Tom and I celebrate great photos from photographers on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For January we chose an image from our Antarctica and South Georgia Workshop. The image was taken by Teri Manchen on a zodiac excursion to a Macaroni Penguin colony. Teri is a wildlife photographer who splits her time between Ohio and Florida.
Congratulations to January 2026 ‘s featured photographer – Teri Manchen
The Story…
We were in Hercules Bay on South Georgia Island and we went around the corner to a small cove. None of the other zodiacs came over to that location. Both boats in our photography group made it over. It was towards the end of the photo session and we had not found many Macaroni Penguins to photograph yet. I really wanted to see them.
There were fur seals in the cove and Macaroni Penguins were everywhere we looked.
There was a whole group of them. The boat was rocking. I zeroed in on a group of penguins that were all clean and all walking in the same direction. I liked that the lichen on the rocks matched the crest on the penguins. This is the only photo I got where all of the penguins were looking up and facing the camera.
When I was editing the photo I had to work on the eyeballs a bit. They have bright red eyes and they were originally pretty shaded.
My ISO was pretty high because it was dark and overcast in the cove. I used the denoise function in Lightroom to take care of that.
The Macaroni Penguins were pretty cute. I like the bright yellow color of their crest.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: Nikon 600mm 6.3
Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/2000
ISO: 5000
Exposure Compensation: +1.0
About Photographing in South Georgia and Antarctica
I love Antarctica. It is so pristine. It was amazing to be there. I probably missed a lot of the iceberg photos. We had just been in Greenland and saw a lot of icebergs. I felt like I had that piece and focused on the penguins instead.
South Georgia was quite amazing. Every turn you would take there was a new aspect. It was super fun because the penguins would create a mile long trail to the colony. I wondered if it was worth walking a mile. Then I walked to the end and said it was the most amazing thing I’ve seen in my life.
I wish I had taken more videos to show how it was. When we were on the water in South Georgia and we were seeing penguins all over, there was always a beautiful landscape right behind the penguins. If I was shooting penguins with my 600mm I missed the landscape.
Seeing so many Humpback Whales was crazy. The lunge feeding was incredible. I have also never seen so many flukes before.
The weather in the Drake was perfect for us. I was nervous and brought a bunch of different medications but did not need it. I have seen other people posting about the Drake Passage and was very happy that we had the weather that we did. There was no sea sickness on the trip.
It is definitely a bucket list trip. It was unbelievable.
Teri’ s Tips for Photographing Penguins
1) So happy I brought the 600mm lens. I used it 70% of the time. It focuses well and at 6.3 you can still create good bokeh.
2) Make sure there is a good background behind the penguins. I like blurry backgrounds or something that shows a mountain scene.
3) I shoot mostly in wide area large focus mode. The camera does the work and catches the eye for you.
4) I used the side lean to get low. We were not able to sit, squat or lie on the ground because of animal safety. I just leaned to the side and got as low as I could.
5) Shooting in the colonies was more difficult. I was always looking for good interaction between birds or for chicks.
On Teri’s Horizon:
Black Bears in Alaska
Patagonia in Spring
Bears of Lake Clark
Banff in Canada
Africa and Asia
Thank you for reading our Photo of the Month posts! We’d love to know what you think about them. Send us a note.
Workshop Openings:
Tom Bol Photo Workshops is headed back to Antarctica in 2028. We will be navigating below the Antarctica Circle with Polar Latitudes. Join the Interest List here.
Want to photograph wildlife from a boat in Alaska this summer? We have space available on our Kenai Fjords National Park Workshop July 7-12, 2026. Calving glaciers, Sea Otters, Whales, and beautiful scenery near Seward and Homer, Alaska. Learn more
Tom and Cree