I took this picture nearly twenty years ago, and it has always been one of my favorites. Why? Because it was one of the most magical place I have ever been, in the company of one of the most unusual animals. This penguin is among the rarest on earth, living only in a few isolated locations in New Zealand - in this case in a fairyland forest on one of NZ's many offshore islands. Imagine seeing penguins tiptoeing through this enchanted landscape with the songs of bellbirds and parakeets overhead.

In the end, this picture means something to me because of the power of its story.  For although we think of penguins as polar animals, the startling fact is that most penguin species may never see ice and snow in their entire lives, being creatures more suited to temperate zones like this. At the same time, the picture also challenges our notion that penguins are intensely social, living in massive colonies.  Although some penguins do live this way, Yellow-eyes are solitary birds, living in holes and burrows along remote coastlines.

 

 

Nikon F100 with Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 lens

Fuji Velvia Film (!)

Life, Color, Drama, Reality .... No Digital Manipulation