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Picture of the Month

 

January 2012

 

 

Pack Ice and Glaciers

Antarctic Peninsula

(Black-and-white Conversion)

 

 
 

First of all - a very Happy New Year!  I hope this will be a happy, productive year for everyone who reads this.

 

In December I was asked to fill-in as National Geographic lecturer on a cruise to Antarctica; naturally, I jumped at the chance to re-visit one of the most beautiful corners of the globe. The timing was also especially good since I am working on a revised edition of Penguin Planet, and thought I'd get some new penguin images that could be useful.

Well, I got some penguins all right, although not necessarily the kinds of pictures I'd imagined. We arrived at the end of a series of spring snowstorms to find the penguin colonies buried in the stuff, including many birds that had already laid eggs. On one colony after another, I photographed stoic penguins trying to incubate under 6-12" of heavy snow. 

Yes, they must encounter setbacks like this fairly regularly, so I wasn't too concerned for their welfare. But after 8 straight days of snowy weather, I would have liked a little sunshine myself.  No such luck. We had almost none of the magical light the Antarctic is famous for, making photography a challenge. In the end, I have only a few pictures to show for the trip, but the shots of penguins in the snow were something new for me, and tell an important story – about climate, persistence, and survival.

 

 

 

Nikon D3 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (landscape) and 70-200mm lens (penguin)

 

 

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

 

Kevin Schafer Photography : HOME

 

 

Review a previous Picture of the Month:

Maleos, 12/2011

Armadillo, 10/2011

Anhinga, 9/2011

Lava Tube, 8/2011

Blurry Cassowary, 7/2011

Mud Maid, 5/2011

Roadkill. 4/2011

Light and Shadow, 3/2001

Aurora, 40 below, 2/2011

Petra, 1/2011

Cassowary Family, 12/2010

Antarctic Storm, 11/2010

Yellow-eyed Penguin, 10/2010

Harebells in Wind, 9/2010

Coy Polar Bear, 8/2010

Bathing Beauty Bear, 7/2010

Maned Sloth, 6/2010

Sarus Cranes, 5/2010

Black-winged Stilts, 4/2010

Macaque/Gibbons, 3/2010

Cormorants, 2/2010

Silky Sifaka, 12/2009

Amazon Dolphin Polo, 11/2009

Yucatan Bats, 10/2009

Gulls and Flies, 8/2009

Callanish Stones, 7/2009

Amazon Dolphins (2), 6/2009

Golden Langur, 5/2009

Island Foxes, 4/2009

Puget Sound, 3/2009

Border Fence, 2/2009

Amazon Islands, 1/2009

King Penguins, 12/2008

Darwin's Fox, 11/2008

Blacktip Shark, 10/2008

Greenland Fisherman. 9/2008

Ladyslipper Orchids, 7/2008

Wild Cassowary, 6/2008

Painted Hands, 5/2008

Zion Park, 4/2008

Marine Otters, 3/2008

Mt. Hood Sunset, 2/2008

Mountain-Biking, 1/2008

Tent Bats, 12/2007

Nunbird, 11/2007

Alaskan Otters, 10/2007

Amazon Dolphin, 8/2007

Madagascar #2, 6/2007

Baja California, 5/2007

Pelicans, 3/2007

Darien Gap, 2/2007

Grey Whale Calf, 1/2007

Galapagos Sea Lion, 12/2006

Rockhoppers, 11/2006

Hummingbird, 10/2006

Madagascar, 9/2006

Whales, 7/2006

Sea Lions, 5/2006

Tiger, 4/2006

Jaguar, 2/2006

South Georgia, 12/2005

New Generation, 11/2005

Childhood, 9/2005

Penguins, 8/2005

Sea Palms, 7/2005

Aster Flower, 6/2005

Siskiyou Mountains, 5/2005

Humpback Whales, 4/2005

Christo GATES , 3/2005

Eucalyptus Leaves, 2/2005

Alaskan Aurora, 1/2005

Nesting Turtle, 12/2004

Autumn Berries, 10/2004

Costa Rica, 3/2004

Aurora Borealis, 10/2003

To contact Kevin Schafer :


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Search for images at kevinschafer.com/catalog