Big News!

I have no photos today, but I wanted to tell you on the blog that I’m headed to Antarctica for two weeks! I’m very excited, and I’ll be sure to share all the hi-rez photos right here!

I’m starting the trip by driving from Queenstown to Christchurch then getting on a US Military C130 (sounds rather serious, I know) to fly to New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica. Even though I am close already in New Zealand, I’m still about 9 hours away!

The first leg of the journey begins tomorrow, and I am [Borat voice] SO EXCITE!

On night #1, we build an ice shelter, digging deep into the ice to find a sufficient place to sleep. We have lots of plans for our little ice-hovel, which may or may not include a full bar. We’ll see.

On night #2? I have no idea.

But we’ll be recording videos for something secret we are working on and will release to you.

I’ll be taking TONS of photos, which is the overall purpose of the trip and the reason for which I was invited. Everyone asks me, “What are you taking photos of down there?” To this, I answer, honestly, “I have No Idea.”

And I don’t! I’ve always wanted to visit Antarctica, so I am very honored for the opportunity. I’ll take A LOT of photos, but I have no idea what they will be of. Icy things, I reckon.

I talked to a new friend I met today named Martin Hill, who is a famous sculptor/photographer here in New Zealand. He just got back and remarked on how strict they are there. He mentioned (and I hope I don’t get in trouble for saying this) the same thing that Werner Herzog mentioned — there is so little creative freedom there that it is a bit depressing. We’ll see. I think their primary concern is my safety. We happen to share this concern! 🙂 But I do hope I can exercise a bit of creative freedom and get myself into some positions for good photos.

What about the Quadcopter in Antarctica?

I’ve been using several quadcopters lately (see my DJI Phantom Review here on the site), and it looks like, sadly, I won’t be allowed to take them down there. I just got the new DJI Inspire one too, which is absolutely incredible. Anyway, in the After-Show-Partay of our weekly show, we started talking a bit about all this!

If you jump ahead to the 5:40 spot in the video, you can hear about the whole Antarctica thing. Around 8:50 is when I start talking about the quadcopters.