Antarctic Photo Tour

Ron Niebrugge Travel 5 Comments

Lemaire Channel, Antarctic Peninsula photo by Ted Cheeseman.

Lemaire Channel, Antarctic Peninsula photo by Ted Cheeseman.

Antarctic Peninsula – How is this for an epic photography destination!  It may not get any better then this.  I will be joining Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris on a tour to the Antarctic Peninsula (December 30, 2012 to January 17, 2013) as a member of the Expedition Staff!   I will be one of the Photographer Guides and Zodiac Drivers.  I guess 20 years of photographing the Alaska Coastline will come in very handy!  It is really an honor to be selected to join such an elite staff on an amazing trip to the Antarctic!

So why am I sharing this here and now?  Well for one reason I’m super excited and just had to share!  But, as it turns out there is still some space available – this is unusual as this trip can sell out over a year in advance.  So I offered to share some information about this trip here and explain why I think it is such a great trip from the perspective of a photographer.

I think one of the main advantages of this trip over others to the Antarctic is that we will have at last 10 days (weather permitting) of shore landings on the Antarctic Peninsula – most trips may only have about 5.  In addition, we will be spending twice as much time on shore then you will on other Antarctic tours.  So right there we have potentially 4 times as much time on shore then on your typical tour – that is huge!  We will also be spending a lot of our time cruising up close to the sights in Zodiacs – you will have as much time as possible away from the “mother ship” getting up close to the sights making this the ideal trip for photographers!  If you are going to take the time and spend the money to travel to the Antarctic, you want to maximize the opportunity and this expedition does just that.   But, there are many other advantages.

For starters, Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris.  Cheesemans’ has been leading unique travel trips to amazing destinations around the world for over 30 years, and have lead over 20 expeditions to the Antarctic Region since 1994.  I have been asking around and everyone I talked to speaks extremely high of Cheesmans’ Ecology Safaris.

The Expedition Leader Hugh Rose.  As a Professional Guide, Hugh as been leading tours around Alaska and the Antarctic for over 20 years and has been a key member of the Cheesemans’ Antarctic trips since 1998.  I have known Hugh since the mid 90’s and over the years I have run into him and his groups everywhere from Kenai Fjords National Park, to Denali National Park- even the Copper River Delta!  I have the highest level of respect for him as a guide and person.  I couldn’t think of a better person to have leading this trip.

The Ship.  The Ortelius not only has the highest ice-class notation possible, but it recently came out of dry dock after being extensively remodeled and updated.

Small Group Size.  The number of passengers is limited to 100 – the same number that IAATO rules allow on shore in the Antarctic, so everyone can go to shore at once – no waiting for  people to return so your shift can land!

Well I could go on and on, but since I don’t have first hand experience and so much information is available on the Cheeseman Ecology Safari website, if you would like to learn more, visit:  Antarctic Peninsula In depth Expedition.  If you have more questions, the friendly folks at Cheesemans’ are more then happy to answer further questions.  Hope to see you there!

Comments 5

  1. Sounds like an amazing opportunity Ron! Those trips aren’t cheap, I’d be happy to be the staff housekeeping on that boat if it meant being able to go there.

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