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Colin

After completing his degree in Conservation Biology, Colin went on to start an exciting career in the world of travel. When he's not helping clients plan dream trips to the polar regions, he's a professional photographer who's particularly fond of capturing birds on camera.

My Polar Highlights My Polar Photos More About Me

My Antarctic stats

Ships inspected: Silver Endeavour, Seaventure, Greg Mortimer, Hondius and Plancius
Antarctic activities tested: Citizen Science
Polar plunges braved: 1
Began working in travel: 2015

Colin says

The Drake Passage crossing to Antarctica is a birder's dream – even just leaving the dock in Ushuaia and sailing down the Beagle Channel had me out on deck soaking up the sightings of black-browed albatross and giant petrels.

Colin Fraser Antarctic Sales Consultant

My top 5 Antarctic experiences

Arriving in Antarctic waters early, letting us visit the iconic Elephant Island and getting a rare sighting of a blue whale in the process!
Experiencing the electric buzz on the ship when our expedition team pulled back the curtain during an introductory lecture to reveal a mile-long tabular iceberg straight in front of us
Having the Captain park the ship right next to a swathe of sea ice so we could walk on it – completely unexpected
Getting so excited when a minke whale popped up about 20 metres (66 feet) from my ship that I accidentally pocket-called my dad
Reaching the top of the caldera on Penguin Island. On a clear day, there is no place more beautiful than Antarctica

Colin, a Swoop sales team member, holds up his hands to signify the number seven as he stand in an Antarctic landscape

Making it to my seventh continent

My photos of Antarctica

A chinstrap penguin leaps above the dark blue water in Antarctica

A porpoising chinstrap penguin

Kayakers paddle around Melchior Islands, Antarctica

Kayaking around Melchior Islands

The myriad blue hues of an iceberg in Antarctica

The myriad hues of an iceberg

A fur seal on Gaston Island

Hikers trek across a snowy incline on Half Moon Island, Antarctica

Hiking on Half Moon Island

Looking out from a ship's deck across to the snowy landscape of the South Shetlands, Antarctica

Looking out across the South Shetlands

Colin, a Swoop sales team member, pretends to pull the Antarctic Seaventure ship out of the ice

A hard day's work in Antarctica

Colin from Swoop takes a photo of Antarctica from out on the deck of a ship

Capturing Antarctica from the deck

More about me

I started my career as a specialist in tailor-made holidays, eventually moving on to organising business travel for high-profile clients
I’ve also worked as a photographer specialising in nature, editorial and e-commerce shoots, and currently volunteer as a director at a community darkroom in Bristol
I'm never far away from my next birdwatching holiday – although my wife, Kemi, sometimes needs some convincing to come along
My love of wildlife has taken me across the globe, seeing favourites like the resplendent quetzal in Costa Rica, the picathartes in Ghana, and more recently, the Nile Valley sunbird in Egypt

Colin, a Swoop sales team member, takes a selfie in front of an iceberg while out on the deck of an Antarctic ship

Out on deck

My top advice? Go to Antarctica with an open mind and enjoy the itinerary changes you'll inevitably encounter. Don’t spend time worrying about what you might or might not see, because it'll definitely be amazing.

Colin Fraser Antarctic Sales Consultant