The scientists spent Sunday doing maintenance on a glider, checking giant-petrel and skua nests, looking for whales, and counting krill for as long as the choppy water and the sharp south winds allowed. Dr. Josh Kohut and Dr. Matt Oliver looked nervously at the changing iceberg landscape outside our front door. Winds and currents keep reshuffling the bergs, and the team really doesn’t want to hit one with their glider.
Photographer Chris Linder has a lot less anxiety when he looks at ice. He’s photographed ice of all sizes, at all times of day, and from pretty much every angle. We thought this quiet Sunday was a fine time to show you some of what he’s seen. Click through the slideshow to explore:
12 Comments
What a different world! Thanks for the explanations and lovely photos.
These slideshows are Stunning…I am thoroughly enjoying and thank you.
Awesome, underwater picture. Makes me cold, just looking at it.
we loved the Adelie penguin picture! thank you for the wonderful and beautiful pictures.
We oh’ed and ah’ed through out this blog.
Nate loved the sky picture after midnight sunset! So beautiful!
Sarah agrees with Nate!
Wish we could see this in person 🙂
How do you sleep? Do you use darkening shades to sleep. It is so bright!
Hi Linda – Great, glad you liked the photos. I’m really lucky to work with Chris and get to see so many of his wonderful photos. It’s hard to pick so few for each day’s post! To answer your question about sleep – yes, we have thick blinds on our windows to keep our rooms dark. Some people also sleep with a mask over their eyes for added darkness. Thanks for asking – Hugh
In the picture, Brash from Below, how do you guys get to take a picture under the water?
Hi Jack – Chris has a waterproof casing for his camera that has a big plastic dome in front of the lens. The whole thing fits on a pole, and it has a trigger grip with a shutter button so Chris can take photos while he’s holding the pole. Typically, he kneels over the side of the zodiac and plunges the camera underwater. Sometimes he does this with one hand and holds a waterproof flash under the water to help get more light on the subject. Thanks for asking – take care and say hi to Max for me. – Uncle Hugh
On the 3rd image, how is the ice berg able to stay up, is it the wind condition mixed with the cold air?
Hi Cuba – the iceberg stays up because there’s a lot more of it under the water than there is above the water. So even though it looks topheavy, it’s stable because there’s so much ice underneath. Next time you’re having a glass of ice water, look at how much of your ice cube sticks out of the water vs. how much is in your drink. That will help give you an idea of how much ice is underneath the water in this picture. Thanks for asking – Hugh
The pictures the photographer took are so amazing! It’s really nice to know about what’s going on in Antarctica. I’m also really happy that everyone in Antarctica is having fun because it’s so nice to know about people who are so passionate about the work they do.
Wow! Some of these pictures are amazingly beautiful! I would love to go see some of these ice pieces (and penguins!) in person!
Than you for the beautiful pictures!