Antarctic Adventure

[Donald]

Outstanding photography Mark. We're really riding on your coat tail for this trip.

That's pretty disgraceful re the pro. He obviously took no interest in establishing the needs/wishes of his cutomers and seems to have been using them as his free ticket to the antarctic to make his own images. You should tell the trip organisers in order to try and protect those who come after you.

Reading the EXIF data embedded in the images is as interesting as the main text! So educational.

[Markvetnz]

Hi Donald

Hope you are well. Its only my opinion of course. For advanced photographers it would have been ok, but for our group it was way too technical. We were supposed to have show and tell sessions but they never happened. Anyway I'm glad to be back on the forum again.

I hope I've got the images in correct date and time sequence. I took about 5000 and swore to myself I'd make notes, but that never happened.

[Markvetnz]

28 November 2012


Heading South

“Whales”! An early morning announcement got us out of bed as some humpbacks surfaced close to the ship. Bugger, by the time I get to the bridge they’ve gone. However, we often see blows in the distance so hopefully there’ll be more. All whales in the Drake are heading due south to their summer feeding grounds. Early the next morning we see a pod of fin whales quite close to the ship. We didn’t see any more as close as this pod.



A restful day was spent cleaning all our gear to prevent us contaminating Antarctica with foreign biological material. We’re taught how to deal with wildlife and how to get into and out of Zodiacs. I finish reading Tyler Hamilton’s book on the Lance Armstrong saga. Compelling reading.

Not too much to report. We see the first iceberg in the distance.
It’s a large tabular berg about 5 miles off the port side. I don’t win the competition.

Don tells us we won’t be able to land at Deception Island as planned because of the delay caused by the first night weather. All expeditions to the area liaise with each other to pre arrange dates and times for landings. The aim is to try and not see another ship while we’re down there. There might be a dozen ships at the peninsula but you’d never know it. Most ships are much larger (up to 200 passengers) than ours (51 passengers) and I’m led to believe are more sightsee and touristy type excursions rather than an educational expedition type voyage like ours. During our time down south I see 2 other ships. One at Neko harbour as we left and one at Enterprise Island.


Southern Ocean Sunset - 62 degrees south

Tomorrow is the day we land.

[Bobobird]

Waiting patiently for the tux shots.

[Markvetnz]

Almost there!

[Stinky]

These are all incredible but the first one I fell in love with. Can't wait to see more. Thanks for sharing. What a wonderful experience. I have been to 5 contintents. Austrailia and Antartica are the 2 left. Maybe someday.

[Dave Humphries]

Just wanted to add that I'm hooked on this series/serial too Mark,

Thanks for sharing, just one question, did you pass on "CiC" to the otrher photographers?

[Markvetnz]

29 November 2012 – Land Ahoy!

I woke up this morning to find the ship surrounded by low cloud and fog that gradually lifted throughout the morning. Mid-morning we sighted land; ominous looking islands off the port side. Dark granite peaks covered in snow. The South Shetlands.


A lone penguin on a berg in the middle of nowhere.

Icebergs and growlers start appearing through the mist. Icy, electric blue colours light up the base of the floating ice. I see my first penguin. A lone Chinstrap stands guard on a small berg. It seems to be out in the middle of the ocean and I wonder where it came from and how it will ever manage to find its way back. On the other end of the ice there are 2 polar Skuas just minding their own business. It’s really cold too.



Don, trying to tell us size doesn't matter.


Don tells us we are landing at Hydrurga Rocks. The weather’s not great as we cruise down the Bransfield Strait. He’s given us a demo of how we need to dress. Long Johns and thermal vest, inner pants (polar fleece or wool), outer waterproof Goretex trousers, T shirt, merino pullover, outer waterproof jacket , thermal socks and boots if you have them or ship issue gumboots, gloves (inner and outer), neck warmer and beanie. I’ve got my own boots (Garmonts rated to -40C) and I use a pair of outer shoes to make it all waterproof. (www.outdoorphotogear.com is a great source for all these funny things you can’t seem to find anywhere). The first time I put all this gear on, it takes ages and I feel like I’ve got 10 thumbs. I carry a Phottix harness that can handle 2 bodies. All my gear (and it’s a lot, including a 400mm lens and a tripod) goes into my backpack and that gets put into a 115l Seal-line dry bag. I don a lifejacket and manage to get the whole lot onto my back. Its bloody hot in the cabin with all this gear on and I need to get outside.

It snowed last night and the deck is slippery as hell. A quick disinfection of the boots and we’re down the gangway and onto a Zodiac for the first time.


Hydrurga Rocks 64deg 08min S, 61deg 37min W


Looking west across to Two Hummock Island. There is so much snow the penguins can't nest and are restless. The faint pink colour in the snow is penguin guano.


That yellow bag weighs a ton and I just can't get my wife to carry it. Women!


These 2 small isolated islands named after the Leopard Seal, lie in the Gerlache Strait just east of Two Hummock Island. We skim across a relatively flat sea and make our way into a small inlet. It’s raining a bit, really cold on the face, and I wonder how we’re going to get ashore. The snow is well over 3 feet thick in places. It’s pretty windy and has started snowing . I slide out the Zodiac and put my foot onto solid ground. I’m able to get the weight off my back and the gear out on a small rocky shelf. We make it up onto the snow with a little help and wander off to check it all out. I lug the 70 to 200 and the 400 around because this place is birds wall to wall. I click away and hope that I get something useful. It’s all a bit of a challenge because the palette is pretty muted and there is plenty of white on white.


Happy Feet.


This was the only colony of Chinstraps we saw


A lone Gentoo - back to the wind


Tobogganing is fun

There are colonies of Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins, Kelp Gulls and Snowy Sheathbills. This year there is more snow than there has been for decades. Conditions aren’t good for breeding and the birds are behind schedule. It looks like it’s going to be bad year in the Penguin Rookeries. I manage to snag what I think will make a really neat shot of 2 Gentoo Penguins on an iceberg that’s grounded itself right where we landed. The ship and a few other bergs are in the background and to top it all off it’s snowing heavily now.


Two Gentoos stand guard at Hydrurga

Well, we’ve made land but we still have to set foot on the mainland.

[Steve S]

Enjoying this alot mark, the chinstraps are very cute little guys. You got a couple of really nice shots of them.

[mastamak]

Great photos. Mark. I look forward to each new episode. Another history lesson, I'm afraid. Please forgive me if you already know this but your photos and stories bring to mind many of the heroes of Antarctic exploration.

You may pass Elephant Island at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (Lat 62d10'). This is where Shackleton and his party finally made landfall after his epic crossing of the sea ice in 1915 after his ship, the Endurance, was crushed. Leaving the main body of his party on Elephant Island, Shackleton and 5 companions set sail in an open longboat for South Georgia to seek help. After an heroic crossing of Drakes passage they made it to the southern shore of South Georgia and then had to cross the mountain range to arrive at the Norwegian whaling station, a feat that was not repeated until 1956. He managed to get a boat and 4 months later returned to Elephant Island to rescue the remainder of his party.

The photographer on the Shackleton expedition was the Australian, Frank Hurley. A bit of a larrikin by all reports but his photography was memorable. If you have ever seen those photos of the Endurance with spars and yards covered in ice and crushed like an insect by the sea ice, that is Hurley's work. He was much criticised in later years because many of his photos were composites. His very famous "saved" showing the arrival of Shackleton's rescue party back on Elephant Island complete with waving shipwrecked adventurers, lifeboat in pounding seas and glorious sunrays through the threatening clouds, this was a composite of several originals prepared back in his Sydney darkroom.

When criticised, Hurley responded that the image that he created was simply his accurate recollection of the event and just as legitimate as a one-off original. I guess this is an argument that still resonates with photographers today.

Grant

[Donald]

One for the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition? See links here and here.

[Markvetnz]

Great photos. Mark. I look forward to each new episode. Another history lesson, I'm afraid. Please forgive me if you already know this but your photos and stories bring to mind many of the heroes of Antarctic exploration.

You may pass Elephant Island at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (Lat 62d10'). This is where Shackleton and his party finally made landfall after his epic crossing of the sea ice in 1915 after his ship, the Endurance, was crushed. Leaving the main body of his party on Elephant Island, Shackleton and 5 companions set sail in an open longboat for South Georgia to seek help. After an heroic crossing of Drakes passage they made it to the southern shore of South Georgia and then had to cross the mountain range to arrive at the Norwegian whaling station, a feat that was not repeated until 1956. He managed to get a boat and 4 months later returned to Elephant Island to rescue the remainder of his party.

The photographer on the Shackleton expedition was the Australian, Frank Hurley. A bit of a larrikin by all reports but his photography was memorable. If you have ever seen those photos of the Endurance with spars and yards covered in ice and crushed like an insect by the sea ice, that is Hurley's work. He was much criticised in later years because many of his photos were composites. His very famous "saved" showing the arrival of Shackleton's rescue party back on Elephant Island complete with waving shipwrecked adventurers, lifeboat in pounding seas and glorious sunrays through the threatening clouds, this was a composite of several originals prepared back in his Sydney darkroom.

When criticised, Hurley responded that the image that he created was simply his accurate recollection of the event and just as legitimate as a one-off original. I guess this is an argument that still resonates with photographers today.

Grant

I'm well versed with Shackleton's expedition, having read extensively. Unfortuantely we never went as far east as Elephant Island. The closest we came was Livingston Island. On the way back in the zodiac my hands got so cold after getting my gloves soaked in zero degree sea water. The pain was intense and it only lasted 30 minutes. How they managed to go 16 days in the James Caird is beyond me. As the crow flies we were probably only about 60 miles from where Shackleton would have come out the ice floes in the Weddell Sea. We were on the western side of the peninsula though. I initiall wanted to go to South Georgia and Elephant Island but it meant 9 days at sea outof a total of 17. I met people who went to South Georgia. Maybe next time. My brother wants to get down there. One interesting thing about Shackleton is that he never actually succeeded in anything he set out to do. Undoubtedly one of the best "man managers" ever to have lived.

[Markvetnz]

One for the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition? See links here and here.

Donald, you're too kind. It is my favourite penguin shot. Classic Happy Feet pose.

[mastamak]

Looks like we have read the same books, Mark. but good on you for making the effort to visit this fascinating place and for sharing it with us.

Grant

[rpcrowe]

Very nice captures. Thanks for sharing! Anyone looking at these images and those who have experienced a voyage like that can understand the meaning of the old sailor's farewell saying, "I wish you fair winds and following seas!"

[Markvetnz]

Same Day – Portal Point.

64deg 29min South 61deg 47min West

We finally land on the Antarctic Mainland. We trudge up a snowy incline just to take the in the view. The bay is littered with bergs of all shapes and sizes. Some are smooth and shiny while others take on the form of rough granite sculptures. We cruise leisurely between the icebergs for an hour or two before heading back towards our safe haven and a lovely warm dinner.


A beautifully sculpted berg showing distinct tide lines - ship in the background

During our afternoon cruise somebody made the point that when we were kids not one of us would have thought that one day we would be taking photos of icebergs in the Antarctic. He was right. To try and put into words the sheer scale and size of what we had already seen, is regrettably beyond me. The blue of the ice, the blackness of the water, the whiteness of the snow, the life around us, the silence; these are things that I have truly been privileged and lucky to witness. How can it get any better than this?

My wife, Caron, is lucky enough to see a Leopard Seal.

Leopard Seal - nasty wound on right cheek.

I wonder if everybody on board feels the same way. I download my images and have a few beers in the bar.

Can life get any better?


The only half decent shot I got of a porpoising penguin. The little buggers were always to quick or I was too far away.

[rtbaum]

Just curious, any ID on the two small birds on the tips of the iceberg. For some reason I never envisioned small birds in Antarctica.

[tbob]

Fascinating stuff Mark; I am following this with great interest and really enjoying the images and commentary.

Does that leopard seal look in poor condition? It strikes me that it might be somewhat thin and I wonder if the wound is affecting it's capacity to hunt.

[Markvetnz]

Just curious, any ID on the two small birds on the tips of the iceberg. For some reason I never envisioned small birds in Antarctica.

Antarctic Tern

[Markvetnz]

He's in really good condition. They look reptilian. This seal is one of the apex predators killing and eating penguns for a living. They shake the penguins violently to remove the skin and feathers before eating them.