THE Traveler: Tom Homme of Minneapolis.
The scene: A gentoo penguin occupies a solitary spot on Pléneau Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. Homme and his fellow cruise travelers had plenty of time to observe a gentoo penguin colony on the frozen land. "I zeroed in on this lone animal and spent a good amount of time watching him/her. It dawned on me that both the penguin and I were doing the same thing: taking in this fantastic vista of ice and water," Homme wrote in an e-mail. "I was sharing the complete silence and breathtaking beauty with a local."
The trip: Homme was on a three-week adventure with National Geographic that included stops at the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia Island and the Falkland Islands. "The scientists on board shared with us their knowledge of the effects of climate change on polar animal life. We also viewed fantastic daily underwater videos from the divers showing us the incredible wildlife at the bottom of the ocean. It was the experience of a lifetime," he wrote.
Equipment: Homme used a Sony 6300 camera with a telephoto zoom lens to capture this photo.
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