Southern Light Images from Antarctica

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This collection of striking images from Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic is the result of six journeys made by Australian photographer David Neilson in his quest to capture the exquisite light of these southernmost lands.

Between 2002 and 2008 he made three voyages from Ushuaia in southern Argentina to the Antarctic and the sub-Antarctic. In 2002 he sailed on the yacht Tooluka to the remote sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in the middle of the South Atlantic. This heavily glaciated island with numerous high alpine peaks has a remarkable profusion of wildlife along its coasts. In 2006, and again in 2008, he sailed on the yacht Australis to the Antarctic Peninsula. This best-known part of Antarctica contains some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere on the planet and provides many opportunities for photographing scenes of exceptional drama and beauty. Deception Island, Cuverville Island, Paradise Harbour, Mount Francis, Port Charcot, Lemaire Channel and Elephant Island are among the places covered.

In 1990 David Neilson received a Humanities Program position from the Australian Antarctic Division, and in 2004 the Division awarded him an Antarctic Arts Fellowship. These fellowships enabled him to spend two summers photographing in East Antarctica while based at Australia's Mawson Station. Here he photographed the extensive wildlife around the coast and made three trips to the rarely visited Auster emperor penguin colony. Inland he photographed the Framnes Mountains, the remote Prince Charles Mountains and the Vestfold Hills near Davis Station.

In 2009 he journeyed to the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica, south of New Zealand, and photographed the Transantarctic Mountains, the active volcano Mount Erebus and the enigmatic McMurdo Dry Valleys. He also photographed several of the historical sites from the heroic era of polar exploration, including Robert Scott's Terra Nova hut at Cape Evans and the Southern Cross Hut at Cape Adare where the Borchgrevink expedition was the first to spend a winter in Antarctica.

This Evocative collection of photographs reveals a part of the grandeur and mystery of this great southern realm. There are 130 colour images and 100 black-and-white photos reproduced in duotone. Many of the landscape images were taken with a large format view camera. There is also extensive coverage of the wildlife: emperor, king, Adelie, gentoo, chinstrap, royal and macaroni penguins wandering, royal and grey-headed albatross and crabeater and fur seals.

The text comprises a narrative of six photographic journeys and essays on climate change and protecting the Antarctic environment. Five detailed maps provided a geographic context for the photographs.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Hardback
ISBN13: 9780958575317
Published: May 2012

Number of pages: 306
Width: 305 mm
Height: 395 mm
Depth: 35 mm

Publisher: Snowgum Press