While the Falklands and South Georgia Island are fantastic places for photography (see the previous post), most people going that far south will want to see Antarctica too. Which would mean a fairly long trip. For instance, the first trip I worked for One Ocean Expeditions in January was 18 days, to visit all three of those places sailing to and from southern Argentina (Ushuaia). However, if your goal is to visit Antarctica and you don’t have the time or money for that long of a trip, then you can sail straight there from Argentina. And that’s what my second, 12-day trip was.
South Georgia might fairly be described as Alaska on steroids, but Antarctica is a place that defies comparison with any place else. Long, flat (tabular) icebergs miles long. “Smaller” icebergs the size of office buildings (or entire blocks) that rise hundreds of feet out of the water (and 70-percent more is underwater). Sky-touching ice and snow-covered mountains. No contrails, no power lines or cell phone towers, almost no sign of human presence anywhere. The size of everything around you is mind-boggling. And yet despite this apparently desolate landscape, wildlife thrives. Whales, penguins, seals and bird life are everywhere to be found. One evening we sailed through such a large concentration of whales that the ship had to slow down, and the scientists on board estimated the number at up to 500.
So join me as I re-live the time spent on and around the continent of Antarctica during those two trips this January, and share some of my favorite stories and photos.
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To reach the Southern Ocean from Ushuaia you sail down the Beagle Channel. Normally done at night, our schedule this time had us sailing there during the day. And that meant we had a great chance to photograph these Dusky Dolphins who swam along with us briefly. This is one of those times a high frame rate, like the 10fps of my camera, really paid off. Nikon D500, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 500, 1/2000 at f/5.6 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 200-500mm f/5.6 lens at 500mm.
Cape Horn is at the southern tip of South America, and thanks to the collision of two oceans can be treacherous. Ships in the 18th and 19th centuries were known to take over a month just to fight their way around it. Thankfully, our ship had engines. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Auto white balance, ISO 200, 1/2000 at f/7.1 in Matrix metering, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 24mm.
Landing and then walking among the tens of thousands of Adelie penguins on Paulet Island was an amazing experience. But my favorite photo from that day came as we cruised around the bits of icebergs off the beach, which the penguins were coming and going from. This was a particularly energetic Adelie leaping from the water. Nikon D500, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 220, 1/1600 at f/5.6 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 200-500mm f/5.6 lens at 380mm.
During that same cruise, we picked up a hitchhiker when this Adelie landed in our Zodiac. After a few minutes it waddled up to the bow and jumped back into the water. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Natural Auto white balance, ISO 400, 1/500 at f/6.3 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 24mm,.
Occasionally whales will “breach,” when they jump out of the water, with is tough to shoot because you never know where or when they’ll do it. This Minke whale did that three times, and by the third I was able to get a picture. Nikon D500, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 250, 1/1000 at f/5.6 in Matrix metering, +1.0 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 200-500mm f/5.6 lens at 460mm.
On most trips, if the weather cooperates the Expedition Leader will arrange to let people swim if they want. We did that both times at Deception Island, where it was more of a jump in and then jump right back out. And yes, the doctor is there with an AED (thankfully not needed). Nikon D500, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 640, 1/1250 at f/5.6 in Matrix metering, +0.7 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 24-120mm f/4G IF-ED lens at 78mm.
Antarctica is snow, ice, water, mountains and sky. This is at Neko Harbor, where we landed to visit a penguin colony (on the rocks below) and gave people a chance to climb the mountain above to enjoy the panoramic view. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 100, 1/500 at f/6.3 in Matrix metering, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 31mm.
There are strict rules about how close you can approach the wildlife, sometimes for your safety (fur seals) and sometimes to protect the animals. With penguins, however, if you simply sit down and wait, odds are they’ll come right up to you. That’s what I did here, putting my camera down on the rocks and waiting for one of the Gentoo penguins at Cuverville Island to pose for me. Nikon Z6, Aperture Priority, Natural Auto white balance, ISO 100, 1/400 at f/11 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 35mm.
This is a Skua who’s just stolen a penguin egg on Cuverville Island and is about to share it with its mate. I have those photos too, but most people wouldn’t want to see them. Nikon D500, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 200, 1/2500 at f/5.6 in Matrix metering, 0.0 EV, Nikkor VR Zoom 200-500mm f/5.6 lens at 500mm.
An iceberg, some late-day sun and a great sky are all that’s needed for this photo. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 100, 1/1600 at f/7.1 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 32mm.
For an extra fee, passengers can take part in sea kayak excursions when the water’s calm. I tagged along on a few of their outings (in the safety Zodiac), including this one in Marguerite Bay. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 125, 1/320 at f/8 in Matrix metering, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 24mm.
We sailed through miles and miles of ice floes on our way to visit the Ukranian research facility at Vernadsky Station. In the process we passed by dozens of seals resting on the ice. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 160, 1/640 at f/7.1 in Matrix metering, -0.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 32mm.
One night on each trip I was scheduled to teach an evening photography class (we don’t get true night at that time of year). As luck would have it, both of those nights we had beautiful weather. The Zodiac in the picture is taking a group of passengers out to camp on a small island, one of the optional adventures offered. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Cloudy white balance, ISO 100, 1/1250 at f/8 in Matrix metering, -1.3 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 46mm.
After an afternoon of cruising among dozens of Humpback whales in Wilhelmina Bay, many right next to the boats, a Zodiac full of happy passengers heads back to the ship. The staff refer to Wilhemina as “Whalehimina Bay” because it’s almost always full of whales feeding at this time of the year. Nikon Z7, Aperture Priority, Sunny white balance, ISO 80, 1/400 at f/10 in Matrix metering, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 24-120mm lens at 24mm.