Emperor penguins diving underwater! Hi, my name is Becky Schott, I’m a professional underwater photographer & videographer and one of my biggest passions is shooting in challenging environments. I travel to both the Arctic and Antarctic a few times a year during different seasons to unique wildlife. It’s uncommon to see Emperor penguins on most Antarctica trips. They are typically much further south and during the Antarctic summer they are found gathering on ice floes where they hang out and feed until it’s time to go back to the colony in the winter to breed. This was unique and magical day just seeing them above the water. We were traveling for days from Vashel Bay and passed close to where Shackleton’s ship Endurance sank when we came across small groups of Emperor penguins. What was even more incredible was the opportunity to capture both stills and video underwater. When I slipped into the icy 28f / -2C water surrounded by ice I hoped to maybe get one or two shots of penguins swimming by. To my surprise the emperor penguins were really curious, and I ended up in the water for 2 hours with them! It was one of the most incredible underwater experiences of my career watching emperor penguins diving underwater around the ice. We had lunch then got back in the freezing water for another 2 hours with them! To be able to be in their world in one of the most remote places on the planet is beyond words. I hope you enjoy the video and a glimpse into the underwater world of penguins.
We were hundreds of miles south in the Weddell Sea and woke up early and saw
emperor penguins hanging out in small groups on the ice floes.
Emperor penguins are the largest penguins standing about four feet tall and weighing about 60 to 80
I never dreamed I'd see emperor penguins underwater. This was one of my most
memorable Antarctic experiences in my nine trips there so far.
The emperor penguins were hanging out in small groups about four to eight penguins
and they were very curiously tobogganing across the ice and waddling over to the ice edge.
The group began to grow as more and more curious penguins joined.
The light was beautiful and we were happily capturing topside images
and even more emperor penguins began to show up.
As hard as it was to put my topside camera gear away we had the unique opportunity to get in the
water with them. So I slipped into the actively freezing 28 degree sea. It was so clear and blue.
And I pushed my camera through the slushy ice. I even hit my head on a piece of translucent ice
that I thought was just slush. It was solid. I had a little laugh because you ice choose
to get the perfect shot.
The emperor penguins began to slide on their bellies into the water in front of me.
They soared underwater with streams of bubbles behind them.
Groups of emperor penguins glided past us as if they were flying underwater. As clumsy as they
can look on land they're pretty graceful and elegant underwater. They dived under the ice
flows and reappeared again. This happened over and over again for hours. As time went on more
and more emperors came from other ice flows and joined the group. They'd dive deep and jump out
of the water on and off of the ice flows again. They'd rest for a while and then slide right back
into the clear water and glide right past my camera. The sun came out and I watched them on
the ice for a while admiring their buttery yellow colored bodies just glistening in the sunshine.
I watched how they moved and slid around on the ice and they clung to each other
I spent two hours in the 28 degree water two hours in the morning and then we had a quick
lunch and another two magical hours in the afternoon. Nothing was getting me out of the
water. We had sunshine clear water and very curious groups of emperor penguins.
The number just kept growing and they would jump in and out of the water in front of our group.
I'd pass this underwater and every time I just kept thinking
wow. As time went on I noticed they'd come closer. I wondered who was checking out who?
Were they just as curious watching me as I was enamored with them?
It's always special when a wild animal takes up an interest and wants to interact and isn't
fearful of us. I decided to capture some split shots that are half out of the water and half
underwater really trying to showcase this incredible environment these emperor penguins
live in. We're so remote in Antarctica and sometimes I just have to stop shooting,
take a breath, look around, listen to the sounds of silence where the penguins coming up from
iceberg to iceberg. Feel the cold air that I'm breathing into my lungs and look at the ice
that's just sparkling like diamonds all around me. I never want to forget these extraordinary moments.
It was finally time to get out of the water and my fingertips were so numb I could barely
feel my camera controls anymore. I knew that it was a special day. I wanted to stay in the water
as long as possible. That night so overstimulated I couldn't sleep. That may have been a once in
a lifetime day for all of those things to come together and it was pure magic.
Rest of my life.
