It is VERY easy to become snap happy when visiting Antarctica. You won't want to miss a shot.
I used an Olympus Camedia C-750 Ultra Zoom 4 Mega Pixel with 10x Optical Zoom and two 256MB memory cards. The Underwater Housing is the PT-018 from Olympus. All functions of the camera are accessible with this housing.
Know your Camera
- Antarctica offers specular opportunities for photographers and you won't want to miss any of them.
- If at all possible, learn as much about your camera and how it works BEFORE you go.
- Antarctica is a good training ground but it can also mean that can miss quality photographic time.
Storage of Photos
- Ensure you have enough memory cards or film for the full duration of your Antarctic trip.
- If using digital photography, you will want to make sure you can take every photo at the highest resolution possible.
- You can then delete any bad ones later.
- Otherwise, make sure you have a good back-up mechanism such as a portable Hard Drive or Laptop etc.
- Memory cards and portable hard drives with card readers have dropped significantly in price since my trip in 2003.
Power Supplies and Batteries
- You will take LOTS of photos.
- Make sure you have more than one set of rechargeable batteries for the duration of your trip.
- Cold temperatures can reduce the life of some batteries significantly.
- If travelling on the Polar Pioneer with Aurora, make sure you have a Russian power adapter for your appliances, including battery charger.
Moisture and Dew
- Taking a camera from the outside cold to the inside warmth of the ship can cause dew to form inside the camera.
- Place any cameras inside a plastic bag once you return inside the ship.
- Make sure your Underwater Housing is fully operational and sealed correctly before starting each dive.
- You don't want to miss a shot or risk a flooded housing and an expensive loss.
3D Lenticular Photography - 35mm film
During my trip I also used a Nimslo Quad Lens 3D camera. These are used to produce lenticular prints on standard 35mm film. There are only a few places that can develop and do short run lenticular prints. Most are not in Australia.
Attempting to get high quality, big megapixel scans resulted in 1 megapixel JPG files. Not quite what I had in mind... So I am still working on producing the images.
