Gentoo Penguin Torpedo — Falkland Underwater
44,102.85 ¥
Gentoo penguins photographed underwater from below in the Falkland Islands — the birds’ torpedo silhouettes against the pale surface light, their synchronised swimming creating a pattern of white bellies and trail bubbles above the camera.
Description
Gentoo penguin underwater photography requires a camera position in shallow water close to a regular penguin entry/exit point — the penguins approach and depart from predictable locations along their daily foraging routes. This image was made from a prone position in 1-metre-deep water at a Falkland Islands beach entry point, the camera shooting upward toward the surface as a group of eight gentoos swam overhead at approximately 30cm above the lens. The perspective — looking up through the water surface at the penguins from below — reveals the extraordinary hydrodynamic streamlining of the penguin body: the white belly, the tucked wings used as hydrofoils, and the wake bubbles trailing from each bird create a pattern of white streaks against the pale ambient surface light. Shot at 1/2000 second in the shallow, clear Falkland water.
