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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eighty-three: Impressions of the Galapagos – an extended photo-essay > Family portrait, nesting Waved Albatrosses, Punta Saurez, Espanola Island, The Galapagos, Ecuador, 2012
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22-JUN-2012

Family portrait, nesting Waved Albatrosses, Punta Saurez, Espanola Island, The Galapagos, Ecuador, 2012

The sole nesting ground for Waved Albatrosses is here on Espanola Island. It is vast, accommodating over 12,000 pairs at a time. The scene is chaotic, and demands photographic simplification. I chose to concentrate on just one pair, and made this family portrait as one member of a pair sits on the nest in the foreground while the other looms over it in the background. The male and female split the next sitting duties, so I was unable to identify the gender roles here. But that is not important -- instead, I try to express the bond between the two as defined by their deliberate positioning and the matching placid expressions that tell the story of nesting albatrosses. I also stress the subtle yellow feather coloring that matches the colors of their beaks.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
1/4000s f/13.0 at 200.0mm iso800 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
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Phil Douglis18-Sep-2012 21:10
Thanks, Iris, for seeing the bond between them as expressed in this image. We do indeed see the other side of an albatross relationship -- there is a dignified sense of presence here, quite the opposite from those clackers you mentioned.
Iris Maybloom (irislm)18-Sep-2012 18:52
What a beautiful portrait. It certainly does express a bond and devotion between these two birds who mate for life. How serene and comfortable they are with each other after their raucous courting dance. I guess if you get all the clacking out of your system during courtship, the rest of your days will be clack-free.
Phil Douglis03-Aug-2012 19:10
Thanks, Carol, for seeing these birds for what they truly are -- large, handsome, and often expressing a natural sense of dignity and strength. I am trying to express all of these characteristics in this portrait.
Carol E Sandgren03-Aug-2012 04:39
Yes, they really ARE magnificent birds!
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