Tuesday, March 23, 2010

An Incredible Photo

I lived at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica from October of 1986 until October of 1987. It was an incredible year.  I saw seals and penguins and Skua birds in their natural habitat. I stood a few feet from an Emperor Penguin and watched a Leopard Seal care for her new born pup on land before they disappeared underneath the ice. I walked through severe storms with snow so thick that you couldn’t see your hand at the end of your arm. I lived in 24 hours of daylight and 24 hours of darkness and through constant twilight that produced incredible colors in the early morning sky. I even participated in an annual tradition on the ice by stripping down and jumping naked into the frigid Antarctic waters. During these and many other activities I never saw anything as beautiful as this photo taken by John Weller and shown on the Fox News website yesterday:

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is a gorgeous photo.. Im not quite sure what exactly everything is but I guess thats the magic of it

Michelle said...

Absolutely beautiful!! Y'know, I've never asked, why were you there? Part of the research time, but what did you do?
And tell Captain, that she can come make puppets for us anytime she wants!

Unknown said...

Khourt, you are looking at a picture taken underwater in the McMurdo Sound. At the top of the picture you can see the divers' bubbles trapped by the pack ice. At this relatively shallow depth the back ground is jet black due to the lack of sunlight.

Unknown said...

Michelle, I was a submarine cook on the USS Portsmouth facing five long years on a boat. After two years, I wanted something different. I applied for and was selected to Naval Support Force Antarctica’s Operation Deep Freeze program for the 1986-’87 Winter-over season. I cooked for the people living at the camp. There were 2,000 people during the October-February “summer” season and 200 people during the February-October “winter” season. I worked six days per week, 12-14 hours per day, for the year.

The Pirate Mom said...

The year you were in Antartica, I was 14 years old. I was specializing in sunbathing, talking on the phone, and eating an unbelievable amount of chewy Sweet Tarts. But that's beside the point. It is a very cool photo!

~Kellie

Unknown said...

You probably had really big hair and glasses, too!

Oklahoma Granny said...

Beautiful photograph! Jumping into frigid water with or without clothing - not on my list of things I ever want to experience.

Kathleen said...

I'm trying to focus on the beauty of this picture, but all I can focus on is "Antarctica" and "snow so thick" and "stripping down and jumping naked into the frigid Antarctic waters". And I can't hack a Georgia winter. You are crazy.

Linda said...

amazing; thanks for sharing

Anonymous said...

That is a lovely photo! What are they focusing on? I am a fair water diver only, can't imagine even with a dry suit how cold that water is! My father's hobby was underwater photography. You've inspired me to go through his photos. I need to digitize them so the whole family can enjoy them!

I like your blog! I am going to try to blog more routinely. My 5 yr old keeps me very busy, as does my almost 9 yr old!