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We who have walked the Antarctic realm do so in the footsteps of some of history’s most revered and controversial explorers. After three voyages and more than 40 days exploring Antarctica from the peninsula to the lower southern latitudes, I have been one of the few of my generation to set foot on infamous Elephant Island and to cross the Antarctic Circle. In the relative comfort that modern navigation provides – I know that my hardships are few by comparison to early explorers, but challenging non-the-less.
With reverence to this exquisite place, I give you my collection of images from the extreme south.
Polar ice is sculpted by the hands of nature. Extreme cold, Katabatic winds, the earth’s most turbulent oceans—all brutalize, manipulate, caress and transform each and every unique piece of ice-art—pinnacled, tabular, brash or glacial—into works of beauty that lie in wait for only the most adventurous observer. Our imagination can barely fathom the intricate shaping of such elemental beauty, and the way the blue-green light plays so effortlessly through the ice. As one sails the iconic channels and passages, the art forms are delivered in drifting parades of ice, one by one for our fleeting enjoyment. It is a study in impermanence and I am honoured to capture this disappearing art form before she leaves the planet.
Polar ice is sculpted by the hands of nature. Extreme cold, Katabatic winds, the earth’s most turbulent oceans—all brutalize, manipulate, caress and transform each and every unique piece of ice-art—pinnacled, tabular, brash or glacial—into works of beauty that lie in wait for only the most adventurous observer. Our imagination can barely fathom the intricate shaping of such elemental beauty, and the way the blue-green light plays so effortlessly through the ice. As one sails the iconic channels and passages, the art forms are delivered in drifting parades of ice, one by one for our fleeting enjoyment. It is a study in impermanence and I am honoured to capture this disappearing art form before she leaves the planet.
Gerlache, Ross, Scott, Amundson, Shackleton and Wilde, to name a few, blazed the trail for future explorations and studies in the worlds’ most remote and harshest environment. Their adventures, the environment and wildlife they encountered, were documented by men equally as brave, passionate and foolhardy for adventure: The likes of Frank Hurly and Herbert Ponting gave us a first glimpse into the Terra Nova (new land), through their images and films which remain timeless to this day. With respect to their feats – both failed and successful – I tip my proverbial hat.
Gerlache, Ross, Scott, Amundson, Shackleton and Wilde, to name a few, blazed the trail for future explorations and studies in the worlds’ most remote and harshest environment. Their adventures, the environment and wildlife they encountered, were documented by men equally as brave, passionate and foolhardy for adventure: The likes of Frank Hurly and Herbert Ponting gave us a first glimpse into the Terra Nova (new land), through their images and films which remain timeless to this day. With respect to their feats – both failed and successful – I tip my proverbial hat.
Nowhere else on earth does one find this most extreme juxtaposition of lifelessness and abundance. In an almost alien landscape, species flourish despite these extremes and the best attempts of man throughout history to ravage and despoil their existence. Ultimately the balance always returns when the hand of man is removed. This turning tide is evident as one walks the abandoned whaling stations, slowly consumed by time and earth, and replenished with the undaunted and forgiving wildlife that holds no grudge. Rejuvenation, perseverance and adaptation are the calls of the wild here.
Flight and Flightless; Albatross, Petrel, Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo, King. From the graceful to the comedic, the epic gliders to the awkward waddlers, the flyers of many latitudes to the homebound endurers, Antarctica’s bountiful birdlife is beyond compare. We see their world from our earthbound confines and wish we could be as free to wander or soar amongst the icescapes that are there home.
Nowhere else on earth does one find this most extreme juxtaposition of lifelessness and abundance. In an almost alien landscape, species flourish despite these extremes and the best attempts of man throughout history to ravage and despoil their existence. Ultimately the balance always returns when the hand of man is removed. This turning tide is evident as one walks the abandoned whaling stations, slowly consumed by time and earth, and replenished with the undaunted and forgiving wildlife that holds no grudge. Rejuvenation, perseverance and adaptation are the calls of the wild here.
Flight and Flightless; Albatross, Petrel, Adelie, Chinstrap, Gentoo, King. From the graceful to the comedic, the epic gliders to the awkward waddlers, the flyers of many latitudes to the homebound endurers, Antarctica’s bountiful birdlife is beyond compare. We see their world from our earthbound confines and wish we could be as free to wander or soar amongst the icescapes that are there home.
I am the albatross that awaits you
At the end of the world.
I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners
Who passed Cape Horn
From all the oceans of the world.
But they did not die
In the furious waves.
Today they sail on my wings
Toward eternity,
In the last crack
Of the Antarctic winds.
– Sara Vial
