I’ve been lucky enough to travel as a professional photographer to some of the most far flung destinations on our planet. From Patagonia and the Galapagos Islands to the Canadian Arctic and Greenland, the list goes on – and yet it’s Antarctica that captures my heart most.
Antarctica draws you in like nowhere else. It amazes you, it baffles you and leaves you wondering what place will ever impress you again. To the photographer, it offers opportunities on a scale rarely seen. It also brings complications, from freezing temperatures to the challenges of dealing with a vast and often bright landscape. To help you get the most out of your photography on your own Antarctica trip then, I’m sharing the top ten tips I’ve learned from my time working there.
Pick the best settings for shooting in bright snow
The auto metering of your camera won’t work well in snowy, bright conditions. It will evaluate the scene and take the middle ground which will generally mean that your snowy images will turn out fairly grey looking. If you’re shooting RAW then you can probably fix this in Lightroom, but it’s always better to get it right in-camera so it’s worth paying attention to your manual settings.
It’s vitally important that you review your histogram in bright environments. Never trust your camera’s screen display alone! If your histogram is not reaching the right hand side of the image – common when conditions are super bright, then you need to add several stops of exposure compensation until it does.
Another option is use the ‘spot metering’ setting. This uses a small spot in the frame to measure the light in a specific area. If you were to use the spot metering mode and make sure you are pointed at your subject, the camera will take its reading from the subject in question and usually get the right exposure. This is great under most conditions, but be aware that it doesn’t work well for shooting animals.
Work with the weather not against it
The weather in Antarctica is rarely sunny and calm. Blizzards, clouds and high winds are very common, which can sometimes make photography a little challenging. However, dramatic weather also makes for memorable photos.
Seeing the murky shape of a penguin through a blizzard can be so much more interesting than a typical penguin shot in bright sun. High winds whipping up the waves create foreground interest when photographing icebergs, while dark and menacing clouds lend photos a theatrical sense of adventure.
A good camera with a fast shutter speed will capture the moment perfectly, so don’t be afraid to use the bad weather to your advantage.
Set your camera to photograph wildlife
When you visit the Antarctic region you’re going to see a lot of wildlife – and for a lot of people that means penguins. These cute little creatures are very curious and have no obvious fear of humans, which makes them irresistible photography subjects – but do keep in mind that the 5m (16.4ft) rule with all Antarctic wildlife means you should slowly back away if they come too close.
Having taken into account any settings for shooting in snow, the most important thing with photographing wildlife is your shutter speed. A fast shutter speed is crucial to capturing detail and having no blur in the image. I always recommend a minimum of 1/1600 to make sure your photos are crisp, but the faster you can get the shutter speed the better. This goes double for shooting fast moving subjects like seabirds in flight off your cruise ship.
The second thing to remember is to keep your auto focus set to ‘continuous.’ Wildlife has a habit of moving. You can get away with spot focus if you’re shooting penguins that aren’t moving or a seal sleeping on an ice floe, but continuous is frequently best. Some of the more modern cameras can even detect animal eyes: if that’s an option for you then this is definitely one destination to put this setting to the test.
Choosing the aperture depends on your own creative style, but generally speaking if you’re taking a portrait shot you’ll want a low f-stop, and if you’re shooting a wide image with an icy background you’ll want a much higher f-stop.
If you want to keep things ultra-simple and not worry too much, I’d suggest setting your camera to sport mode: this is essentially ‘wildlife’ mode for Antarctica.
Show off Antarctica’s scale
Antarctica is such a vast and open wilderness and photographers often struggle to show this off in pictures. Just how big is that iceberg really? How vast is that ice sheet? How large is that penguin colony?
These questions can usually be answered by showing something in the image that we as humans recognise. This could be having a person in the image, a zodiac in front of an iceberg or a ship anchored in the bay. We need something we can relate to in order to understand the size of something we are looking at, so adding an extra subject to your composition will really help to capture the wow factor that you’ll be feeling when you’re in Antarctica.
Use the onboard photography expert
Almost all expedition cruise ships in Antarctica will have a photography expert in their guiding teams. Over the course of the trip you’ll get to know this person and learn from them.
Most photography guides will give one or two lectures during the trip which will give a good background and understanding on photographing the landscape. These lectures are often very useful, but it’s hard for the guide to pitch them at a level that suits everybody.
From my experience, the best option is simply to speak to the guide one on one and ask for their advice. They’re there to help, so never be afraid to approach them. Many photography guides also run informal photo competitions near the end of a cruise so passengers can share the best shots they captured during their trips: knowing you’ll take part in these can be a fun spur to drive your photography forward.
Try different angles
It’s no real surprise that most people taking pictures do so from a standing position holding the camera at eye level. That’s fine as it goes, but it makes it easy to come away with pictures that look alot like other pictures and lack a sense of intimacy. In an environment like Antarctica, it really pays off when you experiment.
Penguins are very small creatures and photos looking down on them don’t tend to be very interesting. While you can’t kneel, crouch or squat on the ground to take pictures on their level because of Antarctica’s biosecurity guidelines, you can bend from the waist with your arms extended low (while making sure your camera doesn’t touch the ground). This is where a camera with a tilt screen can come in handy. If you take a picture of a penguin from a lower angle, it will be much more compelling as it will draw the viewer into the animal’s world.
The same goes for landscapes. Let the waves lead your eyes to the glacier, or let the line of the beach draw you into the landscape. You’ll have plenty of time ashore to experiment, so don’t rush. Some of the shots won’t work at all, but some really will.
Be creative
This piece of advice is similar to that of using different angles but I’ve added it because being creative is a really fun and important thing for me when photographing in Antarctica.
Above and below are my two favourite photos I took on my last Antarctica trip, both of which are a bit different. I had the photo above of the king penguins on the beach in South Georgia in mind long after another trip. Most people don’t bring a tripod to the Antarctic, but I used mine as a monopod for this shot, using a longer exposure time to capture the movement in the waves.
I’ve spent a lot of time photographing birds off the ship trying to capture a pinsharp image, but for the image of the giant petrel below I took a different approach. By dragging the shutter speed and tracking the bird with my camera at the same time I was able to create the blurred effect which gives the image a lot of motion.
Protect your gear
To get the shot of the king penguins on the beach I had to place the tripod in the water. Small waves were coming in and I almost lost the camera twice! Salt water is not good for cameras or tripods and I made sure to wipe both down with a clean damp cloth when I returned to the ship – as well as using disinfectant to keep it biosecurity safe.
You’ll also be making numerous zodiac trips when you visit Antarctica. Even on the smoothest seas you can get splashed, but if it’s rough then prepare to get soaked. You’ll be wearing waterproof clothing so you’ll be fine, but your camera gear won’t. Make sure you bring a waterproof camera bag cover and keep your camera in a waterproof case or bag whenever the weather is looking ominous.
You might also notice that your camera fogs up if you take it outside from having it indoors. The quick temperature change from ship to Antarctic shore and vice versa often means that moisture builds up on the inside of the lens and blurs your images. Although it rarely damages your camera, it certainly is not good for it. Most weather-proof cameras these days can handle the change, but some older models really struggle and you’ll need to acclimatise the camera in a bag for a short period of time before using it.
Don’t forget to pack the right gear
There are some things I never come to Antarctica without. The first is a waterproof cover for my camera bag. I’ve already mentioned protecting your kit, but this is seriously important so I’m bringing it up twice. I also bring a polarising filter as it can get very bright with all the snow, plus a graduated ND (neutral density) filter to darken the sky, especially where there’s a lot of contrast in the image.
I always bring a telephoto lens, a wide angle lens, and my trusty 24-70mm f/2.8 as the main workhorse. Long telephoto lenses are useful for zodiac cruising, especially if you’re travelling to South Georgia where a decent zoom can capture the mass of wildlife set against the backdrop of the island’s majestic mountains. I’d also always advise bringing two camera bodies if you can. It makes switching from telephoto to wide so much easier.
A lot of people ask if they should bring a tripod to Antarctica, but I rarely carry one unless I’m planning a long exposure shot. Generally, you’ll be using fast shutter speeds and won’t need it, plus the extra bulk is a bit frustrating when you’re getting in and out of zodiacs a lot.
I always bring a thin pair of gloves so I’m not hindered while changing the camera settings. Big warm gloves are also essential of course, but it’s actually the thin ones that get used more.
Remember to bring a hard drive to store all your photos and preferably two so you have a backup in case one fails. I’d suggest at least 1TB memory. Bring plenty of fast-writing memory cards for your camera too.
Because it’s cold in Antarctica, you are also going to need to bring some extra batteries. The cold weather saps the energy quickly and you’ll want at least double what you would normally take with you. A good tip here is to keep your spare batteries close to your chest under several layers of clothing. This will help keep the back up batteries warm and prevent them draining too quickly. I also bring my sensor cleaning kit as changing lenses frequently in a windy environment can lead to sensor dust, especially if you are shooting on a Sony.
Get out on the deck
Finally, my absolute best advice is to be out on deck of your ship with your camera as much as you can. There is always so much to see and do, that there really is no excuse not to be if you love your photography.
Birds constantly follow your ship and this gives you opportunity after opportunity to take great photos of them or try out different techniques. Whales can pop up at any time, and you won’t want to miss the opportunity of capturing them on camera. Even when you’re anchored in a bay, the light changes so frequently that you never know when you’re going to get that magical light moment.
So, yes, be out on deck and make the most of your time in Antarctica. There will be plenty of time to edit your photos when you get home!
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If you want to capture your best penguin shot, Swoop Antarctica can help find the best trips with a strong photography focus. Check out the Photography in Antarctica page on our website for more information.
