Survived the sunset on a glacier

Peyto Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta In continuation of my other photo from Peyto glacier this shows us just reaching the top as the sun sets behind the mountain. Thank goodness we made it! To traverse and avoid crevasses (big cracks in the ice) at night with headlamps would be a risky affair. The possibility of walking in circles in the great white expanse on this glacier while snowshoeing blind would not only be disturbing but would do a number on our morale. We were full of joy at this moment just reaching the edge of the glacier and taking our snowshoes off and unroping for the final small stretch to our warm cozy Peyto hut. Hot soup, delicious food, good company and a toilet with a view would greet us in a few moments!

Photographic Details: Even though I violated my beloved rule of thirds I still love what this image has to offer, I had to keep the horizon in the center in order to show that beautiful portion of sky that was lit by the last moments of daylight, but I had to keep our group in there for context. All of this was taken with one exposure: while the sky was initially blown out, and the foreground dark, I was able to recover those details by shooting in raw and adjusting the image in Lightroom.

The before Photo:

Timing on Mother Zebra’s milk

Masai Mara, Kenya The zebra mother will generally have 1 foal a year, and can have one at any time. Even though the foal may begin eating grass after a few days it generally takes a year to wean them off of mothers milk. Given the similar size of these two and the rarity of twins my local guide said it’s likely this foal is from another mother.

Photographic details: I took many photos of this because I wanted to capture a few things and needed the right timing for everything to line up. The constant swish of the mothers tail often had it flying out of the frame; instead of the tail being flat and facing down I waited for it to swish up to the left to capture that interesting curl. At the same time photographers always want the eyes, here I have not only the mothers eye, but that of both the foals as well. Many photos were taken, but this is the only one that made the cut. I often pay attention to the rule of thirds, but this time with the way the mother and the foal fit in a ying and yang kind of way I have a fair bit of symmetry. Artistically speaking, when you have symmetry like this you have licence to start centering your subjects and you get to throw the rule of thirds away.

If you like this please share!

Related: I've got 8 people signed on for my Kenya & Tanzania Photo Safari in January, there is guaranteed window room for everyone and I've got a few spots left! http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/

Prints are available at smugmug: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1555914888_M42JL7j

Giraffe Silhouette

Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa The dramatic skies of the Masai Mara were surrounding us towards the sunset hours in Kenya. After a day of seeking out cheetahs, elephants and leopards we had time to observe this giraffe browsing along the hilltop amongst the iconic shape of the Euphobia tree.

Photographic Details: Silhouettes are some of the most illustrative and powerful compositional elements in a photographers repertoire. Throwing away the distraction of colour texture and exposure you are simply left with a figure that forces the viewer to concentrate on body language, posture, and shape. With the lack of detail the viewer’s imagination is put to work perhaps causing them to linger a little longer. In addition a silhouette photo like this provides a stark contrast in detail with the perfectly exposed sky (underexposed by two stops) all the textures and beauty in the cloud formation is preserved in a hyper real fashion.

There wasn’t as much colour as I liked so I employed some colour graduated filters. I think of these as “sunglasses for my camera” that provide a colourful gradient that can enhance or even introduce colours much like putting on a pair of rose coloured sunglasses.

If you like this please share!

This is also available on my smugmug for print: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1554516357_mBKRfCP

A Critique: Silhouette of a family, BW or colour?

Serengeti, Tanzania, Africa. For todays post I want to do both my regular photo story but I also want a critique. The main question I want to know is do you like the colour or black and white version better? And why?

This was taken in the last few hours of this years photo safari. We were all ecstatic that just a few hundred meters from the airport we were still being greeted by scenic views and tonnes of wildlife, talk about a great send off for our final day!

Photographic Details: This troupe was making their way across the Serengeti and the backlighting isn’t ideal for photography. I began to think “well okay backlighting is tough for detail, so let’s focus on getting a silhouette”.

I like how easy it is to tell by their body language that this herd wasn’t just grazing, they were heading somewhere and on a mission. By working with the silhouette in mind I’ve taken advantage of the pros of this type of lighting instead of fighting against the cons. Canon EOS 7D, 100-400m L lens at 190mm, 1/320 shutter speed f7.1

So let me know, BW or colour?

Click on the thumbnail to open the gallery [gall columns="1" postcount="2" ]

More details on my photo safaris here: http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/

Update:

I have to share some fantastic comments here that critique these photos better than I ever could!

Out of 31 we have 20 for colour and 9 for bw.

Your comments go beyond just this simple question though, all this talk about the context of the images, how or where someone is displaying these photos change the photos, and how the intention of the photo changes which image is more powerful.

+Kerry L +Brad Ganley and +Louisa Catharine Forsyth mention how the power and impact of the animals is much more pronounced in the BW version, that there is more emotion associated with it. +Jorge henrique Cordeiro hits the nail on the head with the black and white version being art but the colour version being more truthful to what africa actually looks like.

+Shawn Clover highlights that the blue and orange in the colour photographs are complimentary, likely a reason for the favour in the colour image.

More importantly this stellar interaction speaks to the intelligence and engagement of this community, you guys are incredible!

Gazelle Portrait, Laying low

Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa It was an extremely hot day in the Masai Mara of Kenya in early march. This being the dry season the temperature was reaching 35 degrees Celsius, and it was getting close to lunch. We pulled our packed lunches out under the only tree nearby. Standing alone in the plains its sparse shade was still a welcome retreat. Around noon most wildlife seeks the shade and I was surprised we didn’t find anything resting under this tree.

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We reminisced about how the behaviour of the herd of Zebras earlier that day tipped us off that there was a lion kill nearby, and the incredible sunrise we were witness to. That’s when a Thompson’s gazelle appeared walking purposefully towards us. Oooh we stole his shade! It wasn’t long before he realized his spot was occupied and he just stood a good distance away, stomping every so often to ward off flies. The whole time we were there he just stared at us in hopes that we would disappear and he could get the only shade in sight.

Click for Larger image

Photographic details: This was the perfect opportunity to get a good portrait. There was nothing distracting in the background and this gazelle was practically posing. Usually it’s not safe to be outside the vehicle so I also had a rare chance to shoot this guy from a low angle. I laid flat on my belly with the camera touching the ground and my 400mm lens trained on him. I chose to compose him in the centre of the image because of the symmetry of his figure. This angle allowed me to shoot up at him and causes the ground to become mostly blurred. This creates a simpler image that focuses entirely on the animal itself.

Camera settings: Canon EOS 7D, 100-400mm L IS lens, ISO 100, 400mm, f5.6 1/400sec.

This is also available for print on my smugmug at: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Animals/Africa/19644918_hpCKDK#1543609000_tXNpXgN

For more on my photographic safaris see here! http://www.kylefoto.com/photographic-african-safaris/

Speeding Cheetahs, stabilizers and shutter speed

Masai Mara, Kenya, Africa All of these photos were taken in one 13 minute timespan. (with exception of the vehicle shot)

It was a fantastic morning in the Masai Mara, we were photographing mother Cheetah while she was relaxing before the sun even came up, then the golden light lit her magnificently as she looked over her four cubs. Later she stood and walked away with great purpose, indicating she was on the hunt.

Click for Larger image, Mother cheetach watching her cubs

To great protest of my passengers this is where I decided to quit photographing the cubs playing and drive off ahead of mother in hopes of catching her on the hunt, an executive decision I was worried I might regret.

Young Cheetahs still have claws for climbing 

We drove ahead and waited for mother to appear over the crest of a hill where a lone gazelle was grazing. She appeared, but way too far away even for a 600mm lens! She bolted for the gazelle and at blazing speed the two of them ran down the hill past us, the gazelle doing an inertia-defying U-turn running down towards us then right past our vehicle, click-click-click-click, the safari vehicle sounding like a mock barrage of machine guns as the two ripped past us. The gazelle did another quick turn and by then the cheetah had used up her energy burst, the gazelle got away this time. It all happened in the span of 10 seconds, and it felt like they were doing it for show given how they ran past us like that, it was incredible and everyone got such cool shots!

Camera Settings 

Photographic Details: A photographer has two major decisions to make in a situation like this: Either try and freeze the action so that every part of the cheetah is captured perfectly still, or to create a sense of motion so that most of the cheetah is clear except for her legs and background which is blurred with motion. I chose the latter.

You can get very close in Africa!  

It all comes down to shutter speed: I knew the Cheetah is capable of running at 120km/h, and after a lot of practice with moving horses and vehicles I knew that an extremely slow shutter speed of 1/160th of a second would be a great point to start. This is considered a very slow shutter speed while using a 400mm telephoto lens (like the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens I’m using). If you use a setting like shutter priority then all you needed was to set your shutter speed and you’re almost done.

Going after the Gazelle 

I would be tracking the movement of the Cheetah and following her exactly as I panned from right to left. For those with image stabilization a slow shutter speed and panning motion could cause the stabilization system to try and compensate for the panning, resulting in a blurred image. If you have an advanced lens that allows you to go into a secondary stabilization mode use it, in the canons mode 2 is made for panning shots.

Also note how dirty, dented scratched and chipped my lens and camera is, that’s the mark of a dedicated photographer ;) 1/160th of a second, F7.1 shot in RAW, ISO 100.

The final great shot! 

This was taken on my last photo safari, I have two more coming up in 2011 check them out here!

Additionally this print is available on smugmug.

The Monochrome Jackal

On Safari in Africa The jackal is a spritely figure in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Trotting along the game trail this guy was fortunate enough to come across some scraps. Paying little attention to us he kept working away at his prize of the day. Jackals are primarily active at dawn and dusk, a lot like most of the animals we like to see in Africa. Not only is the light fantastic when the sun is close to the horizon, we get the double effect of all the wildlife activity. This is why on safari one often has their down time during mid day. I don’t think one would ever have to be afraid of a jackal in any circumstance as they tend to feed on anything much smaller than them including small reptiles, birds and mammals.

Click for Larger image 

Photographic details: I wanted an interesting shot with a lot of the usual things a photographer is interested in, waiting for him to open his eyes, making sure his face wasn’t in shadow. This little expression he gave was somewhat sinister, even though it’s a brief moment taken while he was putting a lot of effort of gnawing the flesh off the bone.

For this portrait I wanted to reach back into my darkroom days and process this like a black and white negative. Spending hours dodging and burning in the lab I always felt such a connection with my photos. Dodging and burning is the process of selectively darkening and brightening certain areas of the image, it’s a practice that has been used in necessity since the dawn of film. Taking a photo is one thing, but preparing a print is another. By brightening my subject I bring more focus to him, and allow him to pop out of the uniform background instead of blending in.

This was taken on my photographic Safari this year, I have two more next year find out more at: http://www.kylefoto.com/category/workshops/

3D-ification of a photo

+Dunken K Bliths asked if he could edit one of my photos and make it 3D, here is the result, cool! I'm quite certain he starts off in photoshop, and separates the subjects and the backgrounds, and clones in the details in the background that the subject was covering.

Then it's likely he uses adobe after effects and arranges each layer in 3D space closer to what they would be like in real life, and just moves the camera in this little virtual world created from a photo!

Horse Whisperer - Fantastic photo from +Kyle Marquardt Another photo comes to life...

Visit his profile for more of his Animations +Dunken K Bliths

See more in my Equine Gallery Here.

Thirsty baby elephant orphans

Hooray it’s #thirstythursdayDavid Sheldrick Animal Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa

Many animals including Rhinoceros and Elephants may become orphaned by poachers or loss of habitat. People have tried to raise elephant orphans and in doing so become a mother figure to the elephants. Some of the first attempts at raising these extremely social animals ended in tragedy as the need for love from a family had not been accounted for. This was unfortunately discovered when one of the pioneers of raising these animals Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick left for a week for wedding arrangements, only to return to baby “Aisha” in such a state of despair that she died in her arms.

Click for Larger image 

The Sheldrick animal orphanage now employs a large “family” of caretakers, each one loving and caring but the elephants are discouraged from becoming too attached to any single person. Instead the elephant is attached to the family as a whole to replace the orphans lost mother, which prevents any grief that the elephant may feel should a single caretaker be absent. This among other discoveries has led the orphanage to successfully raise over 80 elephants and return them to their community in Tsavo National park.

All these growing elephants are very hungry and require a lot of nourishment, the thirst for milk is palpable when caretakers bring out the jugs. The cows milk is not enough, and additional supplements of coconut is given to them to provide them with the correct fats that they need.

I took two photos of this, once with the bottle full and the other with it empty. My camera records the time each photo is taken, I want you to guess how many seconds it takes for this guy to chug the milk down and write your response in the comments. The answer the question is at the bottom of this post in white text, highlight the bottom of this post to see.

I will be returning here again on my next photo safaris in february and september next year! http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120907.html

http://www.civilizedadv.com/trip_pages/trips/2012/KT120202.html

See also my african gallery here.

Please check out the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust website to find out more about what they are doing, and share this to get the word out! It’s my hope that I have inspired you a little bit! http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/

Highlight between here for the answer: [ This guy drank 5 litres in 9 seconds! What a machine!]

Sometimes photographers talk to the penguins

Falkland Islands, Southern OceanThank goodness it's my favourite day #wildlifewednesday !

These Rockhoppers have a lot of character. Not only do they live up to their namesake by hopping around the beach in the most comical way, they have a bright yellow flourish on their crest and piercing red eyes. The beach is littered with the dark bouncing figures of these guys, the only thing to do is take a seat and watch the show.

Photographic Details: Sitting amongst these guys I enter “spy mode” with my telephoto lens. Waiting for the right penguin to look in the right direction while also facing the sun so I can get those bright red eyes illuminated. These guys are busy so they aren’t all that interested in me, saying “Hey there, nice yellow crest” or “I saw you on the Fleetwood Mac album cover can I have your autograph?” didn’t really work, however screeching like they did got me a head turn and a few looks.

Yes I have learned to call to penguins now. They really don’t care what sound you make, but as soon as you start sounding like them they start paying attention. I look like a complete idiot hunching down taking photos and making penguin noises, but I’ve learned for a long time that if you don’t look like an idiot doing it, you probably don’t have an interesting photo.

I wanted the profile to focus in on the eyes and crest, and since their heads are symmetrical I thought I would take a different approach and get half the face, this makes for a more unique photo than the typical full face penguin portrait.

To see more or get a print see my smugmug here: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Antarctica/Antarctic-Worlds/19589737_M4DwLg#1538623730_9pjmrFs

I put a lot of work into my photography if you like this do me a favour and share this with your friends!

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Shooting landscapes with wildlife lenses

The Spires of South GeorgiaSouth Georgia, Antarctica

After one has gone to South Georgia, it is easy to talk about how dramatic of a place it can be. With seemingly calm weather that can turn hostile in a moment, to the great stories of exploration and survival that haunt the mountain sides, it’s a combination of history, geology and abundant wildlife that contributes to the grand atmosphere it exudes.

Photographic Details: This photo is no exception, with shafts of light piercing the clouds and mist settling in the valley this little scene stood out from the distance but in the grand scheme of things was only a small portion of the overall view. I had to zoom with a big (400mm) lens to get the scene as I saw it. Our eyes and brains are good at filtering out the things we aren’t interested in and instead, focusing in on the things we find attractive. In order to express what I felt photographically I had to zoom in. Traditionally scenery photos like this are taken from up close to the mountains with a wide angle lens, it just goes to show that the type of lens doesn’t necessarily restrict it to the type of photos a photographer can make with it.

The photo processing exactly emulates my film darkroom process. Dodging and burning (darkening and lightening) areas of contrast to bring the areas of detail to light, I pay homage to the days of silver images in my digital darkroom.

If you like the work I put into this, help me out by sharing it!

To see the colour version or get a print see my smugmug here: http://kylefoto.smugmug.com/Antarctica/Antarctic-Worlds/19589737_M4DwLg

In album The Master Collection (64 photos)

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Going Wild with Brian Keating

Brian Keating, a great colleague of mine is someone who has inspired me for a long time, I have had that absolute pleasure of being in the Antarctic with him, and his knowledge an enthusiasm for wildlife is astounding.

He is premiering his TV show "Going Wild" he shot in Madagascar last year. It will be on at 8 PM EST (6 and 11 PM Calgary time) tonight (Oct 15) on Discovery HD TV! Please write comments@discoveryworldhd.ca if you can view it to let them know how you liked it.

If you love wildlife I'm willing to bet you will like this!

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King Penguin symmetry

Gold Harbour, South Georgia, Antarctica#wildlifewednesday

Imagine seeing a landscape of king penguins. For as far as you could go these birds are nesting, calling and waddling to and fro between the colony and vast polar sea. It's a cacophony of sounds, smells and in every direction you look there is something happening.

Photographic Details: After taking initial scenery shots it's time to get down and do what a photographer does best. I put on my telephoto lens, lay down on the ground and begin observing every little social interaction around me. It's my job to find something happening amidst the chaos, to tell a story that is greater than the mere presence of thousands of King Penguins. This is where you ask yourself "what is the story here?" "what little events can help create a full photo essay?"

These two king penguins were definitely mates, they both payed a lot of attention to each other and did almost the same thing. Flapping their wings and stretching their necks they would eventually relax, beak to beak in a display of mutual affection. I would anticipate this symmetry and wait for them to relax to get this shot. I chose not to center it and keep much of the colony in the background in order to convey a sense of peace amidst the confusion and noisiness of a crowded penguin colony. At the same time I was pleased with the low depth of field in order to preserve focus on the penguin couple on the right.

Eland Oxpecker Double Portrait

Serengeti, Tanzania One of my favourite birds, the oxpecker on the largest antelope in africa, the Eland. The oxpecker feeds exclusively on ticks, flies and other insects that reside on other animals. While this is somewhat of a favourable relationship, their feeding can be intrusive and irritating for the host. Furthermore it has been observed that the oxpecker will re-open old wounds and create new ones to feed on the blood. For this reason other animals will not tolerate them, I have seen elephants swat them away with little tolerance to their presence.

Photographic Details: I love the dynamic between the two subjects. This photo does illustrate the current mutual relationship these two animals have including the flies buzzing around, albeit without expressing the dark side this bird may have. I took many photos but I was looking for one with the eyes and face of both animals in focus, with the soft mottled textures of the trees in the background. The shade of the trees provided a soft light in the otherwise harsh midday sun.

If you like this please check out my African Photo Safaris coming up in 2012! 

Peyto Glacier,

#mountainmonday Peyto Glacier, Banff National Park, Alberta

Snowshoeing up Peyto Glacier, our group is wearing harnesses, the rope you see is connected to myself and the next person behind me and so on, trekking up in single file in order to stay on a path that has been tested as safe by the leader.

As the glacier flows down the mountain, it bends and cracks, as a result crevasses large enough to swallow a human can form in the ice, but not before a thin layer of snow can cover the tops, creating the illusion that there is solid ice all the way up. The leading man pokes the trail ahead and walks with care, should the surface break away, the rest of the group can put on the breaks and haul him out on the rope.

It took quite a few hours, and due to a few obstacles like the bridge being washed out we almost had to abort our trip, as climbing the glacier would be too hazardous without being able to see where we were.

 Photographic Details: I don’t think a plain scenery shot would have been interesting here, I wanted a photo that would tell a story of adventure and place their viewer in the photographers (snow)shoes. Taken with a wide angle lens I get the scenic view and the dramatic perspective of the rope attached at my hip. Also take note of the slight rainbow effect of the ice crystals in the sky, and clouds.

"Glacier in the sun" takes top photograph on google plus

Plus Extract, the online site by the popular photo extract magazine finds the top images for the day on google plus. For the latest issue I have the privilege of taking the number one photo! My previously released "Glacier in the sun" shot is featured for the number 1 image on the page here:

Photo Extract, Plus Extract

Larches of sunshine Valley before and after RAW processing

larches of sunshine valley, before/after

Sunshine Valley, Rocky Mountains, Alberta, Canada.

I will show you the before and after of my RAW conversion, it’s my hope to demonstrate why a camera requires a photographer and without human direction, the photos they take aren’t accurate, and hardly representative of the experience it captured.

It was a spectacular day in the Sunshine Valley. I was sick as a dog but the beautiful sight of the larches kept my mind off of it. As my mood improved the weather worsened, as if mother nature was trying to offset my enjoyment. The wind began blowing and dark clouds started rolling in as a wall of rain headed towards my direction. The view of the lake was soon framed by the dark clouds and now the plain vista behind the lake was the dramatic view I was looking for.

In real life these clouds had the drama I was looking or, and as my highly evolved human eyes took in the scene I could see the darkness in the sky, and the subtle highlights in the trees. Most people don’t realize how much of a gift our vision is, until they see how the camera sees the world. It’s limited range of view compresses the highlights in the sky so that they are almost white. I look at the camera and think, “that stormy sky is not white, I’ll be able to bring that back later”.

What we don’t realize is the sky is always super bright to the camera, and even though the camera shows a white sky, shooting in high quality RAW my camera has secretly stored the details of that dark sky in there for me to coax out in my RAW processing.

This was all accomplished in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, with the brush and graduated filter tools by selectively decreasing and increasing the exposure. This process is called dodging and burning, and has likely been applied to every professional photograph you’ve ever seen. This technique has been around since the days of film, largely unchanged, it’s just done on computers now. Every photo needs to be calibrated with a human eye, and this is how you show others what it really feels like to be there.

Glacier in the sun

Glacier in the sun Antarctica

It was an ultra windy day, too windy to do any landings to explore other areas. Luckily in the shelter of this ice shelf we were able to get our zodiacs out to explore this bit of area amidst the whipped up ocean. We still had to get out into the weather to get here, after being soaked from the surface of the water being carried by the gale, this little part of the ice shelf felt like a calm piece of heaven. Fine snow was being blasted off the glacier by the katabatic winds, giving the edges an etherial feel. You can see this fine dusting in the sun star, it was like a frozen mist.

Photographic Details: Those who have been following my photography know that I’m not afraid to shoot into the sun, something a lot of people have been taught not to do. And like my other sun shots I used an aperture of f16. This employs more aperture blades, and the more blades used, the more points you see in the sun star. The high image quality of proper RAW exposure and processing ensures that even the shadows have details, all with taking only a single exposure, an important skill to learn while in a moving boat.

For more antarctic photos check out my antarctic worlds gallery: http://www.kylefoto.com/galleries/antarctic-worlds/

Zebras in the dust

Zebras in the dustOn Safari in Tanzania, Serengeti, for wildlife wednesday

During the great migration countless zebra and wildebeest move through the Serengeti, following the rains that move cyclicly through Kenya and Tanzania. The amazing thing about this is moments before these zebra were nowhere to be seen, and upon arriving back to the river side we were inundated with this herd that went on as far as the dust allowed us to see.

These zebra were frantically running to the river to quench their thirst, always aware of the Crocodiles lurking, there was one in the river, but it was full. Nevertheless a zebra would get spooked and the entire group would abandon the river at once, kicking up dust and lining themselves up like this. It's something we spent the whole day doing, it was fantastic.

This was taken on my Kenya & Tanzania Photographic Safari last February, if you or anyone you know likes to travel and take photos this is the best way to see the wonder that Africa has to offer while getting the greatest photos possible. I love sharing my techniques, and it was a pleasure travelling with such talented photographers. I have two more trips in February and September 2012, to find out more check out my workshops here: http://www.kylefoto.com/category/workshops/

If you like this, please share!

#wildlifewednesday

The Skua, Lay down for your wildlife shots

The SkuaAn inquisitive animal is an intelligent one Gold harbour, South Georgia, Antarctic island.

The Skua is one of the most visible predators of penguins in the Antarctic, but also the most intelligent. I parent penguin will often chase after a skua to defend it's egg or chick, but unfortunately for the penguin, the Skua will work in teams. While the parent is distracted the other bird will come in, and they will get to feed. A penguin egg or a baby chick is a high reward for a Skua, I know it might be terrible to watch, but the skuas need to eat too (and their chicks are cute!).

Photographic details It was a joy to get a shot like this, it's times like these that carrying two cameras really comes in handy. I was watching the King Penguin colony, ready to shoot close up shots of penguin behaviour with my telephoto when the skua flies in right in front of me. I pulled out my other camera with my wide angle lens (16-35mm f2.8) and managed to get a few of these shots while the Skua pecked at my polariser. [lightbox id="2" size="small"] While this happened by accident, I maximised my chances of interacting with wildlife by laying down flat on the ground. In this position not only do I have the best viewpoint, I'm also not considered a threat and more of a curiosity to wildlife. Laying down I have had elephant seals snuggle me, penguins walk on me and of course, skuas investigating my lens. I also chose to keep a lot of the background and penguin colony in this shot, keeping this bird in full context of it's environment.

This is a blog post originally posted on http://www.kylefoto.com, If you like this be sure to check out the Antarctic Worlds gallery!