Paradise Bay

Big icebergs melt slowly and turn into little icebergs. Some of these have the most fantastic shapes and are small enough you could tow one around from your kayak. But why would you? I don't know what the attraction is, but it's fun.

Antarctica is a place of stark contrast. Ice; rock; and sea. Cold air; and warmer sea. Blistering brightness; and dark windswept cloudscapes. It is a wonderful place for a photographer.

Most of the passengers on our ship were shooting pictures with digital cameras. And most seemed to subscribe to the philosophy of more is better, or "the more I shoot, the luckier I get." I spent some time with a National Geographic photographer on board, and some of that time was with him as he took photos of the very same places we were. He had a lot more gear than we did, as you would expect, and he was shooting film. One day I ran into him. (I had taken maybe 50 photos so far that day.) He was standing beside his camera sitting atop its tripod, and had just tripped the shutter with a cable release. Nothing happened for about 15 seconds, and then we heard the shutter click closed. He nodded to himself and said, "Good ... that's four." And it was his last photo of the day.

He makes his living at photography. Much of his work is blown up very large for display or appears in high quality publications, like National Geographic. Digital isn't a practical option in his mind. Most of his shots are very long exposure on very slow (professional grade) film. In his view, the best photographs are taken when the weather is at its worst. That's when the light is most interesting, and when you'll see things beyond the experience of his audience. I'm going to have to think more about that.