King penguins under water: Leaning over the side of a drifting inflatable, her fingers freezing, in the protected, undivable waters off Macquarie Island, the photographer has achieved a wonderful picture of king penguins in their world. She knew that \"something fantastic was going on down there, to judge from the flashes of colour and streams of bubbles,\" but even with 160,000 birds to choose from (the number found around Macquarie), it was only when she had the processed slides back that she could see if she had captured it. This image is exceptional on several counts. The depth and contrast of colours is vibrant. And the composition is glorious. The central penguin is complemented from the four corners of the frame with a near perfect 'X', created by the other birds and, remarkably, by an ideally positioned stream of bubbles escaping from the bird on the left of the frame. The slight tilt of the camera also ensures that ttle centre of interest is level. Photographer: Tui De Roy (NZ). Runner-up at the BBC Photo Contest 1998
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