Preparing for Antarctica

Would I? Could I... go to Antarctica? It was such a rare opportunity. As I poked about the website of Voyages of Discovery, the cruise line, I discovered a "no single supplement" promotion. In the blink of an eye, the trip became feasible. Aided by a little encouragement from family and friends, I signed on. Shortly after, my friend in San Miguel, who was the one who introduced me to the idea, found the means to go. Suddenly we both went from not going to going and with our own private cabins to boot.

As a photographer, understanding how to prepare to shoot in such a harsh place has been a trip all its own. My research has taken me far and wide all over the net and led me to two not to be missed photographic artists: Sebastian Copeland and John Paul Caponigro.

Copeland's recently released, Antarctica, The Global Warning is breathtaking. Make sure your sound is on when you look at his photographs: this experience presents itself like a prayer.

Caponigro's work is pure poetry. The ethereal beauty of his images is what inspired me to go in the first place. His gallery is in Adobe Acrobat format so be patient for the download. He has two sets of photographs from 2007 here and from 2005 here.

Having never been an outdoor adventurer and starting down that path well beyond "spring chickenhood," getting ready for this expedition has been a full time job. In planning to meet its challenges, required a serious change in eating habits and exercise. Through the wonderful support of the University of Maryland Athletic Center, I signed on for Weight Watchers and Yoga classes. I needed to build confidence and balance to be able to get on and off the Zodiac boats used to make landings and short cruises away from the ship. As of today, I am less than half a pound away from a fifteen pound weight loss and my Yoga instructor says that I have improved a lot this semester. (Thanks Lauren)

I also needed to make sure my photographic gear and understanding of the environment would be up to the task, and most importantly, I needed to have the right clothing for the harsh conditions of the White Continent.

For the moment, barring any unforeseen events, everything is now in place for departure next week. Tomorrow I begin to pack...