Stromness, South Georgia

Stromness whaling station is a highlight on the South Georgia circuit. The station was abandoned in the early 1930s when they essentially ran out of whales to kill. Since then, it has gradually deteriorated and today, there is a 200 metre exclusion zone - so this is about as close as tourists are allowed to go.

Although it will be difficult to see in this photo, in the distance on the left is a bright, white house, freshly renovated. This is the manager's hut and it forms an important part in the Shackleton story. For some reason best known to the South Georgia trustees, they have brought the hut back to its former glory and painted it bright white with a black roof. It is now so out of character with the rest of the ruins, it's almost like a cartoon. If I publish this image, I'll dirty up the paintwork first as it simply ruins the shot!

But what makes the shot for me is the cloud formation. I had been concentrating on my seals and penguins when I noticed the low cloud breaking up against the tall scree slope behind the buildings. A thirty second exposure with an ND10 filter smoothed out the already still water and allowed the cloud to flow a little more. In post-production, I've ensured the buildings have sufficient colour and exposure to be the centre of attention.

My next voyage to Antarctica with Tony Hewitt won't visit the Falklands as we are leaving from New Zealand and ending up in Ushuaia! Called Crossing the 7th Continent, it's an epic 34-day voyage in January 2027. For more information, visit https://www.betterphotography.com/photo-tours/workshops/antarctic2027-detail