"Solitude on Glassy Waters"Gliding along deep into Neko Harbour in Antarctica.

Neko Harbour is an inlet on the Antarctic Peninsula on Andvord Bay; discovered by Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache in the early 20th century. As our ship, the Akademik Ioffe dropped anchor at the mouth of the harbour, I was already suited up in my kayaking cold suit and ready for another three hours on the water amidst ice, seals, penguins and minke whales.  What I didn't expect was the profound solitude of the place.

Akademik IoffeThis was our Russian expedition ship for the time we were on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Getting the shot was probably the easiest thing on my agenda that morning, as the deep, narrow and long harbour made for relatively glassy and still waters.  And though I heard thunderous cracks and rolling "bass notes" of avalanches all around me, I couldn't see them as they happened deeper inland over ridges and hills and crests of snow.

Neko Harbour Solitude With the water still as a rippled mirror, I rested my paddle across my lap skirt, and fixed my camera to these approximate settings:  Shutter at 1/1500; ISO at 80; and aperture at f/4.6.  I had to stay focused, still and free of fear of sudden breaches of minke whales (as one had slipped up and back down about 30' ahead of me) or penguins surfacing for air.  With everything in place, these settings captured the texture of the water and a depth of field that took everything in from the kayak to the mountain peaks.  All in all, it was yet another awesome day on the water and within the ice flows with my friends.

Within Neko HarbourSince there were only a small handful of us on the water that morning, the harbour was a private place for each of us. We kept an eye on each other, and yet paddled to private places immersing ourselves in the quiet grandeur of this special place.