Thule Island, South Sandwiches, Above Antarctica
Phase One XF 150MP, 55mm Schneider Kreuznach lens, f6.3 @ 1/640 second, ISO 50
As I write this, I'm in the middle of judging the Better Photography Photographer of the Year competition. I review each photo, give it a score and then make a comment on how I think the photo could be improved. Usually the suggestion is quite obvious to me, but sometimes it's not so simple. Sometimes the reason the photographer entered the competition is because they had a special affinity with the image and whether I like it or not, whether I can make a suggestion to improve it or not, really doesn't matter: the only person who really needs to like a photo is the photographer.
I keep this in mind because I still enter photo competitions, but like 99% of entrants, the judges prefer someone else's entry. This makes complete sense - look at how different our opinions can be on social media. So I no longer beat myself up when the judges don't see eye to eye with me. And if entrants to our competition feel the same way about my comments, then that's a good thing too!
So, what about this photograph from Antarctica? Or more correctly, the South Sandwich Islands? I can see a hundred reasons why some judges might not enjoy it as much as I do.
To begin, it has personal meaning for me: standing on the deck of the Greg Mortimer, sheltering behind Thule Island in a gale in the most remote and difficult to access location in the world. It shows how challenging the weather can be, how inhospitable the landscape, how deep the sea, yet in amongst all that is a place of beauty and quite - as represented by the golden glow and the lone iceberg.
Of course, these are words written after I've taken the photo. They can hardly match the memories that each photograph evokes. So I guess the premise of this little blog post is to stay true to the photographs that you love. If others love them too, then that's a bonus, but it's not what it's all about!
And if you were interested in visiting the South Sandwich Islands, along with South Georgia and Antarctica, I'm taking a small group of photographers on board Aurora Expedition's Greg Mortimer, 4 - 27 March 2026. If you're interested, now is the time to make a booking! Contact Kim Valenti for more information (
And if you'd just like to see my portfolio of images from my last voyage there in 2024, follow this link to my personal website: https://www.petereastway.com/portfolio/explorations/antarctica---2024?ct=2
