVD in the making, but maybe a little video for show and tell. Yes, remarkable I was without my camera, but it was our first landing and we were in a rush. And, I was actually working first and not full time photographing–as tough as that was sometimes. A great trip in all, I’ve got lots of fun stories to tell in the future blog updates, so stay tuned. And, save your pennies and go in 2012!
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your amazing images from the Antarctic trip. The landing on Right Whale Bay was, in many ways, a highlight of the trip for me. The incredible biomass of penguins, fur seals, and giant petrels was, at times, overwhelming. With the backdrop of jagged snow capped peaks and rough-edged glaciers, this was as close to a slice of heaven as one can get. I hope everyone has a chance to experience this at least once in their lives.
Jim
Jim, I concur, it was a memory of the etching order. And, fun to share it with you.