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Hoiho!


Hoiho!
Photo Information
Copyright: Pieter van der Horst (sAner) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1455 W: 74 N: 1426] (4750)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-11-17
Categories: Birds
Camera: Fuji Finepix S602Zoom, Fujinon 6x zoom
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/400 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: sAner's New Zealand Tour 2004
Theme(s): Penguins (Spheniscidae), Birds Of New Zealand, 50 - 60 points (chapter two) [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-02-22 12:25
Viewed: 12908
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 58
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is a Yellow-eyed penguin (or Hoiho as the Maori people call this penguin) and altough it has a tag, it was 100% free & living in the wild. I photographed this animal in it's natural surrounding from a trench. Hoiho are an (alomost) endangered species and local parties do everything to protect them. They tag all birds, plant native trees, shrubs and plants so the birds can hide (hoiho walk a long way inland from the beach to nest) and kill predators such as wild cats and possums. In winter, when all penguins are at sea, they dig trenches through the population area and in summer you can walk through these trenches to see the wild birds up close & personal. Fantastic!

I flipped the image horizontally, adjusted levels, added contrast & sharpened it. Hit me with your fierce criticism (like Callie! :))!


General info:

There are 18 different species of penguin in the world and all of these live in the Southern Hemisphere. The world's rarest is the yellow-eyed penguin. Standing about 65-68cm tall and weighing 5-8kg they get their name from the adult's yellow eye and yellow stripe of feathers around their head. Yellow-eyed penguins are also called 'Hoiho', their Maori name, which sounds like one of the calls of the adult.

Hoiho are very special to Otago because, although they live on small islands south of New Zealand, the largest mainland colony of this wonderful bird is on Otago Peninsula, just a few kilometres from Dunedin City.

Even though people and penguins live almost side by side, these birds are pretty shy and instead of nesting in huge colonies like other penguins do (which keep them warm in the Antarctic), Hoiho pairs build nests that hide them away, even from neighbouring penguins!

Their thick fat layer keeps them warm in the water but often makes them overheat on land. So they need the shelter of trees and bushes to keep cool, as well as to hide.

Hoiho can live for up to 20 years and spend most of the day at sea, feeding on fish and squid. They're amazing underwater and can dive down to 120 metres deep, holding their breath for up to four minutes! During their breeding season, the penguins come ashore every evening and waddle up the beach to their nest site as far as one kilometre inland! There they'll tend to their eggs and chicks, of which there are usually only two per year.

Hoiho had been living along the southeast coast of New Zealand long before people arrived and are well adapted to escape from predators in the sea such as seals and sharks because they can swim swiftly.

However, these penguins are clumsy walkers on land and are unable to escape from introduced land predators like cats, dogs, ferrets and rats. Also, farming and coastal deforestation is reducing the shelter the penguins need for nesting. At one point, the significant reduction in population numbers meant Hoiho almost became endangered.
liquidsunshine, elroyie, Fisher, marhowie, ellis49, pompey, red45, PDP, Signal-Womb, AdrianW, LordPotty, Luc, Callie, willie, dew77, cafecrem, flagman, sandpiper2, carper, JennHen, gerhardt, Toni, mrower, manyee, fluorite, Alan_Kolnik has marked this note useful
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ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To Callie: Nee, dit hebben wij in Nederland niet!sAner 1 02-23 06:26
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Critiques [Translate]

Nice shot Pieter,
This penguin would look great with a walking stick!
Good details and clarity, the exposure is good on the blacks.
Nice capture, Thanks for posting

  • Great 
  • elroyie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 299 W: 87 N: 1482] (6439)
  • [2005-02-22 13:06]
  • [3]

This is a good picture with very good details and composition, two things are disturbing, on e is the metal bracelet on its so called 'wing' and second you blew up the white on its chest, in those cases when using average metering you should use negetive exposure compensation, because the white colour is in small part (and important...).

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-02-22 13:16]

Excelent capture and well done on your composition.
Just abit overexposed.

Mike

Pieter, I like the "posture" of this penquin as it waddles along, head forward. Very good details & a great note..TFS!!

Nice picture Pieter.
Good details, composition and colours.It's a little overexposure as mention.
Very good note.
Well done.

  • Great 
  • pompey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 144 W: 4 N: 746] (2774)
  • [2005-02-22 14:11]

Nice one Pieter, great pose, looks as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders.
Great note, thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2636 W: 74 N: 9091] (31094)
  • [2005-02-22 14:53]

Penguin on green grass! I can't believe it :-) I though that penguin=snow. I like its pose and of course yellow eye.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2005-02-22 15:18]

Great pose Pieter, I don't think those arm bands are going to help him swim though! Very nice shot except a little over exposed on the chest. Well done.

Great posture, great look this penquin certainly knows how to do the walk...very well done.

Magnific shot Pieter.
Perfect focus...color divine...great
Nice the penquin posture. Probably he is your friend.

A very good photo Pieter. The texture these feathers create is very interesting.It almost looks like silvery chain mail or scales of a reptile or fish.
Your note is very very good.
All around,an excellent post.Well done and thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3277 W: 148 N: 6163] (18832)
  • [2005-02-22 21:03]

More like, "Hiho, hiho, it's off to work I go!"Head down and walking steadfastly forward.
You have caught him well Pieter. His feathers and colours very good. Well done.
It is a pity about the tag - for appearances sake, but I know it is for a good reason. We don't want to lose him! Good interesting notes. TFS.

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1835 W: 301 N: 4287] (14767)
  • [2005-02-23 0:17]

Very well seen, Pieter. A funny pose.
A complete note.
Thanks

Very nice shot of the penquin Pieter.
Very good DOF and POV. Nice pose also and good notes.
Very well done

  • Great 
  • Callie Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1101 W: 95 N: 2610] (7555)
  • [2005-02-23 0:42]
  • [2] [+]

Hi Pieter
Wat een leuke nota, ek dink dis amper wat julle inj Nederland sal sę!
Hi, you cannot go and correct things before posting, what is left to say? I like the pose, POV and framing here, also the size and detail.
Time of day was against you - the coulours are just a bit laccking, but it can also be my monitor, The real nit is the hot whites above the eye and on the breast and right foot, again I contribute this to time of day.
If you could use a polariser, or warm-up filter like an 81B, you might have got these nit right.
Great improvement!

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2005-02-23 2:54]

Very good pose,Pieter.Good notes and shot.Only thing distorbs me is the ring...TFS

Wow! Wow! Wow!!!
great, wonderful superb!

Great shot Pieter, and what a detailed note! Where do you get the time!?

Except that I don't like the ring this is a nice shot. Nice details and good colours.
Well done.
TFS.

One of the better Yellow-eyed Penguin shots I've seen. I don't think I've seen them in this walking pose before, well done (and I knew trenches would become useful again one day). As the other have said the blown out whites are the only real nit. But you can't be everywhere at dawn, so you just have to put up with it. Apart from that its a great shot with good POV and DOF.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2150 W: 319 N: 4263] (16942)
  • [2005-02-25 13:33]

Pieter, a very funny and sharp shot. Great pose. Congratulations. I like the bg too. Nice contrast.

Lívio

het is een zeer gedetaileerd shot Pieter,
de compositie is zeer sterk, de kleuren zijn goed, de uitvoering is goed, goed werk

I appreciated your comments on some of my photos and thought I'd return the favor... and I'm THRILLED to see your photos taken in New Zealand! I am taking a 3 week trip to NZ next month - my first time - and am so excited! I've been drooling over the descriptions of places to see in my travel guide book, but my guide doesn't contain photos. Great to enjoy yours! I love the pose of this penguin, and his determined "amble". Unique eye color, too. How close were you to him? I will add this place onto my "must-see" list while in NZ! Enjoyed your informative note, too. Thanks,
-Jennifer

Interesting capture, Pieter. He looks like a he has a determined stride. The colors are a bit hot. Especially in the facial area. Very sharp though. Well done.

  • Great 
  • Toni Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 403 W: 2 N: 316] (2034)
  • [2005-03-10 16:27]

This bird is too funny. Where is he going ? Lovely shot.

Makes me want to go to New Zealand and see them too. I have seen Little Penguins at Phillip Island and the authorities there also try to protect the penguins. This is really difficult because, as you said, they walk long distances and we saw some in the tourist car park sheltering and stopping for a rest under peoples cars. Great shot - brought back some lovely memories for me.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3089 W: 230 N: 6774] (23770)
  • [2005-03-28 13:38]

Very sharp photo! Great detail, light, and composition. Also thanks for the very informative note. Interesting program to protect this species. Thank you for introducing all these unusual animals from NZ to us.

有趣的黃眼企鵝, 還佩帶翼環, 我喜歡,
well done,

A great capture again Pieter. I like the silly looking bird with an even sillier walk. It seems like it should be on snow; looks kind of strange on grass. Great post!

Alli

Very funny posture. Looks like a grumpy bird

Penguins are always curious to see - so much like little men in tuxedos - and this one is quite weird. Excellent sharpness - all the features are very clear, including the yellow eyes!

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