Antarctica

Antarctica The Project ‘Antarctica’ shows a series of photographs of a voyage to the South Pole. I travelled with a sailing ship which was built in 1911; the same period the last great expeditions left for the unknown continent.   Thoughts of frozen ships trapped in ice-covered seas cross my mind, images of the photographers who joined these expeditions to report of the unexplored. Fascinated by their stories I head for the same circumstances as those of the early twentieth century. A journey of longing, to a time that once was. An heroic saga; filled with hardship and adventure, in an infinite, barren land.   This series of photographs, taken with modern equipment, is a reference to the past. Personally, I feel no need for the photographs to look as if they have been created with techniques of the early 1900’s. This is why I have deliberately chosen to work in colour; allowing the greyscales of the landscape to emphasize the blue captured in ice.  In my search for the right images, I have tried to avoid as many elements of the present time as possible; things that would remind me of everyday life. The calm misty weather gives me a sense of desolation and makes the world feel smaller. The slow rate of travelling by sailing ship influences my way of taking photographs: searching for stillness, harmony and tragedy in the landscape. In search of beauty, the beauty of emptiness and cold.  Work from the Antarctica series was chosen as runner up by The Travel Photographer of The Year jury and was published in the TPOTY Journey Two book. This work along with an additional selection from the Antarctica series was shown during the Landscape Diversity exhibition at Art Gallery Contemporary Matters in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Work from the Antarctica project is featured in the Shots Magazine Portfolio Issue.About Shots Magazine: SHOTS Magazine is an independent quarterly journal of fine art photography in its 27th year of publication. SHOTS is known for its democratic presentation of work by a variety of photographers from around the world. Often described as a “photographer’s photography magazine”, SHOTS reaches a wide, international audience that includes not only photographers, but also educators, gallery directors, museums and others interested in photography.