Antarctica, Terra Incognita

Antarctica is sometimes known as terra incognita, the unknown land. It’s also the last untouched continent and one of the most pristine wilderness locations on Earth. With ten thousand foot peaks rising straight from the ocean, crystal blue icebergs the size of office buildings, hundreds of glaciers (on the Antarctic Peninsula alone), and beaches teeming with seals and penguins, my trip to the continent at the bottom of the world didn’t disappoint. With a turn of the ship into every harbor or bay, more of the same awaited us. And most of this magnificent landscape has never had a human foot tread upon it. This amazing place most certainly is terra incognita.

Below are just a sample of the photos I captured on my recent trip. Sorry for the abundance of penguin images but they are so plentiful and such photogenic, expressive creatures. Enjoy!

“Adelie Waddle” Adelie penguins at Brown Bluff, East Coast of Tabarin Peninsula, Antarctica

“Terra Incognita” Iceberg and foggy mountains in the Gerlache Straight, Antarctica

“Half Moon Solitude” A chinstrap penguin surveying the icy landscape at sunset, Half Moon Island, Antarctica

“Weddell Seal at Yankee Harbor” A Waddell seal catches some rays while on the ice, Robert Island in the South Shetlands, Antartica

“Rock Thief” Chinstrap penguins at Half Moon Island, Antarctica. The penguin in the middle has just stolen a rock from a nest and the others are justifiably upset.

“Branford Ice” A lone seabird flies by the face of an enormous blue iceberg, Branford Straight, Antarctica

“Braving the Storm” A Gentoo penguin during a gust of harsh wind and snow, King George Island, Antarctica

“Nesting Gentoos” Gentoo penguins sitting on their nests, Useful Island, Antarctica

“Larsen’s Shelf” A giant iceberg from a broken piece of the Larsen Ice Shelf, Branford Straight, Antarctica

“Catching Snowflakes” A pair of gentoo penguins appear to be catching snowflakes – or singing. Actually, they are vocalizing, the method they use to attract mates, Paradise Bay, Antarctica

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A fascinating website that offers information on conserving the southern continent’s ecosystem, promoting responsible tourism, and the latest news is the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. Take a look when you get the chance.

Richard Bernabe is a professional photographer specializing in travel, wildlife, and nature as well as an author of books, magazine articles, and travel essays published world-wide. Richard is a global influencer is the fields of photography, travel, and wildlife conservation with more than one million followers on social media platforms. He leads several photography tours and workshops all over the world and is invited to speak to photography and conservation groups all across the globe. For more great information on new images, gear reviews, book projects, and photography workshops and tours, Sign Up For Our Newsletter.

The Best of 2017: A Retrospective

The end of each year is always a good time to look back at the year that was. In my case, it’s been mostly a blur. I traveled to 15 different countries plus Antarctica during 2017 and its only now that I’ve been able to relax and reflect on my travels. Here are my favorite moments of 2017, through the lens of my personal bias and tastes of course. My personal comments are in italics. I hope you enjoy!

“High Noon” Serengeti National Park, Tanzania (June 7, 2017).

RB: A wildlife image taken with a wide-angle lens! I love these types of photos: the minimalist feel, the billowing clouds against that blue sky, the interaction between the giraffes – I fell in love with this image the moment I pressed the shutter.

“Keeper” Deadvlei, Namibia-Naukluft National Park, Namibia (May 17, 2017).

RB: I’ve been to Deadvlei many times and I was determined to come away with something new. I purposely stayed away from trees and compositions that had yielded good results in the past in order to see something different. As it turns out, Keeper is now one of my all-time favorite images from this area of Namibia.

“Adelie Waddle” Adelie penguins at Brown Bluff, East Coast of Tabarin Peninsula, Antarctica (December 11, 2017).

RB: I spent a lot of time watching and observing before capturing any images from this location. I noticed the penguins leaning forward meant that they were attempting to jump. Sometimes they chickened out and didn’t but usually they did. When I saw this congregation and the body language, I was ready. I purposely left space to the left and the bottom for what i was hoping would be an airborne penguin. I got my wish. I also reminds me of another one of my favorite photos.

Patterns in the lava lake in the caldera of Mount Nyiragongo volcano, Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (February 7, 2015).

RB: The experience of spending the night on the rim of an active volcano was exhilarating. The 6-hour, uphill hike to get there was grueling. The glowing spider web patterns in the volcano’s lava lake were utterly mesmerizing.

“Zen Monkies” Gray langur monkeys at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka (September 26, 2017).

RB: I could not have set up this wildlife scene any better if I had actual monkey telepathy.

“Almirante Nieto” Cerro Almirante Nieto and layers of lenticular clouds at sunrise, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (April 11, 2017).

RB: An intimate telephoto vignette of a grand sunrise scene, replete with stacked lenticular clouds and intense scarlet light.

“Laughing Gorillas” A group of mountain gorillas, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda (February 5, 2017).

RB: Mountain gorilla love a good joke as much as anyone.

“Crystal Ice Cave” Breiðamerkurjökull Glacier in Vatnajökull National Park, Southern Iceland (January 28, 2017).

RB: The volcanic soot imbedded in the glacier ice created a conspicuous line that leads right to the trekker. Ice caves are just one good reason to love Iceland in winter.

“Terra Incognita” Iceberg and foggy mountains in the Gerlache Straight, Antarctica (December 9, 2017).

RB: More than any other image of mine from Antarctica, this one captures the enormous scale of the coastal mountains, glaciers and ice of the continent. Handheld from a moving boat, I used a high ISO to ensure a sharp image.

“Fire on High” Sunrise on the high peaks of Torres del Paine National Park, Chile (November 15, 2017).

RB: Ridiculously dramatic sunrise over the Paine massif. This is an often-photographed scene but what I liked the most about this morning is the intense colors reflected in Nordenskjöld Lake. For more images from Torres del Paine and Patagonia, you can download my free e-book, Patagonia: Our Amazing Planet.

Thanks for taking a look at some of my photography highlights from 2017. Here’s to an awesome 2018! Here’s to Truth, Adventure, and Passion – Richard