Anyone that thinks the last day of a voyage is just for resting hasn’t been taking enough pictures. Thankfully our crossing of the Drake Passage as we make our way back to the mainland is comfortable, gently rocking us to and fro. It seems so long ago that we were coming across from the other side, venturing into the unknown. Now as veteran polar explorers with sturdy sea legs there is time to walk about our trusty vessel, reminisce about our adventures and begin the arduous task of photo editing. Even if you arrived to the ship thinking you weren’t a photographer, the scenery, wildlife and team of photo instructors onboard have ensured you are leaving as one. Honestly it’s rather difficult to not capture an engaging image here in Antarctica, playful penguins and sleepy seals with blue ice backdrops and sunsets that last for hours. If the camera settings weren’t just right for that first Gentoo coming down the penguin highway, there is a veritable queue of models right behind her. Missed that last whale tail fluke? Judging by the sonar there is such a mass of krill beneath us they’ll be here for hours, as will we, thanks to our Captain’s enthusiasm.
It is astonishing how fast one develops a critical eye, distinguishing between hundreds of shots, any one of which just a few weeks ago would be the best photo we’d ever made. Without hesitation we format memory cards, after importing onto hard drives and computers, erasing all those moments so that more can be written. And yet, despite all the images created during the trip’s duration, from over a hundred individuals armed with the whole range of camera technology, they are just moments. Each picture is like a note on sheet music, they are present, tangible even, but it is the space in between that makes the song. A true expedition is the summation of these memories, many of which escaped digitization and those are perhaps what we will remember most of all.
