Scuba diving in the arctic, during the summer, in a snow storm.
Most people would think you are crazy to want to scuba dive in the arctic. Throw in a major snow storm and they will really think your really nuts to go diving. This doesn’t stop Dennis and his crew on the NatGeo Explorer from getting in the water to get some underwater video to show us. The only disappointing thing is they wouldn’t let me go with them
Instead, I was stuck on the deck taking pictures of the thousands of seabirds nesting on the sheer cliffs directly off the bow.
Taking pictures of the nesting seabirds on the cliffs of Alkefjellet
Alkefjellet cliffs from the deck of the NatGeo Explorer
As we were maneuvering away from the cliffs we disturbed the guillemots resting the water. It was quite a sight to see hundreds of these birds all “running” across the water to get out of the way of our ship.
Guillemot running away
These are the same birds nesting on the side of the cliffs so they must be able to fly. It’s curious why they choose to run across the water rather than fly away.
Guillemots running across the water
Jesus bird?
Our next step was Torelneset. After going on several of the hikes on the rather desolate gravel and tundra of Svalbad, the scenery was getting rather monotonous. I wasn’t real excited to go on another hike but we wanted to get off the ship and stretch our legs. Plus, you never know what you spot while out on a hike. Even though the wildlife is scarce out on the hikes there are still good pictures to be taken. You just need to be a little more creative to get something worth showing.
Svalbard Tundra
Torelneset had a walrus haul out which we spent an unfortunately small amount of time at. Lindblad does almost everything right but I was very disappointed in the amount of time (barely 15 minutes) we were allowed to spend taking photos of the walruses here. Given we went on an almost 2 hour hike around the desolate tundra I would have thought they could have given more time for the walruses. Oh well, you can’t win them all so you need to make the best of it and I think I was still able to get a few keepers. The light was very flat and grey so some significant amount of photoshop was needed.
Walrus haul out
Tusks up
Walrus duel
In addition to not having much time with the walruses, we weren’t able to get very close. The staff drew a line in the sand not to cross. I suppose it was for our safety since getting impaled by once of those tusks would not be very fun. Luckily my 500mm with doubler was able to bring them in fairly close.
Miki in front of walrus haul out
After our short walrus sighting the weather started to clear and we heading to one of my favorite places of the trip. The Austfonna ice cap. It’s the largest ice cap by area and second largest by volume in Europe. The largest glacier by volume in Europe is the Vatnajökull Glacier in Iceland which we visited several weeks earlier. Glaciers are extremely photogenic. It’s hard to take a bad pictures of these amazing ice creations… especially when we had such fantastic light.
Another very, very early wake up call this morning… 5:30am early. No worries though. It was to announce a polar bear off the bow.
Sleeping polar bear
It’s amazing how the staff and crew can spot these creatures from so far away in what seems like an endless sea of pack ice. They have binoculars and spotting scopes but even with those tools it takes years of experience to be able to pick out the slightly off white color from the rest of the white. However, once they are spotted far off in the distance the captain maneuvers the ship closer so the rest of us can get a good look.
Scanning for polar bears in the pack ice
Polar Bear through the spotting scope
Polar Bear resting on the pack ice
We were lucky enough to see a polar bear with a kill which isn’t uncommon but not seen on every trip.
Polar Bear with a kill
Even the birds were happy… at least the dominant one was happy because he scared away the rest of his competition.
Birds eating Polar Bear kill
I spent most of my time hanging out taking pictures out on deck above the bridge or out on the bow. However, I go on the bridge once and while to warm up and talk with the staff. As I’ve mentioned before, the staff and crew on the NatGeo Explorer are some of the best I’ve travelled with. One of the interesting things I learned from the staff is that when a Polar Bear sticks out it’s tongue it means that it’s stressed. I thought it was just a regular yawn. Not the case though. It seems like the presence of our ship was disturbing it and after a while the captain backed away to let the Polar Bear go about its business.
Polar bear sticking tongue out
We caught up with another Polar Bear later taking a little swim.
Polar Bear swimming
Did you know that polar bears can swim hundreds of miles without resting. They can also jump 7 feet out of the water onto the ice. We never saw this happen but that would be a sight to see. A 1500 lb polar bear jumping 7 feet out of the water. I guess we’ll have to go back to try and get that picture.
Today was a one polar bear encounter after another. Amazing experience and a couple of good photographs too
This was a pretty spectacular christmas day. We woke up when the expedition leader announced on the loudspeaker that we had a pod of killer whales off our bow. Better than waking up to an alarm clock…
Entering the Lemaire Channel
We then headed into the Lemaire Channel. The captain had heard earlier reports that it was too packed with ice and we couldn’t make it through. When we approached the Lemaire Channel another ship, the Ushuaia, had already turned around. We hadn’t seen another ship until now and we all were pretty disappointed because it seemed like we couldn’t make it through.
The Ushuaia turning back from the Lemaire Channel
However, the captain was determined to get through and through some skillful maneuvering and crashing through even more ice…
Captain maneuvering through the Lemaire Channel
We did eventually make it through the Lemaire Channel. To bad for the guests on the Ushuaia. This is one of the many reasons to choose the NatGeo Explorer over the other ships that travels to Antarctica. This ship has proven it can go were others can not.
Lemaire Channel
The Lemaire Channel had a lot of wildlife. I felt a little bad sometimes when a seal would be taking a nap on an iceberg but was in our way. The captain would try to maneuver around the seal but sometimes it just wasn’t possible. This seal eventually slid off the iceberg and went to find a quieter place to take a nap.
Seal trying to take a nap in the sun
Miki taking a picture of me taking the above picture.
Miki taking a picture of me taking a picture of the Lemaire Channel
After making it through the Lemaire Channel we made it to Booth Island. We had the most spectacular light with the most dramatic cloud cover. We had some amazing penguin and seal spottings while out on the Zodiacs. I shot over a 1000 pictures in one afternoon. Don’t worry… I wont post them all.
The wildlife taken from a zodiac near Booth Island.
Yawning Seal
The 3 Penguins
Headless Penguin
Jumping Penguins
and for the dramatic iceberg shots of the day.
Antarctic Iceberg Landscape
Antarctic Iceberg Landscape
When we got back to ship a couple of people were referring to our boat as the big lens zodiac. The shortest lens on our zodiac was a 400mm. Antarctica tends to bring a well travelled crowd and most of the photographers on board have already been on safari (some several times) which requires some big glass. Antarctica is no different. The bigger and faster lens you can afford to bring down the better.
Big lens boat
While I was on the zodiac cruise with the Ira Block (the NatGeo photographer on board) and the other big lens crew, Miki went on a hike to the top of Booth Island.
Penguin Highway
Hiking on Booth Island
I also took a few pictures with my infrared converted 30D when we were travelling back through the Lemaire Channel. My infrared camera spent most of the time in the camera bag because I’ve had limited success with it. Even with the stunning landscape of Antarctica, I’m still not satisfied with the results. Maybe I’m doing something wrong but I think simple black and white photos are much more appealing.
Antarctica in Infrared
Antarctica in Infrared
The daily expedition report and a few more photos after the break.
Early in the morning we arrived at Deception Island. This island has a lot of history for the early explorers and also served as a whaling station for several of the early whaling operations. All of that has stopped now and after some recent volcanic eruptions only 2 research stations are still left on the island.
It was a very flat and grey overcast day when we arrived. There was no wildlife on the island. Just a lot of grey volcanic ash and little bit of snow. Obviously this doesn’t make for great photos but Miki was able to stop some interesting texture in the ash which I think makes an interesting photo. This is a color photo. It hasn’t been processed as a black and white photo. Just shows how flat the light was that day.
Color landscape photo of Deception Island
There is still a lot of thermal activity from the volcano which does produce some “hot springs”. Hot Springs is a bit of misnomer. The first 3 cm of water very close to shore is very hot but beyond that its as cold as you would imagine the water in Antarctica would be. None the less… we join some of our hearty travelers and went for a dip.
Taking the Polar Plunge
Miki enjoying the Antarctic "Hot Springs"
After we enjoyed the polar plunge we continued onto Lindblad Cove where we would spend Christmas eve. On the way there we spotted a pod of humpback whales feeding on Krill. This whale also got an frightened bird for desert.
Humpback Whale almost eating a bird
Humpback whales catching krill with bubbles
The whales use bubbles to gather the Krill together and the swim up through the ball of krill with their mouths open to scoop up as much krill is they can in one big gulp.
Humpback whale feeding on Krill
Dennis, our undersea specialist wanted to catch some Krill for us to show what they looked like. He hopped into one of the Zodiacs to get some for us and had a close encounter with the humpbacks. Dennis is a great guy and is always one of the highlights during the daily recap of the days events. However, we were all secretly hoping the whales would have gotten even a little closer to cause some real action for him
Catching Krill
He did catch some Krill for us and its surprising how small these things are. Amazing to think that these tiny things are what massive humpback whales and a lot of other species live off of.
Krill
and as soon as the whales showed up… they were off to feed elsewhere.
Humpback Whale Tail
Next up was Lindblad Cove and this was one of the highlights of the trip. The cove was full of us but that didn’t stop the captain. We made our way through slowly and the views were spectacular.
Panoramic of Lindblad Cove
Having this kind of view from the balcony of our room on Christmas eve was reasons this was one of the highlights of the trip.
View from the NatGeo Explorer on Christmas Eve 2010
I never got tired of taking pictures of the ice. Here are a few more of the cool ice picks from the day.
Lindblad Cove - Ice
Lindblad Cove - Ice
Lindblad Cove - Ice that looks like a whale tail
Lindblad Cove - Ice
Lindblad Cove - Ice
Daily Expedition Report and a few more pics after the break.
Everyday in Antarctica keeps getting better and better. Penguins, icebergs and the most amazing sunset (at 11:30pm).
Up close with an Adelie
The light during our landing at Brown Bluff wasn’t the greatest for photographing penguins. It was high in the sky with no cloud cover to soften it. Just like portraits of people, penguins need nice soft light for a good portrait photo. However, even a bad day of light in Antarctica is a better day of light anywhere else in the world.
Gentoo penguin and chic
Two Adelie penguin chics
Adelie penguin with some beady little eyes!
On most days we are treated to time on land as well as a zodiac ride. Zodiac rides are some of the best photographic opportunities because its very easy to get eye level with wildlife hanging out on icebergs. I took this series of shots from a zodiac and then merged them together into one photo to show action.
Adelie penguin jumping into the water
After we left Brown Bluff we continued into the Weddell Sea. As Jen wrote in the daily expedition report below, not many ships go this far south because they can’t handle the ice and they are not fast enough to make the journey there worth while.
Reflection of the bow on pancake ice in front of the ship
We were in our cabin taking a nap when all of the sudden the entire ship shook like we just collided with something. We quickly put our cold weather gear on, grabbed the camera and headed for the bow. I guess our captain never watched Titanic and learned you are supposed to steer clear of icebergs. He seemed to have fun crashing right into them. This was going to be a common occurrence for the rest of the trip and eventually we just slept through it.
NatGeo Explorer crashing into icebergs
For us, it was definitely worth while to make the trip this far into the Weddell Sea because we saw a juvenile emperor penguin which are very hard to find out on the pack ice.
The Weddell Sea, Antarctic Sound, and beyond. This morning our expedition continued in an area of the Antarctic Peninsula where many ships do not go. The eastern side of the peninsula often sees more days of sunshine and blue skies, but the sea ice and strong winds keep many ships from venturing to this side. The lure of tabular icebergs and the less explored is something many of us, however, cannot ignore, so enter the Weddell Sea we did.
The towering cliffs of Brown Bluff were the first view many had this morning. Adelie penguins and some gentoo penguins have colonized the narrow strip of cobble and beach before the steep cliffs begin to rise. Walking to the edge of the first colony of Adelie penguins, many were thrilled to see that most adults sitting in a nest had a small chick sitting underneath them. While we watched and waited patiently, the adult would eventually stand up and adjust themselves, allowing a glimpse of the small new bird keeping warm under them.
The special and rare snow petrel soared above our heads, for this is a place they like to nest. The stunning white bird is the most southerly breeding bird in the world. They tend to stay near areas of pack ice, so the chance to see so many around was exciting. The cape petrels were in abundance as well. Large flocks of them gathered in a few areas around the landing. They were feeding in groups, looking for fish, squid and the ever-popular krill.
A scenic route back to the ship brought views of deep blue icebergs, tunnels passing through them, penguins perched on top and even some collapsing and rolling. It was good preparation for the afternoon spent cruising through the icebergs and sea ice as we headed deeper into the Weddell Sea. The ship crashed its way through the ice of the far south; it rocked and shook and people delighted in hanging over the bow and watching ice floes fracture and crack into pieces. The colossal tabular icebergs could be seen in all directions as well, with sides and a top so straight that they seemed man-made.
An evening spent cruising through the ice of the Weddell Sea—who would have ever imagined they would spend such a glorious, sunlit evening doing such a thing?
by Jen Labrecque
And the night was finished off by an amazing sunset at 11:30 pm.
We woke up after our first night on the NatGeo Explorer in the notorious Drake Passage. Luckily, the weather cooperated with us on our way down to Antarctica and it was pretty smooth sailing.
One of the many nice touches the staff does is publish daily expedition reports online. I’m pretty bad at taking notes during a trip to document what we saw and where we went unless it pertains to a particular photograph. Having the staff create daily expedition reports helps with this. Just one of the many small things they do to create a wonderful trip. Here is what one of the naturalist, Peter Puleston wrote for 12/20.
At Sea in the Drake Passage
In the failing light of day last evening as we sailed easily southeastward down the calm waters of the Beagle Channel the large hazy moon rose over Tierra del Fuego. Many days will pass before we return to the verdant valleys between the snow-capped peaks of the southern Andes Mountains.
It was almost midnight before we began to feel the gentle rise and fall of the great Southern Ocean beneath the hull of our stout ship. By breakfast time we were over a hundred and fifty miles south of fabled Cape Horn and well into our adventure of a lifetime. A light breeze and bright sun drew us out on deck and up to the bridge to admire the grace and beauty of our many avian escorts. Magnificent wandering albatross sailed effortlessly around our ship gliding on fixed wings that often measure over ten feet from tip-to-tip. Many of the wanderer’s smaller pelagic relatives including petrels, prions and other albatrosses completed our windborne entourage.
By mid-afternoon one only had to venture out on deck for a moment to realize we had passed into another ecological zone. We had reached the cold Antarctic surface water and the air temperature dropped down to just a degree or two above freezing. We began preparations for tomorrow’s arrival in the South Shetland Islands. Any gear we were planning to wear or carry ashore such as boots and backpacks were put through a decontamination process that removed hitchhiking seeds and any traces of foreign soil attached to our footwear. Later from our photography experts we learned how best to take advantage of our cameras. And from our Oceanites researchers we learned about the important work of the Antarctic Site Inventory.
Finally we were introduced to the ship’s officers and invited to our Captain’s welcome cocktail and dinner party. Then we were off to our beds filled with anticipation of our first trip ashore tomorrow to stand among the penguins. by Peter Puleston
Karen Copeland talking about seabirds
We also had a talk by Karen Copeland about seabirds. I spent a lot of time on the Bridge watching for wildlife, taking with the staff, taking photos, and she was almost always up there watching for wildlife as well. She has a very interesting background and is extremely knowledgable naturalist that has an obvious passion for what she does. The best thing was… this passion was not out of the ordinary for the staff of the NatGeo explorer… they all had the same passion for nature.
There wasn’t much else to do today except watch for sea birds and excersise.
National Geographic Explorer (it''s a pretty big ship but the scenery in Antarctica makes it look insignificant)
The ship we took down to Antarctica was the National Geographic Explorer. It’s a purpose built ship to handle travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. It only carries about 130 guests which is very important in Antartica because the Antarctic treaty only allows 100 people per ship on the continent at one time.
National Geographic Explorer crashing into waves in the the Drake passage
It has ice reinforced hulls (that the Captain loves to use to break through ice) and stabilizers (which we were very grateful for in the Drake passage).
Kayaks and Zodiacs on the National Geographic Explorer
It has kayaks and zodiacs to use for landings and an ROV they use to take under water video. They have great common areas which we really only used during the Drake passage… except for the Lounge which was used daily for briefings. When we were on the antarctic peninsula there was really only time to eat, sleep, go on excursions and listen to the talks by the guest speakers. The two key speakers were the adventurer and mountaineer Peter Hillary and National Geographic Photographer Ira Block but there were also many naturalists on board there were experts in their own right. I’ll do a post more about them later.
Here are a few more pictures from around the ship.
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