Petermann Island, Antarctica
When asked why anyone would ever want to come to the coldest, windiest, most desolate continent in the world there are a myriad of reasons often given by our guests here onboard the National Geographic Endeavour. Often times it is the lure of the most remote continent, or possibly the last continent a guest has yet to set foot on. Many folks come for the wildlife: the adorable antics of penguins or the majesty of whales. Some come to see the icebergs and ice shelves that are changing dramatically as our planet warms. For Colleen O’Brien, our youngest guest onboard at age twelve, the reason is simple; it was a Christmas present from her father Mike. She and her sister Katie (fourteen) have traveled from Michigan to witness in person the incredible beauty of Antarctica.
Today on Petermann Island I had the honor and privilege of walking, singing, running, sliding, and just meandering with Colleen. Oh, and just to add to the fun we called it a photographic outing! I have been a professional photographer for eighteen years and have traveled far and wide to make images of beautiful places and amazing animals. I am constantly trying to see things a little differently, find a different angle, to look through another lens. This morning with Colleen photography was just plain fun, a joyous kind of kid fun. Just to be able to see the world through twelve year-old eyes again. Everywhere we went and everything we saw was just so new and so exciting and so wondrous. I asked Colleen if she would mind sharing her images from our morning with the entire world on this Lindblad website, and of course that was exciting too!
Perhaps one of the BEST reasons to come to Antarctica lay right in front of all of us, so plain and simple as to be easily missed. Everything is so new and is so exciting and is so wonderful that it can make you feel just like a kid again, a twelve year old kid with a camera in your hands. Thank you Colleen for sharing your enthusiasm and sense of wonder with us all, I hope it is contagious!
When asked why anyone would ever want to come to the coldest, windiest, most desolate continent in the world there are a myriad of reasons often given by our guests here onboard the National Geographic Endeavour. Often times it is the lure of the most remote continent, or possibly the last continent a guest has yet to set foot on. Many folks come for the wildlife: the adorable antics of penguins or the majesty of whales. Some come to see the icebergs and ice shelves that are changing dramatically as our planet warms. For Colleen O’Brien, our youngest guest onboard at age twelve, the reason is simple; it was a Christmas present from her father Mike. She and her sister Katie (fourteen) have traveled from Michigan to witness in person the incredible beauty of Antarctica.
Today on Petermann Island I had the honor and privilege of walking, singing, running, sliding, and just meandering with Colleen. Oh, and just to add to the fun we called it a photographic outing! I have been a professional photographer for eighteen years and have traveled far and wide to make images of beautiful places and amazing animals. I am constantly trying to see things a little differently, find a different angle, to look through another lens. This morning with Colleen photography was just plain fun, a joyous kind of kid fun. Just to be able to see the world through twelve year-old eyes again. Everywhere we went and everything we saw was just so new and so exciting and so wondrous. I asked Colleen if she would mind sharing her images from our morning with the entire world on this Lindblad website, and of course that was exciting too!
Perhaps one of the BEST reasons to come to Antarctica lay right in front of all of us, so plain and simple as to be easily missed. Everything is so new and is so exciting and is so wonderful that it can make you feel just like a kid again, a twelve year old kid with a camera in your hands. Thank you Colleen for sharing your enthusiasm and sense of wonder with us all, I hope it is contagious!
