St. Andrews Bay, Grytviken, South Georgia
Sometimes the lights all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been.
- Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
Indeed. Twenty-one years ago I started my career as a professional photographer by selling three images to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a special display centered on marine life in the Gulf of California. Since then I have made most of my living seeking the light before my lens all around the world. There has been many a day when I could barely see, at least not in a creative way. This morning I can honestly say the light was shining not only on me, but on king penguins, Antarctic fur seals, and excited guests with cameras. And what glorious light it was!
Our wake up call came at 4:30 AM from Expedition Leader Tim Soper. Our much anticipated pre-dawn landing was a go as the sky was clearing in the east, with just enough cloud cover to make the sunrise truly spectacular. St. Andrews Bay is host to the largest colony of king penguins here on South Georgia and the sun was painting them all in warm tones of red, pink, and orange. Cameras came out of dry bags, tripods were set up, cameras clicked and flashes fired as the scene unfolded, the light literally changing by the moment. Penguins and seals happily obliged us, the animated strange creatures before them, as we jostled for the ultimate angle, the right position, that perfect shot. The sun finally broke above the horizon and we turned and trained our cameras on the snow-capped vistas behind us as a perfect backdrop to our animal models in front of us. The action was fast and furious as card after full memory card was replaced with a new empty one.
And then it was over. We were spent, literally. Now came the time to put away the cameras (or to at least hide them as if we were done taking pictures) and simply drink in the beauty and magic of over 200,000 king penguins all around us. National Geographic Contributing photographer Joel Sartore summed the day up with these words "I just knew that this morning was the most amazing day of wildlife photography I have ever had in my entire professional career." And Joel should know. He has published photographs in 26 different articles for National Geographic Magazine.
After such a glorious morning basking in the sun, South Georgia decided to show us her wet and rainy side as we redeployed the National Geographic Endeavour to the former Norwegian whaling station at Grytviken. After a visit to Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave, with a toast to "The Boss," we each tried to dodge the rain drops in our own way. The South Georgia Historical Museum proved to be a perfect way to stay dry, with the highlight of the just-opened exhibit being a replica of the James Caird, the small wooden boat that delivered Shackleton and five of his men to South Georgia from Elephant Island. The evening was capped off with a visit to the National Geographic Endeavour by researchers and museum personnel alike, where laughter and stories well told were shared by all.
Sometimes the lights all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been.
- Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
Indeed. Twenty-one years ago I started my career as a professional photographer by selling three images to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a special display centered on marine life in the Gulf of California. Since then I have made most of my living seeking the light before my lens all around the world. There has been many a day when I could barely see, at least not in a creative way. This morning I can honestly say the light was shining not only on me, but on king penguins, Antarctic fur seals, and excited guests with cameras. And what glorious light it was!
Our wake up call came at 4:30 AM from Expedition Leader Tim Soper. Our much anticipated pre-dawn landing was a go as the sky was clearing in the east, with just enough cloud cover to make the sunrise truly spectacular. St. Andrews Bay is host to the largest colony of king penguins here on South Georgia and the sun was painting them all in warm tones of red, pink, and orange. Cameras came out of dry bags, tripods were set up, cameras clicked and flashes fired as the scene unfolded, the light literally changing by the moment. Penguins and seals happily obliged us, the animated strange creatures before them, as we jostled for the ultimate angle, the right position, that perfect shot. The sun finally broke above the horizon and we turned and trained our cameras on the snow-capped vistas behind us as a perfect backdrop to our animal models in front of us. The action was fast and furious as card after full memory card was replaced with a new empty one.
And then it was over. We were spent, literally. Now came the time to put away the cameras (or to at least hide them as if we were done taking pictures) and simply drink in the beauty and magic of over 200,000 king penguins all around us. National Geographic Contributing photographer Joel Sartore summed the day up with these words "I just knew that this morning was the most amazing day of wildlife photography I have ever had in my entire professional career." And Joel should know. He has published photographs in 26 different articles for National Geographic Magazine.
After such a glorious morning basking in the sun, South Georgia decided to show us her wet and rainy side as we redeployed the National Geographic Endeavour to the former Norwegian whaling station at Grytviken. After a visit to Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave, with a toast to "The Boss," we each tried to dodge the rain drops in our own way. The South Georgia Historical Museum proved to be a perfect way to stay dry, with the highlight of the just-opened exhibit being a replica of the James Caird, the small wooden boat that delivered Shackleton and five of his men to South Georgia from Elephant Island. The evening was capped off with a visit to the National Geographic Endeavour by researchers and museum personnel alike, where laughter and stories well told were shared by all.
