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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Eleven: Aspects of Antarctica – a travel photo-essay > Gentoo Penguin Rookery, Paradise Harbor, Antarctica, 2004
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06-JAN-2004

Gentoo Penguin Rookery, Paradise Harbor, Antarctica, 2004

A wideangle converter lens was an essential tool for this shot of nesting Gentoos. This image is all about numbers – the penguin colony seems to go on forever. The previous shot shows but one penguin – this one includes hundreds. Some sit on their eggs, sheltered in nests made of rocks. Others stand watch, guarding the nests from marauding birds. I moved my camera down to ground level and moved in as closely as I could to the foreground nest without disturbing the penguins.

Canon PowerShot G5
1/1250s f/4.5 at 11.2mm hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time06-Jan-2004 23:53:41
MakeCanon
ModelPowerShot G5
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length11.2 mm
Exposure Time1/1250 sec
Aperturef/4.5
ISO Equivalent
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Program
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis06-Mar-2005 06:56
Come back as often as you want, Barri. It is a good example of the wideangle lens used to control perspective, imply depth, and tell a story. I just posted a new gallery, based entirely on this subject, athttp://www.pbase.com/pnd1/wideangle_lens
Barri Olson06-Mar-2005 06:05
I can't vote anymore on this, so I just keep coming back and looking at it...one of my favorites on PBase. Just amazing!
Barri Olson29-Jan-2005 04:19
I can't even think about this one Phil...and I know there are all those reasons it's a great shot...but I have nothing to say but WOW!. (well I do like the warm foregound against the cold back-LOL) It's just one of those, I saw it and my eyes popped out.. Barri
Phil Douglis23-Mar-2004 21:03
Hi, Jackie,

Thanks for the kind words on this photo. It was shot from waist level with a Canon G5 digital camera, using Canon's .7x WC-DC58N wide converter at its full 24mm focal length. This conversion lens is linked to the G5 with Canon's LA-DC58B conversion lens adapter.
Jackie 23-Mar-2004 05:36
What a great picture. What adapter and wide angle lense did you use?
Phil Douglis01-Mar-2004 19:10
Thanks, Anna for your comment. This was taken with a compact digital camera -- a Canon G5. One of the characteristics of these compact cameras, as opposed to a digital SLR, is tremendous depth of field due to the small sensor, which is considerably smaller than the large sensor on your Canon 10D digital SLR. The smaller the sensor, the smaller the lens, and the greater the depth of field, even at a large apertures. In this case, the tremendous depth of field is a plus. On the other hand, it is very difficult to get a soft focus background with these compact cameras -- the digital SLR is much better at that.

Still another reason for the 3D effect here is my .7x wideangle converter lens, which, placed over the 35mm end of my G5s zoom lens, gives me the 35mm eqivalent of a 24mm wideangle lens. I came in very close on the first penguin's next, to make it as large as possible, yet the shot embraces hundreds of other nests as well. I could not have done that without the wideangle converter on my camera.

I did not use a tripod with for this shot -- the G5 has a swiveling LCD finder that allows me to look down into it. I lowered the camera to within a few feet of the ground, just over the first nest, to make this shot. If had lowered it all the way to the ground, I would have lost the background entirely.

However there are tripods available that allow you to shoot from ground level. They called table top tripods -- the three legs will extend almost parallel to the ground. Here is a link that will show you what they look like and what they cost in the US. I am sure you can find them in Sweden as well, Anna.http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=391
Anna Yu01-Mar-2004 18:39
Phil, this is a most wonderful "3d" image! I am wondering how the dof is so nice and big at this f-stop??? And what kind of tripod sits so closely to the ground?
Magnificent again/Anna
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2004 23:22
Lisa: many photographers use wideangle lenses primarily as a way to get a lot of things into an image. I try to use my wideangle optics as you so beautifully define. I am indeed trying to establish a sense of intimacy by moving in close with my wideangle lens so as to embrace the subject, and envelope the viewer as well. With a close vantage point and a wideangle perspective, I can also "layer" my images, relating foreground, middleground, and background elements to express an idea, such as I do in this photograph.
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2004 22:52
That's the function of the camera's vantage point, Carol. It puts the viewer exactly where the camera was, and makes them feel as if they were actually there.
Guest 26-Jan-2004 11:59
Wonderful! Perfect choice for wideangle, really brings an intimacy to a lovely shot.
Carol E Sandgren26-Jan-2004 06:18
The angle of your shot puts me right there in the middle of all the penguin action! can I pretend to be one of them? It's fascinating to really see their nesting habits. What a great shot!
Phil Douglis26-Jan-2004 02:35
Thanks, Jill -- I take no credit for the process of nature unfolding here before us. But I tried to do more than just stand there and make a picture of this scene. I was stunned at the sheer number of nests in this rookery, and I tried my best to stress the magnitude of the scene by creating a strong focal point at the bottom of the picture and then drawing the eye back through the various layers of this image until it reached the distant ridge in the background. I was very careful with the top edge of the frame, making sure to leave just enough space for the snow to skim across the top of the distant ridge. This image is all about space and numbers, and I tried to use my vantage point, lens choice, and framing to make that point.
Jill26-Jan-2004 01:19
Brilliant.
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