A lone gentoo penguin seems a bit indifferent, if not downright dejected, about hopping into that water. Photographed on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands Islands. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 400, f/9 at 1/200th of a second.

A young southern elephant seal relaxes in the shallow water of an inlet on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 380mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/800th of a second.

A lone gentoo penguin casts a long shadow across the beach at Sea Lion Island in the Falklands. I thought this one looked a bit moon-like (not that I’ve been there — the moon that is — at least not yet). Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/9 at 1/250th of a second.

At one of the southernmost points of one of the southernmost islands in the Southern Hemisphere lies this barren spot, taken over as an imperial shag nesting site. The shags, or cormorants, are constantly at work, flying out to sea to collect kelp for their nests. There is also a fair amount of thievery going on. When one shag leaves the nest, neighbors attempt to pilfer the unattended kelp. I had a great afternoon, alone with the shags, watching all the goings on. Photographed on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/10 at 1/1600th of a second.

My trip to the Falkland Islands coincided with the breeding season for the rockhopper penguins. Both parents tend to the eggs (usually two) for the first week or so, after which the males go out to sea to fish, returning two to four weeks later. In this photo, a breeding pair is still in the shared duty phase, which happens in November. Nikon D810 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1250th of a second.

Last week I posted a rockhopper penguin from my trip to the Falkland Islands. Here is a much different member of the order — the Magellanic penguin. Unlike the highly social rockhoppers that live in open colonies, these guys live independently in burrows in the ground. They were much more skittish to my approach. Of course, they don’t have the safety in numbers that the rockhoppers, gentoos and kings do. That yellow patch in the background is from the gorse bush flowers that were blooming all over the hillsides. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/125th of a second.

A rockhopper penguin stands above the colony as the sun sets over the south Atlantic Ocean on Saunders Island in the Falklands. It was one of the highlights of my wildlife career to spend a few weeks alone with rockhopper, king, gentoo, Magellanic and macaroni penguins — unconcerned with time or having to be anywhere in particular other than right where I was. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 28mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second.

A family of southern sea lions head toward the water on Carcass Island in the Falkland Islands. These guys are also called the South American sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion. On the west coast of South America, they range from Peru in the north to the southern tip of Chile and the Falkland Islands and then on the east coast on up into southern Brazil. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1000th of a second.

For the next few weeks, these posts may become a bit sporadic as Karen, our three pets and I are living out of hotels due to a bat infestation at the house we were renting. I’m posting images I can find on the hard drive of my laptop or iPad that I haven’t posted before. This is a gentoo penguin I thought looked like an umpire calling a runner safe. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/500th of a second.

I think this rockhopper penguin wanted to eat my lens. I had been photographing these very curious penguins at close range when two of them came even closer and started pecking at the front element of my fisheye lens, perhaps seeing their own reflection in the glass. I posted a similar photo a few years back, but this one really got in there for an up close and personal perspective. Nikon D800 with Sigma 15mm fisheye lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.