It feels appropriate to post up a Penguin photograph as the image of the month for November as I am currently making my way from Australia to Ushuaia in South America in preparation for two back-to-back expeditions to South Georgia Island and Antarctica. This photograph was taken at Petermann Island in Antarctica in November last year during a fourteen day expedition. Shot near midnight we had been photographing pretty much non stop for more than twenty four hours. This was one of the last images I made that day of a male and female Penguin watching the Antarctic sunset. It was an interesting decision how to expose this shot and in the end I elected to go for more of a silhouette look and let the Penguins go quite dark. The Penguin shape is so distinctive as to be instantly recognisable irrespective of detail. I probably shot two or three dozen different frames of this scene as the Penguins moved around – but it is this one with the outstretched flippers from the male and with the female looking up at him that really worked for me.
Arrived in Ushuaia South America – Antarctica Bound!
After more than two days of constant travel, including five separate plane rides, I have now arrived in Ushuaia South America – the most permanent southerly settlement in the world. It is somewhat surreal for me to be back in Ushuaia and headed for South Georgia Island and Antarctica after being high in the Arctic and only 600 miles from the North Pole only a couple of months ago. This is not the first time I will have visited both the Arctic and Antarctic in a single year, but it is the closest in terms of time difference. It is fantastic to have arrived in Ushuaia in the middle of quite a steady snowfall and the Andes Mountain Range looks absolutely spectacular in fresh snow.
As I have previously written, Ushuaia itself is a wonderful town with some great restaurants, shops and cafe’s and it has been fantastic to meet up with both old friends with whom I have had the pleasure of travelling with many times now, but also new friends who will be experiencing the magnificence of the Great White Continent for the very first time. In some ways I envy those travelling for their first time to Antarctica. Seeing Antarctica for the very first time is an awe inspiring experience and photographing it with fresh eyes is something you only ever get to do once. I always get a huge thrill from the visceral and palpable air of excitement first time and repeat visitors radiate as they board the ship and we throw off our lines and sail down the Beagle Channel. I am very much looking forward to our experiences ahead and sharing everything we discover.
This will be my last ‘in person’ post now (I have a few automated posts scheduled) for at least the next twenty one days as we sail from Ushuaia, to the Falklands, South Georgia Island and then Antarctica. I do have a few posts automated for my time away and I hope to post an update on what our expedition was like after we dock back in Ushuaia on the 22nd of November and before I head to Patagonia on further travels. Until then, Bon Voyage.
Leaving for South America, South Georgia Island and Antarctica
The last few weeks have been a a complete blur for me and it is hard to believe it has already been six weeks since I returned home from Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard. The time has just absolutely flown past and I feel I have really not made much forward progress on personal projects (although I have finally started to make prints from my workshops to Namibia earlier this year). I had hoped to have more images processed from Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard but between the day-to-day business operations and family I just have not had time. I am actually quite a bit behind in image processing and I could use a month or two of solid computer time for editing, sorting and processing. Image processing will have to wait though as it is now time to turn my attention in full to South Georgia Island and Antarctica.
It is always exciting to be embarking on a new adventure with other passionate photographers and even though I have a pretty horrible travel schedule over the next three days to get to our departure point in Ushuaia, South America, I am looking forward to getting underway in just a few minutes when I finish up this post. Its just about 3am in the morning here and my first flight leaves in a couple of hours so it is time to load the car and make my way to the airport. See you in South America.
South Georgia Island and Antarctica Expedition Packing List 2014
In just under a week I will be making the long trek from Australia to Ushuaia in South America where I will be co-leading both a twenty one day photographic expedition to South Georgia Island and Antarctica with my friend Andy Biggs, as well as a second Antarctic Peninsula expedition just before Christmas. In between the two expeditions I am taking some personal time for photography at Mount Fitzroy in Patagonia with a few friends for ten days hiking, camping and photography in the Patagonian back-country. This will be my second visit to Patagonia in as many years, but my first to the Argentinian side. Last year on the Chile side we encountered horrendous winds that made photography impossible for six out of the seven days we were in the park. I have hopes for better conditions this year.
With a love of the Polar regions I really lucked out being born in Australia when it comes to travel time. With recent changes to airlines routes from Australia it is now necessary for me to fly Melbourne to Sydney, Sydney to Auckland, Auckland to Santiago, Santiago to Buenos Aires and finally Buenos Aires to Ushuaia. And thats before we even board ship for sailing time to South Georgia and Antarctica. I have not counted the number of hours that is going to mean sitting around in airports and on aeroplanes as I quite honestly I don’t really want to know. The reality is for me that I would endure just about any amount of travel pain to visit and photograph in Antarctica. The pain of international travel is quickly forgotten when that first call of iceberg ahead! is made on the Drake Passage. Antarctica is a miraculous location and with each visit my respect and love for this continent grows in leaps and bounds. One of the most fantastic things about these expeditions is the camaraderie with all on board and the shared passion for photography. Asa result I am looking forward very much to sharing the experience with all aboard.
As has become traditional I like to do a packing list post before I depart on an expedition. The purpose of this list is to both help me make sure I have not forgotten anything, but also to share what it is I take with me for those either travelling with me on these trips or considering their own future trip. Packing for both two Antarctic expeditions as well as a hiking and camping expedition in Patagonia presents some rather unique challenges and I have spent a good deal of time weighing up all my options for both camera gear as well as clothing. Thankfully I do not have to transport all of my camping gear to South America as we will be hiring what we need on location. You might note that my choice of camera bodies for this time away is not ideally suited to hiking. As much as I love the Canon EOS1DX (I just recently purchased a second one) it is not exactly what I would consider a light weight hiking friendly camera. I will instead loan a 5DMKIII from one of my good friends for the hiking component of our Patagonia trip and leave my 1DX cameras in storage.
In addition to the usual camera gear I am also carrying an Aquatech Delphin 1D underwater sport housing, dome port and ancillary accessories for one of my Canon EOS 1DX cameras. I have long wanted to pursue some underwater and split photography options (half above the surface / half below the surface) in Antarctica and I am very excited about the opportunity on these two expeditions thanks to a new sponsorship arrangement with Aquatech. I hope to post some still images and video of the housing in use in both Antarctica and South Georgia Island as well my thoughts and experience on this type of photography in the polar regions.
Gura Gear Bataflae 32L Camera Bag (Carry on Luggage)
– 2 x Canon EOS 1DX bodies (I recently purchased a second 1DX and finally retired my 1DS MK3)
– 1 x Sigma 15mm Fish Eye Lens
– 1 x Canon 16-35mm F4L IS
– 1 x Canon 24-70mm F2.8L IS MK II
– 1 x Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS MK II
– 1 x Canon 200-400mm F4L IS w/ inbuilt 1.4 TC
– 1 x LEE Foundation Kit
– 1 x LEE Foundation Kit and Polariser
– 1 x LEE 3 Filter Lens Wrap
– 1 x LEE 3-Stop Soft Graduated ND Filter
– 1 x LEE 3-Stop Hard Graduated Filter
– 1 x LEE Big Stopper Ten Stop Neutral Density Filter
– LEE Adapter Rings for 77mm and 82mm
– 1 x Canon Drop-in Circular Polariser
Gura Gear Chobe (Carry on Luggage)
– 1 x Apple MacBook Pro 15″ Retina
– 1 x Apple laptop charger
– 1 x Thunderbolt 1 TB external portable hard drive
– 1 x USB CF card reader
– 1 x Sunglasses and sunglasses case
– 1 x Astell & Kern Hi-Rez Portable Audio Player
– 1 x Astell & Kern Charging Cable
– 1 x Inner Ear Stage Two Driver Headphones
– 1 x Leica Ultra-vid 10×42 HD Binoculars
Etcetera Case #1 (Inside Chobe)
– 1 x Canon 1-Series camera charger
– 2 x Power Adapters for on board ship
– 2 x Canon1DX spare Batteries
North Face Rolling Thunder Duffle
– 1 x Arćteryx Atom LT Hoody
– 1 x Arćteryx Kappa Jacket
– 1 x Arćteryx Kappa Pants
– 1 x Arćteryx Alpha SV Goretex Pro Bibs
– 1 x Arćteryx Alpha SV Goretex Jacket (For Patagonia)
– 1 x Arćteryx Gamma Pants
– 1 x Norona Svalbard Pants
– 1 x Devold Expedition Thermal Long Johns
– 2 x Devold Expedition Thermal Tops
– 1 x Scarpa Hiking Boots (For Patagonia)
– 1 x Skins Hiking Lycra (For Patagonia)
– Other regular Clothing
– 1 x Sleeping Bag Liner (For Patagonia)
– 1 x Jobu Deluxe Gimbal Head with Dovetail Base
– 1 x Petzl Headlamp
– 1 x Heat Company Heat 3 Cold Weather Gloves
– 1 x Sandles (For footwear inside ship)
– Personal Items
– 1 x Aquatech Delphin 1D Underwater Sport Housing
– 1 x Aquatech P-70 Extension Ring
– 1 x Aquatech PD-85 Dome Port (For Canon 16-35mm F4L IS)
– 1 x Aquatech Pole Shutter Kit
– 1 x Pair Aquatech Sensory Cold Weather Gloves
– 2 x Aquatech Sport Shields for 70-200mm and 200-400mm lenses
Etcetera Case #2 (Inside North Face Duffle)
– 1 x Arctic Butterfly Sensor Cleaner
– 1 x Filter Wrench
– 1 x Zeiss Cleaning Fluid and Lens Cleaning Tissue
– 1 x Micro Fibre Lens Cloth
– 1 x Rocket Blower with Hepa-Filter
Ortlieb 120 Litre Dry Duffle Bag
– 1 x Really Right Stuff TVC24L Carbon Fibre Tripod with RRS Levelling Base
– 1 x Really Right Stuff Set Tripod Spikes and fitting Alan-key
– 1 x Arctic Sport Muck Boots
There is one other important piece of documentation I will be taking with me on this expedition and that is an Australian Customs Declaration form. If you are travelling internationally from Australia you can read about the benefit arming yourself with this documentation HERE.
What Camera Gear is being left at home?
I always find myself in a bit of quandary when it comes to deciding what to leave at home when packing for a workshop or expedition. Despite my intentions, I often find a lens I planned to leave at home sneaks its way into my bag at the last minute as the fear of wanting it outweighs the thought of the extra weight in the camera bag. On this occasion however, I feel quite confident in my lens selection. I have all the major focal lengths covered and although some of my favourite glass is staying at home (The Canon 17mm F4L TSE and Canon 24mm F3.5L MKII TSE) I do have these focal lengths covered in the new 16-35mm F4L IS and 24-70mm F2.8L MKII. As much as I would like to also take the Canon 600mm F4L IS MKII the sheer weight and bulk of this lens in combination with everything else really preclude it as a viable option so in this instance it is staying at home.
The Bitter Sweet
It is always somewhat bitter sweet for me to be heading overseas on a photography expedition. On the one hand I love spending time in the outdoor polar regions with other photographers who are passionate about their craft. I am fortunate to meet and travel with some fabulous people who are not only talented photographers in their own right but also a source of continual inspiration. Many of these participants have become friends and I just want to take a moment to acknowledge their photography and thank them for their participation and input. The bitter for me is that I am leaving my two young kids for an extended period of time. Thank goodness for technology and Skype.
Purchasing Equipment
If you are considering purchasing any of the items listed in this packing list for your own photography please consider doing so by clicking on the links on this page. It helps me keep this blog running and pay for the hosting fees with a small commission on affiliate sales when you purchase through this site.
Photo Review Magazine – Ice Work and Cover Photograph December / February Issue
The new December / February issue of Photo Review ‘Inspiring Australian Photographers’, will soon go on sale and includes a feature article ‘Ice Work‘ on my polar photography as well as one of my recent photographs from Antarctica on the cover. The cover shot was taken last November during a photographic expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula and is of a Gentoo Penguin calling its mate during a heavy snow fall. I cannot recall the exact location I took this image as we visited so many different islands, coves and bays during our two weeks visiting and photographing in Antarctica. It was shot with a Canon EOS 1DX and the new Canon 200-400mm F4L IS lens with inbuilt 1.4 Teleconverter. I was able to create a more intimate and evocative photograph by lying down in the snow in order to be at eye level with the subject. The heavy snowfall was a bonus and this really adds to the atmosphere and interest of the photograph for me. Scoring the cover of a magazine is always a huge thrill. Magazines rarely advise you prior to publication that you have made the cover so it is always a wonderful surprise to see the issue for the first time. You can click on the image below to download the full article or HERE to download as a PDF. Photo Review is available in both print as well as digital editions for the iPad or PDF for other electronic readers.
It is less than ten days now until I head back to Antarctica for two back-to-back expeditions to South Georgia Island and Antarctica. The excitement of heading to one of the world’s most remote and magnificent destinations for photography is as strong for me now as it was with my very first visit and I am really excited to share these expeditions and the majesty of Antarctica with all aboard. I still have many loose ends to tie up before I board that first plane for the long haul to South America in a weeks time – not the least of which is the traditional packing list blog post. I hope to have this finalised in the next few days.
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