Antarctica Photography Expedition: Ice & Wildlife

This morning is yours to explore Ushuaia or the nearby Tierra del Fuego National Park, camera in hand, before you embark your expedition ship in the afternoon. After settling into your cabin and meeting the crew, expedition team and photography guides, the ship sails east down the historic Beagle Channel, snow-capped mountains rising on either side as cormorants and petrels wheel past, wonderful first subjects for your lens. Over a welcome dinner you meet your fellow photographers and the guides outline the tuition and outings ahead. As Tierra del Fuego slips astern and the ship turns south into the Drake Passage, the photography guides begin their first workshops on gear and settings for polar conditions. As the first night at sea arrives, rest well as the expedition begins.

Today you sail south across the legendary Drake Passage, and the photography guides make excellent use of the sea days with workshops on composition, exposure, wildlife technique and editing, preparing you for the extraordinary conditions ahead. Out on deck they help you photograph the wandering albatrosses, giant petrels and cape petrels that wheel around the ship, superb practice for capturing birds in flight. The expedition naturalists add lectures on the penguins, whales, seals, ice and history to come. Whether the Drake is calm or lively, there is a real sense of adventure, and the light and seabirds offer constant opportunities for the camera. The air grows steadily colder and crisper as the first icebergs may appear. As you sail deeper into the Southern Ocean, rest well aboard your ship.

As you continue south the temperature drops, the light changes and the first great icebergs appear, glowing on the horizon, a heart-stopping first subject as the White Continent draws near. By late today you approach the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetlands, and, conditions permitting, make your first Zodiac cruise or landing, with the photography guides helping you capture your very first images of Antarctic ice and wildlife. The expedition team briefs you thoroughly on biosecurity and Zodiac safety, and the photo guides advise on protecting your gear in the cold and shooting the bright snow and blue ice. The thrill of framing that first iceberg or penguin is indescribable. As the long polar day fades in soft, endless light, savour your arrival in a photographer's paradise. Rest well aboard your ship.

Today you begin photographing the spectacular Antarctic Peninsula in earnest, with the expedition leader and photography guides choosing landings and Zodiac cruises for the finest subjects and light. You might spend extended time at a bustling gentoo penguin colony capturing behaviour and portraits, cruise slowly among stranded icebergs to shoot their sculpted forms and blue depths, or photograph humpback whales feeding at the surface. The photo guides work beside you in the field, coaching composition, exposure and timing, and helping you seize fleeting moments. Between outings, review and edit your images aboard with the guides. The scenery of black peaks, blue ice and endless white is a photographer's dream. As another long day of shooting in glorious light ends, rest well, deep in the beauty of the Peninsula.

Today, ice permitting, you sail through the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, a narrow, mile-wide passage between towering cliffs and glaciers so beautiful it is nicknamed Kodak Gap, a legendary subject where the ship glides through mirror-still water reflecting the peaks, ideal in the soft polar light. You explore the sublime Paradise Harbour, cruising by Zodiac beneath immense glacier walls and among fantastically sculpted icebergs, with leopard seals on the floes and whales surfacing nearby, all timed where possible for the finest light. The photography guides help you capture reflections, scale and drama, and the intimacy of the wildlife. This is Antarctica at its most photogenic. As the day ends amid this overwhelming beauty, with the sun circling low and gilding the ice, savour the profound polar silence. Rest well aboard your ship.

You have a further full day to photograph the wonders of the Antarctic Peninsula, with the flexible, light-led itinerary shaped around the best opportunities. You might make an early Zodiac cruise in soft morning light among the icebergs of Cierva Cove or Wilhelmina Bay, famous for feeding whales, land at a historic site such as Port Lockroy, or spend extended time at a penguin colony waiting for the perfect moment. The photo guides work alongside you throughout, coaching technique and helping you capture behaviour, light and landscape, and the small-group Zodiac outings let you work slowly and thoughtfully. Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguins, seals and whales are your constant subjects. As this magnificent day of photography draws to a close, review your best frames with the guides. Rest well aboard your ship.

Today you make the most of your final photographic explorations in Antarctica before turning north. The expedition team and photo guides seize every last opportunity for a landing or Zodiac cruise in the finest light, perhaps a final penguin colony, a last drift among the icebergs, or a further whale encounter, and, for the brave, the chance to photograph a bracing polar plunge. You capture the scenery and wildlife one more time, committing to memory and to your camera the penguins, whales, seals and endless ice of this pristine continent. By late afternoon the ship turns her bow northward and begins the crossing of the Drake Passage, and you gather on deck to photograph the mountains and icebergs of Antarctica slipping astern in the low light. As the White Continent fades, savour the images you have made. Rest well.

Today you sail north across the Drake Passage towards South America, and the photography guides host editing workshops, image reviews and critiques, helping you select and process your finest frames from the voyage. Once again albatrosses and petrels escort the ship, offering more chances to photograph birds in flight, and the naturalists reflect on the wildlife, ice and history you have experienced. There is time to relax, back up your images, enjoy the ship's facilities and share your best shots with the friends you have made. The mood is one of contentment and creative satisfaction. Keep an eye out for seabirds and the occasional whale as the ship rolls northward. As Antarctica recedes behind you and your gallery of images grows, rest well, carrying the beauty of the White Continent with you.

Your final full day at sea takes you back across the Drake Passage towards Cape Horn and the tip of South America. Conditions permitting, you may sail close to fabled Cape Horn, the southern extremity of the Americas, a dramatic final subject for your lens. The photography guides host a final editing session and a slideshow of the group's best images, a wonderful celebration of the voyage, while the expedition team gives a farewell recap. This evening you enjoy a captain's farewell dinner, toasting the extraordinary journey and images you have shared. Land comes into view as the ship approaches the Beagle Channel once more. As your last night aboard the expedition ship arrives, reflect on the penguins, whales, icebergs and light you have captured. Rest well ahead of disembarkation tomorrow.

This morning your expedition ship returns to Ushuaia and, after a final breakfast aboard, you bid farewell to the crew, the expedition team, the photography guides and your fellow travellers before disembarking. You are transferred to the airport for your onward flight, carrying not only memories but a gallery of extraordinary images that will last a lifetime. You leave having achieved something special, a genuine Antarctic expedition devoted to photography, where you crossed the legendary Drake Passage, captured the sculpted ice and blazing skies of the Peninsula, and made intimate portraits of fearless penguins, seals and whales with the help of professional guides. The images stay vivid on your screen and in your memory long after you land, and you depart with new skills, unforgettable pictures, and dreams of a return to the White Continent.