Introduction

Armed with a brand new Nikon F80 (N80 in America) SLR camera and an aging Minolta Riva Zoom 140 EX instamatic camera, I tottled off to Antarctica with complete faith in my Minolta and no idea how to take photos with the Nikon owing to a spell of bad weather in Sydney before my departure...

I used the latest Tamron 28-200mm lens (a favourite lens for me over time) on my Nikon. It gives the versatility of composing shots ranging from wide angle to zoom. For the most part, I used a UV filter to protect the lens, and occasionally experimented with a skylight filter and/or a Polariser - results below!

I used Fuji Provia 100 and 400 for most shots in the Antarctic Pensinsula (the Provia 400 because I ran out of 100 when the sun came out and I went ballastic taking photos. The ship only carried Provia 400 at this stage...). I also experimented with AGFA RSX II, Kodak Ektachrome 100 and occasionally used Fuji Superia II. On the Falkland Islands, I used Fuji Velvia.

However, with a lack of skill in taking photos in snow (although the Minolta had always done me proud on the ski slopes...) , the following tips are to try and make sure you go down a few steps more prepared than I was!

Before you go

• Decide if you want to use film or digital
• Take more than one camera - its so easy to loose a camera overboard or the damp conditions of Antarctica may ruin a camera.
• You may want to consider using a digital camera as a second camera instead of (or in tandem with) an instamatic camera.
• It goes without saying - take plenty of spare batteries, the damp conditions prey heavily on camera batteries!
• Take plenty of spare film - Ushuaia or the ship are not the places to be looking for professional film. Rule of thumb: think how much you will use, double it and then double it again.
• It is not adviseable to use APS cameras and film - if you run out completely, this film is all but unavailable in South America, and rest assured - anyone else using it will be clinging to their stash!
• Experiment with your chosen film BEFORE going. Experiment in both sunshine AND overcast - most of the time it is overcast in Antarctica, and it would be good to be confident of your exposures.
• Purchase a dry bag for your camera(s) from your nearest outdoor/hiking store. Your bags can get very wet on the zodiac crossings between ship and shore or if it rains.
• If you are not fond of tripods, consider using one of the shorter ones now available, or purchase a beanbag to balance your camera on.
• Take lots of lens cleaning clothes and plastic bags...

Digital

I didn't use a digital camera, having ascertained beforehand that the resolution was still not there for large blowups of images. However, some passengers did and these pointers come from observing them.

• Take a laptop computer with you to download images. This provides very important feedback on your digital camera and the type of images it will take in Antarctic conditions
• Take plenty of spare memory chips - if the sun is shining, rest assured, you will take LOTS of photographs, and you can' t return to the ship once on land.
• Do remember that unless you spend several thousand dollars purchasing a top of the range, professional digital camera, you will be limited in how much you can enlarge a photograph (ca. 2002).

Film

• If you decide to use professional films (black/white, slides and/or prints), experiment in overcast and sunny conditions before leaving. Also take photographs of white objects - particularly if you don't have the new 3D matrix metering on your camera
• Experiment with your film before leaving - particularly if choosing to use professional slide film (for bigger and better enlargements of that 'special' photograph...)
• Results on using Professional Slide film (excluding operator experimentation):
  • I got excellent results with the Provia film
  • Although colours were true with Provia 400, it was defintely grainy compared to Provia 100.
  • Provia 100 is defintely my choice down there - it is extremely fine-grained, the colours were representative of what I was photographing, and fast enough on those overcast days where Velvia would only function with a tripod...
  • I wised I had tried Velvia in Antarctica as those results were VERY impressive. However, this is a 'supersaturated' film and I had seen some dodgy results by others in snow so it is strongly advised you experiment with large white objects/snowscapes/white paper before leaving to ensure you set the correct exposure on your camera for Velvia
  • I was quite impressed with the AGFA RSX II - the colours almost perfectly matched what I was shooting and the grain is very fine (but not quite as fine as Provia 100)
  • I found on sunny and slightly cloudy day's, Kodak Ektachome returned postively purple shots of snow and generally gave everything bit of a blue tint - not recommended!

Lens

• I found my Tamron lens perfectly adequate for the time I had to take pictures (Re: I was working!)
• If wishing to take landscape shots, I would recommend a 24mm lens, although I didn't feel I missed out much by only being able to go down to 28mm
• If wishing to take numerous closeups of the wildlife, it is highly recommended you have a lens with a zoom in excess of 300mm. The IAATO rules forbid you getting closer than 5m to an animal, so to get really close shots, I found I would have liked a bit more zoom than 200mm.

Filters

• For lens protection, the UV filter is the best and produced no colour distortion and was thus the best all round filter for Antarctica
• The Skylight filter gave a slight yellow tint to snow in sunshine
• The Skylight filter worked wonderfully with the polariser at sunsets
• It is recommended you don't use the polariser filter in the following situations as it adds a heavy blue tint to the picture:
  • Sunshine and snow
  • Overcast and snow
  • Heavily overcast (believe me, it gets quite black sometimes - or navy blue if using a polariser!)
  • Snow
  • Glacial ice (it is tempting to try and exaggerate the deep glacial blue glow - don't!)
• It is safe to use the polariser filter in the following situations:
  • Sunset
• In other words, it is rare that the polariser filter enhances any picture in Antarctica, and defintely ruins snow photographs!

Composing

Metering:

• My Nikon had a 3D matrix metering exposure system. For the most part, the results were excellent, although overexposing by half a stop did produce a slightly nicer and brighter photograph.
• In sunset with the 3D matrix, I was suprised to find I preferred the shots where I did not underexpose by my usual half to one stop. I didn't even try sunset shots with the Minolta Riva for obvious reasons...
• My Minolta Riva is too old for 3D matrix metering, but whatever is in it, it rarely failed me in daylight and interestingly, some of my best photos were taken with this camera... However, it does lack versatillity.
• If your camera doesn't have 3D matrix metering, I suggest again, you practice exposure times for white - in sunshine and overcast conditions. See Norman Koran's website for some handy hints on this.
• If shooting on Deception Island, the dark volcanic rocks are practically guaranteed to come out underexposed. Suggest you meter on the rocks with NO sky and bracket heaps to compensate, erring on over exposure.

Depth of field:

• If you have a depth of field button - use it.
• If you are zooming in something, even if using the depth of field button, still go for maximum aperature...
• Probably best to take a shot with maximum aperture, even after taking a shot with subject in focus and background blurred, as many of animals invariably came out slightly blurred owing to not properly gaging the depth of field due to the zoom.
• I believe the rule of thumb is use F16 on sunny days. I see no reason to abuse this rule here - except you do want to make sure you are overexposing slightly on sunny snow shots.

Horizon:

• Use a tripod where possible
• Watch the horizon! It is VERY easy on the ship for your brain to compensate for the roll - but your camera is unforgiving...

People:

• If taking photos of people, use the flash - overcast or sunshine - and especially if there is ANY snow
• If getting someone to take a photo of yourself, frame the shot before handing over your camera, preferably with you as the dominant subject. Left at the hand of most people, I find myself to be a midget lost in the landscape...

Rule of Thirds:

• If adhering to the "Rule of Thirds," place large animals in the bottom third of the frame works better than at the top - especially if zooming in on them.
• Water reflection shots work best with the horizon in the middle of the shot (contradicting the "Rule of Thirds"