First BPN Images of Emperor Penguin chicks ...

[Arthur Morris]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D850
• 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6
• ƒ/10
• 400mm
• 1/1000s
• ISO 400
• Thu, 25 October 2018 11:43 AM
• ARTHUR MORRIS BIRDS AS ART
• Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Macintosh)

Image #1: Emperor Penguin chick resting on snow

I was recently blessed to spend three days at the Snow Hill Island, Antarctica Emperor Penguin colony (after a long and arduous journey that included a long red-eye flight, crossing the Drake Passage in an icebreaker, flying six miles in a helicopter, and then walking 3.7 miles round trip over the sea ice to and from the colony). For the full story on the journey, see the Home From the Sea Ice. The First Emperor. And Did We Make it to the Exalted Penguin Colony by Icebreaker and Helicopter? blog post here. To learn more about the trip and see a composite of my keepers, see the Bucket List Sea Ice Expedition: Beyond Success ... blog post here.

<style type="text/css">p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 13.0px}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}</style>This image was created on October 26, 2018 on the recently concluded Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. I used the hand held (while seated) Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens (at 400mm) with my back-upNikon D850 DSLR Camera. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 1 2/3 stops: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode. AUTO 1 WB on a cloudy-bright morning. Five AF points up from the center AF point/Single/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the chick’s neck just in front of and well below the eye. I kept my rig on my shoulder via an RS-7 Curve Breathe Strap so that it was instantly accessible when I was working with the tripod-mounted 500 PF. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here.

Please see the image in the pane below and let us know which you think is the stronger image and why.

with love, artie

 

[Arthur Morris]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D850
• 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6
• ƒ/8
• 400mm
• 1/2000s
• ISO 400
• Fri, 26 October 2018 9:15 AM
• ARTHUR MORRIS BIRDS AS ART
• Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Macintosh)

2Image #2: Emperor Penguin chick standing on pure snow

This image was also created on October 26, 2018 on the recently concluded Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island expedition via icebreaker. Again I used the hand held (while seated) Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens (at 400mm) with my back-upNikon D850 DSLR Camera. ISO 400. Matrix metering plus about 1 2/3 stops: 1/1000 sec. at f/10 in Manual mode. Matrix metering plus about 1 1/3 stops: 1/2000 sec. at f/8 in Manual mode on a cloudy-very-bright morning. K 7690 WB by accident from the previous sunset was corrected easily during the RAW conversion. Five AF points up from the center AF point/Single/Shutter button AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The selected AF point was on the chick’s neck just in front of and well below the eye. I kept my rig on my shoulder via an RS-7 Curve Breathe Strap so that it was instantly accessible when I was working with the tripod-mounted 500 PF. Focus peaking AF Fine-tune: +5. See the Nikon AF Fine-tune e-Guide here.

Which of the two images is your favorite? Why?

 

[arash_hazeghi]

send me the RAW file for the first image, I want to work on it some

Wish I was there when you took these.

 

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice images indeed, I particularly like the second image, I like the first but I think there is a lot of missing detail, especially in the snow when compared to the second image. There is a slight blue cast in the second but I suspect that you have left it there intentionally to give the observer a feel for the cold conditions. Looking forward to more.

 

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Artie, you have certainly travelled. When I opened the first image, I thought what brilliant detail. When I opened the second image, even more detail on the Penquins coat. I agree with Jon on having more detail on the snow. Both have good and different poses, and both work. 2nd by a whisker.

 

[Dorian Anderson]

I like the standing shot because I can see lots of detail on the feet and snow. I do think the darks could use a bit of a bump to make them contrast more (like in the other shot).

The horizontal shot is super cute, mostly because he looks utterly useless laying there. The detail on the face is money. Love the contrast.

 

[Mike Diersing]

Hi Artie- What a great trip. Both are very nice but like others, I prefer the second, standing image. Something about the pose, with chin up, head slightly back says, "Hey...you're not from around here, but I'm not going anywhere..." Love the white on white in both images.

 

[John Mack]

Great to hear you had a wonderful trip. The first image is my favorite. The unique pose on the chick is pretty neat. Details are great on both images.

 

[David Seymour]

Hi Artie, sounds like it was a dream trip with some great images from it as well. I seem to have a strong personal preference for the first image with the chick reclined. For me it has a much stronger connection with the viewer, and the neck stretch shows off the bird's head and face better. Also, living in one of the gateways to Antarctica I've probably seen a lot of standing penguin shots with poses similar to the second image, but the reclined one is unusual for a penguin and more reminiscent of the sort of pose that seals are often captured in. Both top images though, thanks for posting them.


Cheers, David

 

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all so far I actually process the images for less detail in the snow as that is my style The chicks were lying on the ice and snow to get cool as we experienced extremely warm weather on our three visits to the colony. I am trying to send Arash the NEF file for the first image right now ... I am interested in seeing what he does with it with Capture One.

with love, artie

 

[Arthur Morris]

Very nice images indeed, I particularly like the second image, I like the first but I think there is a lot of missing detail, especially in the snow when compared to the second image. There is a slight blue cast in the second but I suspect that you have left it there intentionally to give the observer a feel for the cold conditions. Looking forward to more.

Thanks John, Dealing with the BLUEs with these image is a big challenge. A small does of NIK Color Efex Pro White Neutralizer helps but it is difficult for me to draw the line between too YELLOW and too BLUE.

with love, artie

ps: if you check out the composite image on the blog post here you can see the varying color temperatures and BLUEs at a glance.

 

[Isaac Grant]

I prefer the lying down shot. As David says, I have seen many of the standing shot but not nearly as many of the lying shot. It seems more intimate and has a cute factor that I really like. Looks like an amazing experience. Back to the viewing on different screens problem, on the 5k imac the throat of the lying bird seems a bit too white but probably looks fine on your laptop screen. What do you do to process for less detail? Less Detail Extractor? Less sharpening? I should add that young birds have super fine feathers and often look a touch soft even though you can tell that the birds are not soft. Eye of your birds are razor sharp. I have photographed many young piping plovers with sharp eyes but the rest of them and their little fluff ball feathers just look soft as compared to the adult feathers which have very different structure. Hopefully one day I will get the chance to see and photograph these beautiful birds. I have only seen 3 species of penguin. African in South Africa, Little Penguin in Australia and Humboldt Penguin in Peru. Did not own a camera back then so no images. Looking forward to more from your amazing trip.

 

[Alex Becker]

Both are really cute. I think I also prefer the laying down shot for the reasons mentioned above. But the color tones and and subtle background transition in the standing one are super nice. I'd love to have either. Seeing the feet in the second is a nice bonus too. Looking forward to seeing more from the trip. I'd love to get down there some day. TFS

 

[Joseph Przybyla]

Both are lovely. The laying down chick has the look of a studio shot with a white background, reading your comments you wrote that you process for less detail in the snow. The standing chick has much more detail in the show and the blue tint adds a coolness factor which I think suits the image. I think you must be thrilled with your images and the experience. Thank you for sharing, Artie.

 

[Arthur Morris]

I prefer the lying down shot. As David says, I have seen many of the standing shot but not nearly as many of the lying shot. It seems more intimate and has a cute factor that I really like. Looks like an amazing experience. Back to the viewing on different screens problem, on the 5k imac the throat of the lying bird seems a bit too white but probably looks fine on your laptop screen. What do you do to process for less detail? Less Detail Extractor? Less sharpening? I should add that young birds have super fine feathers and often look a touch soft even though you can tell that the birds are not soft. Eye of your birds are razor sharp. I have photographed many young piping plovers with sharp eyes but the rest of them and their little fluff ball feathers just look soft as compared to the adult feathers which have very different structure. Hopefully one day I will get the chance to see and photograph these beautiful birds. I have only seen 3 species of penguin. African in South Africa, Little Penguin in Australia and Humboldt Penguin in Peru. Did not own a camera back then so no images. Looking forward to more from your amazing trip.

Thanks for commenting Isaac. I almost never ever use Detail Extractor on a BKGR. To process the snow for less detail I use the Patch Tool and drag a detailed area to a smooth area. And at times I run a 60-pixel Gaussian Blur on the whole image, add an Inverse Layer Mask, and paint away the detail, often beginning with a 33% Opacity Brush and being sure to stay away from the bird. Now I have seen and photographed all of the penguins on our side of Antarctica including the South Georgia species

with love, artie

 

[Arthur Morris]

Both are lovely. The laying down chick has the look of a studio shot with a white background, reading your comments you wrote that you process for less detail in the snow. The standing chick has much more detail in the show and the blue tint adds a coolness factor which I think suits the image. I think you must be thrilled with your images and the experience. Thank you for sharing, Artie.

Beyond thrilled with my blessings

with love, artie

 

[Arthur Morris]

Both are really cute. I think I also prefer the laying down shot for the reasons mentioned above. But the color tones and and subtle background transition in the standing one are super nice. I'd love to have either. Seeing the feet in the second is a nice bonus too. Looking forward to seeing more from the trip. I'd love to get down there some day. TFS

Thanks Alex, I am not sure when or if they Quark might be running that trip again ...

YAW. With love, artie

 

[annmpacheco]

Welcome back Artie, I like both images for different reasons. I also am looking forward to Arash's processing to see the difference. I am hoping there is more detail to be had for the penguin lying down. Looking forward to more of your trip.

 

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Ann. See my question on your MAGO post.

with love, artie

 

[Isaac Grant]

Of course Artie. I read what you wrote wrong the first time. I thought you meant that when birds are in the snow you process the birds to have less detail. But clearly that makes not sense. You mean that you do not want to accentuate the details in the snow. Makes the bird stand out more.

Speaking of Gaussian Blurs do you run into problems with banding when using GB's? The few times I ever tried to use one I found that I had bad banding issues in the background. I did 60-80 pts but was not happy with the results. Perhaps because I did not do it as you say and then lower the opacity of the layer and the strength was just too strong. OK so a different question. What is the advantage of doing 60 pixel and then lowering to 33% of that as opposed to doing just a 1/3 strength 20 pixels GB from the beginning? Thanks in advance for the info.

Awesome you have seen and photographed all of them. Perhaps a book is in order? Penguins of the world...