Antarctica
“If I only see with my eyes, I am blind.”
PENGUIN AIR – Beginning south of the Antarctic Circle, I voyaged for 6 days along the Antarctic Peninsula coast exploring islands, bays and beaches for Antarctic wildlife. The late February summer was teeming with animals preparing for the soon-to-come cold of fall and winter. Shooting from a zodiac, I was able to get amazingly close to Leopard seals, Humpback whales, Fur seals, Gentoo penguins, Kelp gulls, Blue-eyed Cormorants, Antarctic skuas and many other species.
FLAT TOP – A tabular iceberg drifts in the Bellinghausen Sea at dawn just off the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
THE YAWN – While traversing the coastline of the Melchior Islands in Dallmann Bay, I happened upon an Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazelle) perfectly posed on a table-sized rock. After looking directly into my camera, it arched its back and opened wide.
THE LONE GENTOO – Gentoo penguins create deeply-cut paths in the snow known as "penguin highways." I captured this lonely gentoo as it walked along a particularly desolate stretch on the shore of Neko Harbour.
FLUKING IN FOURNIER BAY – A Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) flukes its tail as it dives deep into cold waters of Fournier Bay. This particular whale was so close to our zodiac that I had to zoom out as wide as I could to ensure I got the entire fluke in frame.
GULLSBERG – While cruising around Neko Harbour, Antarctica, I spotted a Kelp gull (Larus Dominicans) and its chick perched atop an iceberg. The size contrast of the small birds with the huge ice formation created a wonderful photographic moment.
HAPPY FEET – Two Gentoo penguins scurry back from the water's edge in Neko Harbour. I observed a Leopard seal patrolling the bay as the hesitant penguins would run toward the water and then change their minds.
PEEK-A-BOO – While tracking a couple of fur seals playing in the shallow waters along the rocky Melchior Islands coast, this one popped up and looked directly at me for a split second and I was able to capture our eye-to-eye moment before it dove beneath the surface.
FIRST LIGHT – Early morning rays illuminate an enormous iceberg making its journey across the Southern Ocean toward the Drake Passage.
ONE OF A KIND – The markings on the underside of the fluke are to whales what fingerprints are to humans. No two flukes are alike and this allows marine biologists to identify and track whales as they migrate up to 5,000 miles in a year. I captured this Humpback whale fluking just a few feet from our boat.
PORPOISING PENGUINS – Gentoo penguins porpoise in tandem across Neko Harbour. The world's fastest underwater birds, Gentoos can swim up to 22 miles per hour.
CHILLIN' – Don't be deceived by its placid demeanor. The Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is one of the fiercest predators in the Antarctic. As we circled this seal prostrated on a sheet of ice near Prospect Point, I could only think about what might happen if I lost my balance in the zodiac and fell into the water. The thought, not the cold, made me shudder.
MORNING GLORY – After two and a half days crossing the Drake Passage, I awoke at 4:30 a.m. as our ship, the Viking Octantis, approached Horseshoe Island south of the Antarctic Circle. Austral blues and pinks painted the coastline as icebergs fleeing from the Antarctic ice shelf grabbed the predawn spotlight.
ANVERS ISLAND – First discovered in 1832 by English explorers, Anvers Island is the largest island in the Palmer Archipelago. I love the low cloud forming off the glacier and horizontally dissecting the peak. Shot from Fournier Bay, I captured this image just before losing the afternoon light.
OLD BLUE EYES – While trolling in the ice-infested waters of Prospect Point, my eye caught this Antarctic shag swimming in the blue reflection of a nearby iceberg.
PENGUIN PARADE – Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) line up along a snowy precipice at Prospect Point, Antarctica.
BLUE ICE – While photographing Leopard seals and Gentoo penguins from a zodiac in Neko Harbour along the Antarctic Peninsula, I happened upon this piece of ice floating in the bay. The spectrum of aquamarine blues within the crystal clear ice fragment created the illusion of floating Venetian glass. Translucent marine ice contains much less air than glacial ice, and thus, appears as clear as gemstones.
WHISKERS – Unfazed by our presence, this Fur seal (Arctocephalus gazelle) peered at us listlessly as we floated by in our Zodiac raft. Fur seals, with their external ears and ability to walk on all fours, are related more closely to sea lions than seals.