A Wedding Photographer’s Time in Antarctica

I am a traveler. I absolutely love to go to new places, to experience new things, and to find adventure wherever I go. One of the most unique and adventurous trips I have had the privilege of going on was a 10 day expedition cruise to Antarctica! We went with Silverseas Cruise Line, who I highly recommend for anyone looking for an adventurous and fun expedition! It was my first time on a cruise, and what a way to start my cruising experience! We started in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, in Argentina. Here you are in the bottom part of the Patagonia region, and if time would have allowed I would have taken a week extra to just explore the surrounding area! As it was we only got a few hours to explore the area, and I loved every bit of it! We took a bus to a lunch spot where we got to visit a Husky farm as well! So fun! The cruise departed the morning after we boarded, and we set off across the Drake passage which boasts some of the roughest seas in the world. There are two experiences you can get while crossing the Drake passage, the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake. Fortunately for us, our way over was super smooth, even smoother than the usual Drake Lake! And in a day and a half we got our first sighting of the South Shetland islands surrounding Antarctica!

The morning after we reached the official Antarctica region, we visited Hope Bay. On the land there was a colony of Adelie Penguins, which ended up being my favorite penguin species of the whole trip! They are about 2 feet in height and always travel together because there is safety in numbers from waiting Leopard seals and Orca whales. We were unable to go on the land with them because it was a protected area, but we took zodiac boats around to see these adorable penguins up close! They were nesting in the rocks above, and the parents would take turns fishing. We were able to see them swim in the water which was a sight to see! They can propel their whole bodies out of the water like dolphins, and then can dive and swim under the water for up to 6 minutes!

After visiting the Adelie penguin colony, our ship moved on to it’s afternoon location, Esperanza Base. Here we got to step out onto land for the first time at a Argentinian research base! It was at this base that the first Antarctica citizen was born! Now there are at least 11 children who have been born on this continent! The base requires researchers and their families to live there for an entire year before switching out with a new group. They have a school and some stores around their little village. Penguins wander around the base and hang out on nearby Icebergs as well! I was so excited to be able to set foot on the continent of Antarctica for the first time!

The next morning I looked out my balcony window to behold one of my favorite views from the entire trip, Cierva Cove! There were snowy mountains looming in the sky, and it was a winter wonderland of glacier ice leading to the mountains. Here, I was able to go on one of the first zodiac boats that went out around the cove. We saw Chinstrap penguins at this stop, and we also had Humpack whales join us in the cove! They were feeding on the krill in the waters below. Unable to drive close to the whales, we would turn off the zodiac and wait in anticipation for the whales to pop up. We ended up having one come within 15 feet of our boat! It was such a unique experience as mothers and their calves travel 5,000 miles to feed here in the waters of Antarctica! We ended up seeing at least 15 whales in this cove, and I would have been happy to spend all day out there with them! Not to mention being in this stunning scenery!

We moved on to Portal Point where we were able to hike around. Here was the longest I was able to stay on the land as generally you only get an hour or two per landing site due to the Antarctica treaty which only allows 100 people on site at one time. I spent 5 hours here hiking around, and when we were about to go back, we saw that there was a wedding for two of the guests aboard the ship! So being a wedding photographer, what did I do? I photographed it for them! I have it say, it was the most unique location to photograph a wedding and I don’t think I can ever beat it! At the very end of it all, we went back and did the Polar Plunge! Yes, we jumped from the zodiac docking platform of the ship into the frigid waters of Antarctica! It was the coldest I have been in my entire life! But it was worth it to say I did it! You can see the video by clicking on my Instagram!

Another one of my top places that we visited was our time in Danko harbor. I did not go on the land here, as I had signed up for the lottery kayaking tour that they had! This was a bucket list item for me, and it was INCREDIBLE! We had the calmest water, with no wind, and me being a camera addict couldn’t settle for just having my GoPro out there so I took my camera in a dry bag strapped to the kayak! With no wind, the water was crystal smooth. I ended up spending more time taking photos then paddling! The views were incredible as you kayaked by penguins on the land who jumped in the water and swam underneath you, and sheets of ice brushing up against your kayak. The reflections were stunning as the clear skies and smooth waters lent to gorgeous scenery everywhere you turned! It was absolutely amazing, and this is a kayaking experience that will forever be at the top of my adventure list!

With the amazing weather we were having, most of the days in the 30s with little wind, they added on options to go hiking at 6am in the morning! Being an avid hiker, and not wanting to turn down extra time on the continent itself, I went for the morning hikes! This was Telefon Bay at Deception Island. It is called Deception Island because from the outside it seems like one giant island, but there is a passage through it where you can access different landing sites! The channel to get in and out is rather narrow with rocks on the sides, but our captain navigated it with ease! We went from there to Whalers Bay which was an old whaling station. The remnants of it looked like something out of the apocalypse with not much snow, tons of dirt, abandoned tanks, and even whale bones. I am so glad that whaling was stopped in these regions! The whale population has been growing, and I pray it continues to grow!

Another hiking spot was Cuverville Island where you could get up early to hike then go back out with your group later to explore as well. Here we got a good look at what are known as penguin highways! Penguins will trek up and down tp create two paths in the snow known as a penguin highway. They will travel these same paths up to their nests and down to the water to fish. Here we also saw a baby elephant seal who was super curious and wanted to say hello! Poor little guy could only move a few inches at a time on land and then would lay there to catch his breath before trying again. At this age, the parents usually leave the elephant seal pup to be by himself, so he will seek companionship in humans if given the opportunity! The expedition staff on our cruise have stories of sitting and waiting and having elephant seals come and lay on them! They are a couple of hundred pounds already, so definitely an experience! I did not have enough time on land to wait for this guy, but I did snap some photos of him!

My last landing on Antarctica was at Yankee’s Harbor, a part of the South Shetland Islands. Here I had a goal to see penguin chicks! I had not been able to see any yet, and I was ready! We went to the nesting site and waited. It was a super windy and cold day, and so the penguins were hunkered down and we didn’t know if there were chicks or eggs underneath. After about 15 minutes of waiting we were rewarded with a Gentoo Penguin sitting up enough to see some chicks peeking out from underneath! That was all I needed and I set up camp at that nesting site for the hour we were on land, and photographed the Gentoos and their chicks! It took a lot of patience and watchfulness to get the photos I was looking for, but I am super excited by the ones I took! It was the perfect end to an already incredible trip! And so our trip finished with the two day travel back to Argentina. We did not have as good of luck on the way back and definitely experienced the Drake Shake, with towering waves that made you lose sight of the horizon and the effects of seasickness lingering. But it was all worth it to visit this incredible place! If I ever get the privilege to go back, I would love to do South Georgia Island with the King penguins! Regardless, I feel extremely blessed and privileged to of had this opportunity to visit this unique and rare place in all of its glory.