Shooting film in the Arctic and Antarctica

Note: This of course comes with the caveat that it will be safe to travel next summer and that things will be somewhat back to normal by then (no major quarantines/lockdowns, etc.) In a worse-case scenario everything will be delayed by a year or two but will still happen. It also comes with the assumption that it will still be safe to fly with film, that I'll be able to avoid any scanners that might destroy my film in one pass (for next year's trip I would probably stock up on film in either Montreal or Ottawa and get everything processed in Toronto or Winnipeg, depending on how my travel dates work out, just to minimize the number of x-ray scans).

So I'm planning a trip through the Northwest Passage (starting in Resolute and ending in Greenland) next August (flights will start out of Ottawa and will return back to Toronto). A few years after that I'll hopefully be headed for Antarctica for what will be a big 50th birthday present to myself. In both cases, I'm not too worried about the temperature as I'll be travelling in each region's respective summer, but I am curious if anyone here has done any photography in either one of these regions and has any recommendations, whether it be for cameras/lenses/filters/film speed/tripods/drybags/etc. This can be anything from what has worked well, what you did or didn't need, filters (if needed) to get the most out of glaciers and icebergs, etc.

I'd like to spend the coming months upgrading my gear which has gotten a bit worse for wear as now seems like the right time to replace some gear as well as simplifying films/development/techniques that I want to use. I will probably bring two 35mm bodies (one with B&W film the other with colour), in all likelihood my F100 and soon-to-bought FM3A. I normally shoot primes as I'm not a fan of zooms, but I feel like both these locations would benefit from both wide angle and telephoto zooms for both near and far wildlife and landscapes (I do have both, barely used - 18-35mm zoom and 70-200mm zoom). I may be able to borrow some lenses from the tour company I go with as they partner with Nikon, so hopefully I won't have to invest in 200mm or 400mm telephoto lenses just for these trips (my longest prime is 105mm, widest is 20mm). I'd also be bringing a MF camera as well, which will be a toss up between my Mamiya 6 or my Rolleiflex 3.5 Planar. The big issue will be to keep the weight limits low, but to cover myself with backups and the right variety of lenses (hopefully not more than 2 or 3 for 35mm). Again, I won't be shooting all these cameras at the same time, but will want them for backups and specific locations.

I've also been searching for photographers who've shot film in either of these regions to get a sense of what I can expect with the same, but it's hard to find anything since of course everything is digital now. I'm slowly building up a library of books to read about the explorations in both regions, but I'd like to find some books, blogs, or websites more dedicated to (film) photography in this regions as well, if anyone has any suggestions.

I've shot in the Artic, Iceland, and the Falkland's right after the war when the press was allowed in. When I shot the artic it was winter, I was in the Air Force and we had winterized F and M2s. When I was with the wires I had Nikon USA replace the standard luburants with a blend designed for low temperatures in my F2 and 3. Make sure you have spare batteries in your pockets, don't let your camera heat up then take into the cold, and I did not use the motor drives as very cold weather can make film brittle which will snap in a motor drive. Bring extra UV or sky light filters in case the wind comes up and sand pits the glass, make sure you have hoods, a good light weight tripod, you may get the northern lights. I also took my very old GE seliumum light meter in case my batteries failed, with the F3 not so much of a help, but with the F2 and I had had a Canon 7s as a second body, never happened, but just in case. For black and white, yellow orange and both black and white a polarizer for each lens size. Iceland I shot with a 28 to 105 and a 100 to 300, the 300 for shots of puffins on the cliffs, for the most part a wide to short tele seemed to work fine for me. If you plan on shooting wildlife, rent a fast G 300 or 400 so it will work with the FM3.

Rachelle,
Farley Mowat used a Kodak Medalist for the photos he took when he had his arctic experiences that led to "Never Cry Wolf". During those years he would have the camera serviced ahead of each trip at the Kodak lab my Dad worked at in North Vancouver, BC.
This won't help you at all, but Canadians like to share stories from the past.

I'm in Montreal and shot in the Arctic the last 2 years. The first time I was there I only had my Hasselblad square camera and it was a total bust; even though I use the camera for most of my work - for me - the square format really doesn't suit the wide open landscapes of the arctic very well. The following year I returned with only a panoramic camera and shot some of my best work. Remember that in the summer you will have the opportunity to shoot almost 24 hours a day - the sun hardly ever sets Take LOTS of film - you won't find anything up there- and ask them to inspect it by hand instead of the scanner. Also bring backup equipment - double of everything if possible. Especially batteries. It can also be very windy and If you primarily shoot with a tripod, get into the habit of laying your equipment on the ground between shots - mine fell over several times in 100+kph winds. Thankfully I had a backup Camera but still lost many shots because I hadn't tested the backup before leaving... so make sure EVERYTHING is perfectly functional and tested before leaving. Tripod spikes also help. Bring good waterproof hiking shoes - the tundra can be very swampy even in the summer and ressemble bogs. And waterproof sandals - there are lots of streams and rivers with no bridges to cross - I would take off my hiking boots and socks roll up my pants and crossed rivers in my plastic sandals. Be wary of polar bears - they're a constant threat - ask locals if any have been spotted. Try to get a gun permit before you leave and carry a shotgun especially if you will be exploring the land alone. Maybe look into bringing bear spray which is more effective than a gun - I couldn't find any bear spray in Nunavik. A flare gun is good to scare them away too. Another good way to explore is with a quad - see if you can get someone to lend you one. Or become friendly with the locals or natives and they will offer to take you places. Oh another good tip for your film camera, use your phone camera and find a setting that ressembles the field of view and format of the camera to get a good preview before wasting film. Hope that helps. Oh and insect repellent!

Wow! I envy you. Have a look at photos by Lynn Davis, shot with a Rollei 3.5. Her book, "Monuments." Not all Arctic but great pictures.

A early colour photographer in Antarctica was Emil Schulthess.

Arthurwg said:

Wow! I envy you. Have a look at photos by Lynn Davis, shot with a Rollei 3.5. Her book, "Monuments." Not all Arctic but great pictures.

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Thanks for the recommendation! I've ordered her book - it seems that she like to travel and photograph the same subjects I do, so it looks like a good match all around!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and anecdotes (yes, I'm talking about you @MattKing! One should never apologise for a Farley Mowat story!). I should mention that I will be exploring the region on a cruise (!) so although we will be spending a lot of time on land in certain locations, I won't ever be alone I think (so no need for guns or flares - I'm assuming the guides we will be travelling with will have that equipment and will know how to use it, unlike myself). I know I will need to get some good boots and appropriate clothing, but since that is impossible for me in Japan, I'll just wait until I return back to Canada to do so in the week before the trip starts - although I think the boots I have now should be good enough. They seemed to survive the wet and occasional dunks in rivers when I was in Yakushima a few months ago.

@fatso - I have to admit that I am seriously considering taking a panoramic camera instead of my beloved square format. However, that would be another investment that I'm not sure I can afford at the moment, and it would add another camera to the arsenal, which of course just adds more complexity to shooting. We'll see. I was thinking of the Rolleiflex for times when I'm on land - mostly for photographing people (when we visit local communities) and certain monuments/buildings that we may come across. Honestly, when it comes to camera gear I think the biggest limitation will be what the charter flights will accept for carry-on luggage. I know I'll want to bring a lot of film and I know from experience that it's not light either! I may try to get up to Hokkaido over the next few months and see if I can do a test run with all my gear and see how it goes.

There was a fellow here named Alex Gard who took great photos from ships in the antarctic... not sure if he's still around. Google might find him!

If you want to stick with the Rollieflex, perhaps a panoramic head for your tripod and a few diptych and triptych experiments are in order.
Although a Rolleiwide would probably be better for that project.

Check out the work of Michael Strickland. He's used slide film with an assortment of cameras on a trip to Antarctica:
https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/antarctica-the-white-desert

He also operates a drum scanning business, and he drum scanned some of the new Kodak Ektachrome in 35mm:
https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/blog/2019/1/2/drum-scanned-a-review-of-35mm-kodak-e100

Some more image samples, along with a YouTube video, in this article:
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/devel...d-photographer-went-antarctica-65-rolls-film/

dourbalistar said:

Check out the work of Michael Strickland. He's used slide film with an assortment of cameras on a trip to Antarctica:
https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/antarctica-the-white-desert

He also operates a drum scanning business, and he drum scanned some of the new Kodak Ektachrome in 35mm:
https://www.michaelstricklandimages.com/blog/2019/1/2/drum-scanned-a-review-of-35mm-kodak-e100

Some more image samples, along with a YouTube video, in this article:
https://www.geekwire.com/2019/devel...d-photographer-went-antarctica-65-rolls-film/

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Thanks! I think I watched that video a few months back when I initially was planning my trip to Antarctica (but decided in the end to postpone for a few years). He's got a really got eye and I wish talked more about shooting film in these regions, rather than explain how and why he does so for all the digital photographers out there.

MattKing said:

If you want to stick with the Rollieflex, perhaps a panoramic head for your tripod and a few diptych and triptych experiments are in order.
Although a Rolleiwide would probably be better for that project.

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Matt, I've been thinking about doing this with the Rolleiflex for some time, I just need to get the panoramic head to help me do so. And practice it with it of course! I'd love to have the wide, but they're so pricey.

Using a Rolleiflex would be fun -- but I would take a Rolleicord as a back-up. They weigh almost nothing!

Running up to Hokkaido to test equipment/methods sounds fab!

NedL said:

There was a fellow here named Alex Gard who took great photos from ships in the antarctic... not sure if he's still around. Google might find him!

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+1 ... spot-on Ned, I was going to suggest the same thing. Rachelle, You also might want to talk to your camera service person ... I might be confusing trips to the arctic circles with something else, but for some reason I remember their is something one has to do regarding lubricants in cameras having to be robust enough to work when the going gets cold.

Classic, mineral-oil based lubricants get stiffer in the cold. That may be neglectable with greases, but may have effect with oils on clockworks, escapements.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions about the camera lubricants, but I don't think it'll be an issue when I go - I think daytime temperatures will range between 5-20 degrees Celsius in the summer, so I should be fine. At least for the Arctic trip - I may winterize a camera for Antarctica as I'll likely be going towards the end of the season when it does get much colder.

jnantz said:

+1 ... spot-on Ned, I was going to suggest the same thing. Rachelle, You also might want to talk to your camera service person ... I might be confusing trips to the arctic circles with something else, but for some reason I remember their is something one has to do regarding lubricants in cameras having to be robust enough to work when the going gets cold.

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mooseontheloose said:

Thanks everyone for the suggestions about the camera lubricants, but I don't think it'll be an issue when I go - I think daytime temperatures will range between 5-20 degrees Celsius in the summer, so I should be fine. At least for the Arctic trip - I may winterize a camera for Antarctica as I'll likely be going towards the end of the season when it does get much colder.

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Many years ago I was told that whenever National Geographic sent someone out on assignment that they would CLA the equipment. That is where I learned about having equipment CLA'd for cold weather. Every winter before taking my camera and lenses skiing, I would have Minolta service my equipment for cold weather.

mooseontheloose said:

- I have to admit that I am seriously considering taking a panoramic camera instead of my beloved square format. However, that would be another investment that I'm not sure I can afford at the moment, and it would add another camera to the arsenal, which of course just adds more complexity to shooting. We'll see. I was thinking of the Rolleiflex for times when I'm on land - mostly for photographing people (when we visit local communities) and certain monuments/buildings that we may come across. Honestly, when it comes to camera gear I think the biggest limitation will be what the charter flights will accept for carry-on luggage. I know I'll want to bring a lot of film and I know from experience that it's not light either! I may try to get up to Hokkaido over the next few months and see if I can do a test run with all my gear and see how it goes.

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Oh I didn't realize most of your shooting would be from a ship - disregard my comments about getting a gun permit ;-)

If you're mostly shooting people and buildings the rolleiflex is a good choice - but I don't think you'll need a special CLA for those temperatures.

fatso said:

... - but I don't think you'll need a special CLA for those temperatures.

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Until you have a problem on the ship and then it is too late. I have decades of having special CLAs and the cameras always worked well at normal temperatures. My cameras worked for temperatures as low as -35 degress F which is the lowest I ever used camera.

Sounds like an amazing opportunity! I would gravitate toward using a purely mechanical camera so avoiding the issue with carrying batteries. Definitely take lots of film!!

Although you will be traveling in summer when it's warmer, it would still be a good idea to look through Kodak publication C-9, "Photography Under Arctic Conditions," https://125px.com/docs/techpubs/kodak/c9.pdf

Arctic summer temperatures shouldn't be anywhere near what requires winterizing (Kodak points out some of the disadvantages of real winterizing, ie lubricant removal). However, you may need to anticipate battery issues.

Another issue to be aware of is that cold places and the Arctic are often really dry - these are prime conditions for static discharge. Don't wind or rewind film too quickly. You can also try frequently discharging yourself and the camera equipment, grounding/discharging by touching a large metal object.