Antarctic conservation blog archive

Antonia, Monday 11 May 2009

Temperature -18.2°C max, -26°C min. Winds almost non-existent, about 5 knots, low cloud over Erebus, otherwise clear.

You may have guessed, from the number of photographs in our blogs, that photography is a popular pastime here in Antarctica. An attractive sky can prise even the most dedicated conservator from the depths of the lab to snap away, especially as the prospect of 24 hour darkness grows ever nearer.

Storm clouds brewing © Antarctic Heritage Trust

We are, naturally, not the first to discover the thrill of photography in Antarctica. Nearly a hundred years ago Herbert Ponting became the first professional photographer to visit the continent when he came here with Scott’s Terra Nova expedition in 1911. He set up a darkroom in the expedition’s hut at Cape Evans, which can still be seen today, and produced iconic photographs which are still some of the best taken of this cold continent.

Herbert Ponting in his darkroom at Captain Scott’s base, Cape Evans, March 1911 © Alexander Turnbull Library, ref PA1-f-067-030-1

It is always exciting for us, as conservators, to have the opportunity to work on objects we can identify from old photographs, so imagine my excitement when amongst some photography paraphernalia I discovered the 2 measuring cylinders from the photograph. Over the next couple of months we will do our best to keep photographing to give you some idea of the beauty of an Antarctic winter!

Objects from Ponting’s darkroom © Antarctic Heritage Trust

Posted in Antarctica, Cape Evans, Photography, Polar exploration, Scott, Social life

3 Responses to “Photography in Antarctica”

1. May 11th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
   JoAnn Gutin says:
   

   You mention the “approach of darkness.” How many days/months of no sun do you experience at Scott Base. And Another question: Has anyone identified the photos clearly visible in the Ponting pic of Scott at his desk? How about the titles of the books?

   THanks

2. May 19th, 2009 at 10:07 am
   Fiona says:
   

   Hi – the last sunrise at Scott Base was mid April and they don’t expect to see another until about mid August so the team will be pretty much in 24 hour darkness until then. As for the books unfortunately the image we have isn’t large enough to blow up and read the titles. As for the photographs, we have one of the images from Scott’s den here in Christchurch where it has recently been conserved - it is an image of his wife Kathleen.

3. May 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
   Amrita says:
   

   First of all one thing i would like to ask - “How do you manage to survive at temperatures ranging between -18.2°C max, -26°C min.