One freezing winter afternoon, I took advantage of my time to look again at the book Genesis by Sebastiao Salgado. I stopped at his photographs of the black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) and was mentally stuck there for months. Without realizing it, that afternoon my trip to the Falkland Islands had begun. After a year and a half, I was able to be there, among these wonderful birds that I admire so much.
The trip to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas Islands) must be carefully planned to make the most of your time. To work in intimate contact with the species I wanted to photograph, I chose to stay in tents. I had to ask for a camping permit, and to avoid complications I was offered the option of preparing my meals. The campsites didn’t have much other than an electric port to charge batteries and a bathroom.
When I arrived at the Mount Pleasant airport I was taken by plane to The Neck on Saunders Island. I was left there with prepared boxes of food, cans of water, a heater, and a pot. The experience was unique. Sleeping and waking next to the penguin colonies allowed me the maximum connection to the nature of the Falkland Islands, which was then transferred to the photos I created. After a few days there, I moved to Volunteer Point where I lived with the largest colony of king penguins on the islands.
On this trip, where extreme co-existence with nature was sought, I became immersed. This is where the creative magic began by allowing me to understand and communicate what these wonderful creatures want to say.
The weather was extreme, even for summer. I had to bring high mountain equipment to withstand the cold and humidity. There were also episodes of strong winds that lifted the white sand of the beautiful coasts. By bringing enough warm clothes I was able to be there comfortably.
I had brought a camera case to use when it was raining or windy, to take advantage of the bad weather. Although bad weather might cause sadness for tourists, it can lead to happiness for photographers! In order to take some unique photos, you always have to enjoy the bad weather.
One morning at Volunteer Point after the strong wind started, I happily put my protector on the camera and telephoto lens and worked laying on the sand. I enjoyed how the sand complemented my image, leaving the entire background and lower part of the scene empty — creating a photograph with a heavenly and minimalist touch. I also did this on thick fog mornings, where I was able to get a similar effect.
I brought gradient filters to use with my wide-angle lens to specifically capture stormy skies. The sand there is very white and bright, which can provide an exquisite contrast when the sky fills with clouds before it rains. A stormy afternoon was ideal for using the gradient filters on my wide-angle lens, and with a remote shutter release I took pictures of the king penguins curiously approaching my equipment.
Creativity also had its place. With a long shutter speed, I created pictorial designs that outlined my protagonists. To give an idea of the crowd, I used the technique of Intentional Camera Movement. This doubled the image and made it look like there were more penguins than there really were. To provide contrast to the orange of their feathers, I took the photograph by setting a cold color temperature (3,000 degrees Kelvin).
I also loved watching the incessant walking of the king penguins as they entered the sea in groups again and again. To show this movement, I placed my camera on a tripod and working with a long shutter speed I was able to capture the movement of the king penguins.
A technique that I use a lot is high key. To create high tones, I position myself in relation to the sun so that the subject is backlit. I overexpose my scene until my subject is well-exposed. This makes everything around it white and allows you to isolate and magnify the subject’s relevance. Sometimes I help myself by lighting with a little soft flash. This must be done very carefully so as not to affect wildlife. In this case, two skua were fighting over an egg they had just stolen from a gentoo penguin for breakfast, so they didn’t even notice my gentle flash.
Many times the environment was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I forgot the details. I had to ask myself, “Have I seen how many details there are in the scene?” When I focused on seeing details, things that I hadn’t seen began to appear. Vision is very selective and to see more than what I was looking for, I had to remember to not forget the details!
King penguins made life very easy, as they have a design and color in their feathers that created abstract shapes and inspired creativity. I included more or less in each frame, rotated the photos, and got many creative images of the same scene.
King penguins also placed themselves in particular positions, which helped me create movement patterns. It all depended on how many details and shapes I could see in the scene.
But as I said at the beginning, I went to the Falkland Islands for the black-browed albatross. I went having in mind to take a photo of the detail of her beautiful eyes that seem to be made up with eyeliner. To do so, I wanted to use a macro lens. This photo took me the longest time because it depended on how close the albatrosses were. For hours, I approached an albatross that was sitting and seemed very friendly to me. From time to time I would get a little closer. At any moment, the albatross could have gone somewhere else by walking or flying and my approach would have failed. So, a long time passed until we were very close together, both of us sitting, looking at the turquoise sea, and connected. When I thought it was time, I very delicately began to take photos of the albatross’ eyes with my macro lens, asking the albatross to give me its gaze. Nature, when you are connected, allows you these moments of communion. It is your obligation to take the photos you need and leave, understanding that this moment must be ephemeral.
The photographs of the eyes were taken in bright mid-morning light and overexposed to eliminate everything around the eye to highlight the detail of the black feathers.
What I like most about taking nature photographs are those moments of connection with wildlife, where it seems that a magical portal opens and you feel different: being part of the wildlife while time stops and something happens that is difficult to explain. It is engraved in your soul. Many years after each trip, I only remember those magical moments when instead of shooting in burst mode, I sat down to talk with the protagonist of my photos and understood what it wanted to convey to me.
