Traveling to Antarctica or the Arctic with photography equipment
Here are a few tips to help you prepare for one of the best places on planet earth for photography.
When booking flights, if you have heavy camera gear avoid travelling on budget airlines that rigorously impose carry-on baggage weight and size restrictions. The last thing you want to do on the trip of a lifetime is have someone take your camera gear and stow it in the hold of an aircraft leaving it to the whims of baggage handlers. If you know you are going to have a problem, consider purchasing a pelican case and take care to do your research on security issues encountered at any airports on your route (expensive gear is know to go missing at some airports).
Know your camera gear
Familiarise yourself with your camera, lenses and camera settings before leaving home and be sure to bring plenty of batteries, a charger and lots of memory/film. Even if you have a photographer host on your trip, they will likely not have lots of time to help you set up and understand all your camera settings. In any event there are so many cameras on the market, the chances are your photography host may not be familiar with yours. There are a lot of Youtube videos that can help you unbox and set up your camera. If you’re a keen photographer, bring your laptop and an external hard drive to download, back up and edit as you go.
It’s a good idea to bring a copy of your camera manual (electronic copy if possible to save weight) to troubleshoot error messages and settings.
What to consider when choosing a camera bag for polar regions
Make sure you have a decent pack to keep your gear dry and protected. If you don’t have a dry bag you may wish to bring a liner for the inside of your camera bag. Salt water and electronics do not mix. If you do get salt water on your camera, immediately remove the battery and use a cloth with fresh water to remove salt and dry it out in rice, or some other dry or water absorbent environment/material.
Clothing considerations for photography in polar regions
Good gloves are vital. Try gloves that are warm enough but also thin and grippy enough to manipulate your camera settings (or use your phone camera) without having to take them off. Being warm is critical to your ability to spend time outside. Wild weather affords great opportunities for compelling images so dress to stay warm and comfortable. You will miss opportunities if you have to bail out because you’re too cold or you are shivering and tired.
Know what you want to photograph and how to do it
Practice makes perfect. If you’re keen to capture a beautiful shot of the world’s largest bird by wingspan, the Wandering Albatross, practice shooting birds in flight at home. If you want to capture compelling slow pans, practice your slow shutter speeds on animals at homes such as gulls and dogs. 1/5th produces some interesting ghosting effects. 1/30th -1/60th produces sharper images of a subject while streaking the background.
Know your camera and know how to change settings quickly. There are so many great photo opportunities but some of them don’t last long. One minute you might need a fast shutter speed to capture a Skua swooping over a penguin colony, the next you might want to shoot a backlit penguin chick and underexpose heavily to capture rim lighting. If you can react and manipulate your settings quickly, you’ll be able to capture great images more consistently.
Clean penguins generally make for better shots than dirty penguins. You’re more likely to find clean penguins returning to the colony.
Cloudy skies are generally better for shooting ice, albatross and penguins. There can be too much contrast on bright sunny days to capture details in the highlights and the shadows. High contrast lighting can, however, be a great time to experiment with black and white photography.
Some of the best opportunities may happen late at night. You can catch up on sleep when you get home!
In Antarctica, some of the best action shots happen at the water’s edge around penguin colonies. Find a nice quiet spot where the light is at your back and the backdrop for your images is ‘clean’ and wait for the penguins to come and go. We all need to take great care not to block any ‘penguin highways’ or change the behaviour of any animal just to get ‘the shot’.
Don’t be afraid to play with exposure and shoot some ‘high-key’ and ‘low-key images (over-exposed and under-exposed). Get creative once you’ve got your safe and sharp “keepers”.
Get down low, to eye-level. This may mean lying down and getting that jacket and pants dirty but you’ll get more impressive shots. (Please note biosecurity requirements prohibit sitting, lying or kneeling in Antarctica anywhere near wildlife. Please do follow the instructions of your leaders and guides. These rules are mandatory and put in place to protect people and wildlife and reduce the spread of H5 bird flu between colonies.
With wildlife, for the most part make sure you get the eye of an animal in focus. An animal looking directly at the lens often provides for a more engaging portrait.
If you’re a landscape photographer, you may want to pack a tripod and a 9 or 10 stop ND filter for your wide-angle lens to get some lovely long exposures (capturing the movement of clouds and water).
Consider bringing two camera bodies you. It’s nice to have two camera bodies so you can have a wide lens on one and a telephoto on the other. This reduces reaction time and removes the need to change lenses and expose the interior of the camera to the environment.
Drone (UAV) Photography in the Polar Regions with IAATO and AECO Operators
Personal or recreational use of drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs) is strictly prohibited for guests on board IAATO and AECO member expedition ships in Antarctica and the Arctic. The rationale is drone use can disturb wildlife, cause noise pollution and create litter or safety hazards and not all drone users are sufficiently experienced or responsible. Permission to fly a drone for commercial purposes may be obtained from a National Competent Authority. Typically a long time horizon is required and strict rules will apply to any drone flights including having an observer present for all flights.
Theist majority of people will travel to Antarctica with an IAATO operator or the Arctic with an AECO Operator. If you travel to Antarctica with an operator that is not an IAATO member you will still need a permit to fly a drone or UAV in Antarctica.
IAATO’s Drone Use Policy
IAATO Members have agreed that they will not allow the recreational use of drones, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in the unique coastal areas of Antarctica, until more is known about their responsible use. This ban will be reviewed annually in May to allow for potential technological advances and further developments within the regulatory community.
IAATO members allow the recreational use of authorized UAVs in the interior of Antarctica under strict and carefully controlled conditions.
Antarctic travellers interested in using a UAV for purposes other than recreational or personal use in Antarctica must check with their tour operator or travel agent in advance of travel. As for all human activities in Antarctica, a permit is needed.
Non-IAATO members and private expeditions should contact their relevant Competent Authority or government agency if they intend to operate a UAV anywhere in or around Antarctica (for example, Australian citizens must seek permission from the Australian Antarctic Program.
IAATO member operators must include an application to fly UAVs within their overall permit application. The difficulty for prospective UAV pilots is that Treaty Parties, and IAATO members, are concerned about their use in Antarctica; flying drones is a relatively new activity and while there are situations when they may be of value (e.g. science, ice reconnaissance for vessel navigation, education, including documentary film making), there are many questions still to be answered in terms of their potential impact on the environment. The use of UAVs is therefore in a state of development and, until more information is available, both the Competent Authorities and IAATO Member Operators are taking a precautionary approach when it comes to their operation. The intention is to devise a pragmatic policy framework that will allow safe and environmentally responsible use under controlled circumstances.
AECO’s Drone Use Policy
AECO has banned the general use of UAVs by revenue passengers in the Arctic. The use of UAVs for special purposes may be decided by the operators within the limits of regulations and AECO guidelines. UAVs/Drones can under no circumstances be used to pursue or approach wildlife.
Our Founder and General Manager has obtained a permit to fly a drone for commercial purposes and flown a drone under a separate scientific permit to obtain accurate population estimates of recently discovered Emperor Penguin colonies in Dronning Maud Land which we visit on our Emperor Penguins & Drygalski Mountains expeditions.
Remember to put the camera away and take it all in!
Finally, and most importantly, remember to put the camera away and find time to sit quietly and soak it all in. Pictures and memories are distinct. Pictures rarely capture the sounds, smells and magical moments that are shared with each other.
All images copyright David Sinclair