The Expedition
The International Antarctic Expeditions lead by Robert Swan OBE and his organisation, The 2041 Foundation, are environmental education trips. These expeditions bring teachers, students and business leaders from around the world to Antarctica to learn about the environment, climate change, the politics involved. The expeditions include a strong focus on developing leadership skills with the goal of every participant being able to return to their college, community or corporation as a champion for the environment.
I first visited in 2013 as a student participating in the Antarctica Youth Ambassador Programme, which I then returned to lead the following year.
My Roles
Effectively taking on two full-time jobs during the expedition, I worked 20 hour days serving as a storyteller working with images and words to document and share our adventure with the world, sending out our daily updates via the ships satellite to 2041's dedicated expedition blog.
PHOTOGRAPHER
As the official photographer it was my job to document the visual story of the expedition, capturing the beautiful scenery, unique wildlife and our expedition group exploring their classroom for the week, Antarctica.
Photography in the Antarctic is a challenge, from the harsh cold eating away at battery life to relentless snow covering the lens, it is working under pressure on a new level.
BLOGGER
When night fell on the ship I would go through my shots, creating a collage that would give an instant impression of the day and write about the team's adventures. It was our goal for the 2016 trip to feature the different voices of our participants and so I also worked to curate the blog into being a showcase of the dramatically different perspectives of the Antarctic, from Middle Eastern business women to South American students joining us down south.
