Nature’s Pic Images Blog

Interviewed by the Hutt News:

How do you sum up Antarctica with one photo?  Tough?  Impossible?

I’ve done over 15 expeditions to the Ross Sea, Adelie Coast and Antarctic Peninsula, but took my first photo last week that nearly captures the essence of Antarctica for me.  Here it is:

Crabeater seals in Antarctic iceberg graveyard. Booth Island

I had about 30 minutes to myself amongst an area of stranded icebergs.  The sky was heavy with no wind.  Magic starts to happen. I had to find it.  Slowly I weaved my zodiac boat amongst … > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

“The only way to divine happiness is by helping others” is a saying I heard years ago.

Last week I was asked to talk at a pre-school. My initial thought was that I didn’t have time to prepare and do it, and anyway, being used to speaking to adults, what would 3-4 year olds get out of it? 

Courtney from Evan’s Bay Preschool said, “these kids love playing at what you do for a job - they’d love you to visit”.  I remembered the saying above and reconsidered; and was very pleased I did.

I took along my polar outfit and… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

I shared dinner with the first man to walk to the South Pole and the North Pole last week!  Robert Swan is a remarkable man in many ways. I want to share a bit about him, his 50 year project and what this meeting meant to me. I can’t believe my luck.

Robert Swan, South Pole

Robert Swan walked to the South Pole in 1986. At 33, he walked to the North Pole (1989). He’s earned a spot in history alongside the heroic explorers of old, becoming the first man to walk to both poles. Incredible. He doesn’t do things by halves, and he’s taken on some Herculean tasks since.

Robert Swan was in Wellington last week and I was invited to a small dinner.  Robert gave a pre-dinner slideshow that set the scene for an inspiring evening, and touched many chords for all of us. 

For me, having been to both polar regions, having some idea of how epic his walks were, and being a student of polar heroic history, it was a big treat sharing his tales, elbow to elbow, at the dinner table.

Robert Swan's final message to us

Robert was inspired by Antarctica and the heroic explorers when he was 11.  He dodged Oxford Uni (much to his father’s chagrin) and in his twenties decided to raise $5,000,000 for an expedition, bought a ship, convinced 25 volunteers to give up 3 years, and set sail to Antarctica, to walk to The Pole.  It took him 5 years to get 1000 sponsors and enough money, before setting sail in 1984 - meeting Capt. Scott’s last surviving expedition member Bill Burton in Lyttelton.  He tracked down original sponsors of Capt Robert Falcon Scott’s 1910-1913 expedition, e.g. Shell Oil supplied petrol to Captain Scott and again supported Robert’s attempt. It’s worth mentioning that Robert had never even been camping at this stage!

The short story is that he walked to the South Pole in 70 days without radios but, upon arrival, discovered that… > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

Now for something completely different….. Antarctica does funny things to people. Executive Chef Lothar Greiner is no exception.

I snapped this shot after a formal portrait session on the sea ice edge near Mawson’s Historic Hut in Antarctica.  An Adelie penguin was running between the both of us and it only took one glance to do the obvious.  With a twinkle in…  > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

We hope you all enjoyed a well deserved break over the Easter holidays.    Autumn in New Zealand is such a beautiful time, especially in the South with the leaves turning golden, and first snow on the mountains. Rob took this photo of Mount Cook/Aoraki by Lake Pukaki last year.  Awesome!!!

Aoraki/Mount Cook

Don’t forget you can request a quote or order images via the website or by email to photos@naturespic.com at any time, and we will make sure this is followed up as soon as possible. > > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

camping

As you can see we have joined the world of blogging, and we hope you will enjoy reading our posts.  Not only will be be showcasing some of our favorite images, we will share with you some exceptional examples of how Rob’s images are used by clients.

> > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >

Had a top season in Antarctica this year, visiting the Peninsula side from Argentina for the first time instead of the Ross Sea. As usual I saw some great spectacles, so as I process shots from the many taken I’ll upload a few here with a short story. This one is the tale of the poor Gentoo Penguin chick whose parent wasn’t the sharpest penguin parent. A Skua collected and killed it, before a great skua fight with terrific flight skills. The camera just happened to be handy…. Read on to see the rest….

> > > Continue reading : full post + comments > > >