Final Post

Shooting In Antartica

Here are some photos of me taking shots of the terrain — and getting to know the local inhabitants, too!

Posted by: Emma Kragen

Arrival In Antartica

Hello from Antarctica!

We ended up having what was apparently a fairly standard crossing of the Drake Passage, but managed to not see it at its worst (luckily!).

I quickly determined that I was not able to edit while the ship was moving, nor do very much of anything that required using my eyes. I didn¹t get nauseous, so that was fortunate. Moving around in general was fairly exhausting, however. I ended up sleeping quite a bit of the first day, and by the second day, the ship had smoothed out quite a bit as we entered into the Antarctic Peninsula.

Every morning on the ship we are awakened by a loudspeaker in our rooms that updates us about various things going on around the ship. The first morning was an earlier wake-up. We passed through icebergs in the early morning light and snow cascaded down around us. We were finally in Antarctica.

Later that morning, we went out on Zodiacs (small, inflatable raft-type boats) after breakfast. It was like entering an alternative dimension.

Icebergs grew out of the ocean and snowy mountains kissed the sky. We saw a group of penguins "porpoising" (jumping up out of the water like dolphins), shortly followed by a leopard seal that swam right next to our Zodiac and snagged one of said penguins. N.B.: Leopard seals play with their food. He chased the penguin for quite a while before actually eating it! We then saw another leopard seal basking on an iceberg, two crab-eater seals, a number of birds and blue-white icebergs as far as the eye could see. The water is also surprisingly clear!

In the afternoon, we did a shore landing where there were hundreds of penguins (my dream). They are amazingly curious and if you sit down they will potentially come right up to you and even sit in your lap. I didn¹t get this indulgence, but you can imagine how elated I was by their proximity. The one unfortunate thing about them is that they are kind of smelly.

The expedition is divided into eight groups and during that same afternoon, each of the groups took part in ropes challenges in preparation for a later part of the expedition when they will have to use these methods to cross larger crevices. Once we reached the top of the mountain where the groups were doing their exercises, the sun was visible. It was the most amazing magic hour you could dream of (image content to follow upon my return).

The first day could have been the only day here and it would have been enough.

The next day, we took Zodiacs to the shore for people to take photos with Rob, their company or school flags. The groups also continued to do team-building exercises as they hiked up a mountain (might I add that, as the videographer, I am actually an "independent," so I move between the groups interviewing people and filming them, but do not actually belong to one).

Instead of first going to shore, however, I went with a group of other filmmakers (there are a group of us filming for various types of things) and took an extended Zodiac cruise where we saw a series of minke whales and even a humpback! It was a windy day, so after a few hours in the Zodiac I was starting to lose feeling in my hands and toes, even with two layers of gloves and hand-warmers, coupled with three pairs of socks and boots. Ultimately, we went ashore, where we met more curious penguins, and I, too, took my picture with Rob and the UCLA TFT flag!

In the afternoon, the sun came out and we took another Zodiac cruise, where we spotted more minke whales. Last night was also the night where people could opt to spend the night on shore. No, eager reader, I did not participate, because my evening¹s editing work did not allow it, and the vacant ship was an ideal place to get work done.

This morning we went out for yet another Zodiac cruise in a cove that is full of whales. In most places, it is considered exciting to glimpse a whale on a day of whale watching. Here, it is so commonplace, that the whales actually "hang out" at the surface of the water, and you can expect to see at least four or five over a short period of time. Today the sun is out and the lighting is gorgeous, so lunch was out on the deck. A little cold for outdoor dining in my opinion, but yesterday's lunch was also outside and I opted to remain inside (it was windy, and I'm a native Angeleno), so I thought that today would be a good day to dine out in Antarctica.

This afternoon, there will be another shore landing for the groups to do some reflection exercises, which means that it will be another opportunity for me to capture the amazing surroundings that are Antarctica.

Only two days left in this pristine environment, and then we will return across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia. I hope to upload a few images when I arrive in Buenos Aires.

Posted by: Emma Kragen

Day One of the Expedition

Hey all!

The expedition has officially begun. I moved into the hotel yesterday, and am already fully immersed into the program. My primary responsibility with 2041 and the expedition is to shoot and edit the video that everyone gets to take home at the end of the expedition. This means that I am essentially in charge of documenting almost all of the goings- on throughout the expedition, and cutting together the footage each evening in preparation for the final night aboard the ship when they will screen the film. I will post that film upon my return!

This morning was officially considered Day 1 of the expedition. Rob Swan introduced the expedition, and a number of other speakers also introduced ideas about leadership as well as climate change. We then went on a hike to a nearby glacier that has begun to recede into the hillside, and has thus become less and less of a "glacier" over the years. Our first visible representation of climate change of the trip. In my video clip, I included some footage of said glacier, as well as myself at its summit. As we reached the top, it began to hail, which for me, means that my primary job became shielding the camera from bullets of ice. The hike served as essentially a test to prepare "team members," as we are called, for the terrain and climate of the Antarctic.

Tomorrow afternoon we will cross the Drake Passage for Antarctica! Keep good thoughts for an easy crossing, as it can be quite rough at times! My video and photo feed will be limited during this time, so look for brief textual updates along the way, and an influx of posts upon my return to internet- land after March 25.

Posted by: Emma Kragen

Preparing to leave from Ushuaia, Argentina

First Video Blog