South Georgia Photosafari (III)
It didn’t look promising but at 0300 we were anchor up to photograph icebergs at sunrise. The pilothouse windows were covered in snow and there was four inches of snow on the deck making everything difficult! It didn’t look likely.
Photographers always want the best of the “light”, this I usually during the “golden hours”. The hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, as the light is redder and softer than when the sun is high above.
Sunrise is 0340 so we have had many early starts, Alec and the crew have been very accommodating getting at least one photographer ashore at 0330 most days (Jens). While others waited for the right “light”. Those not interested in photography would be ashore by 8 for a good hike. Sometimes up a mountain of across a pass to another bay where Vinson could pick them up.
Back to our early morning sortie to photograph the icebergs….. The first was too small and a bit underwhelming, the second was like an enormous container ship with a flat top and vertical “transom” but the sun was behind the clouds so no light. We went on, the third was in shadow but the cloud was breaking and showing promise.
On the fourth berg we spotted some Chin Strap penguins and went for a closer look. Below their ledge the ice was vertical so how they got up there is beyond me, maybe they were already on the ice when the berg rolled over?
All around us there was a dark threatening sky but for just a few moments the sun peaked out and lit the scene in strong sunlight. It wasn’t the soft pink light on the powder blue ice that we had in our minds, but it was dramatic, and we will take it anyway.
We have had some great photo opportunities on this trip with landscapes, wildlife, icebergs, and drone pictures of Vinson close to a berg. Many things have to align for this shot to work, the “right” sort of berg, not too much wind or swell, the “right” light etc. but a couple of times its worked out producing some different and beautiful images.
Rick Tomlinson
Yachting Photographer
