BOWERS MUSEUM, Santa Ana, CA: 100 Years Ago, Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition and Frank Hurley's Amazing Photos

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, California

One hundred years ago, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition came to an end when he and his crew were rescued after a harrowing two year ordeal trapped in ice and out of touch with the world. Newspapers around the world ran headlines to celebrate, publishing amazing photos by Australian photographer Frank Hurley, who had been hired to document the expedition. Endurance: The Antarctic Legacy of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Frank Hurley is a  fascinating exhibit of Frank Hurley’s photos and other artifacts from the expedition at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana, California from September 30, 2017 to January 28, 2018.

Lecture series poster for the exhibit Endurance, the Antarctic Legacy

Two weeks ago we went to see the exhibit and to hear a lecture by Melissa Roth, Pulitzer Prize winning documentary photographer, who is currently working on a book about Frank Hurley. (A number of lectures will be given during the exhibit.) She shared passages from his diary along with critiques of some of his photos, which not only document the journey, but are also stunning works of art. In many, the ship, which was painted black, stands in stark contrast to the surrounding ice and sky. For one of his most famous photos, known as the “ghost ship” or “the long, long night,” he did the opposite. He photographed the ship at night, lighting it with flares to create an eerie contrast with the black sky. Other photos portray the day to day life of the crew, including meals, card games, taking scientific measurements, and even portraits of the dog teams that helped carry equipment on sledges.

Some of the exhibit related items available in the museum gift shop

For the museum exhibit, Hurley’s original glass plates and celluloid negatives, now at the Royal Geographical Society in London, have been scanned at high resolution and printed in large format. The pictures are arranged chronologically. Hurley also had a movie camera and those films are projected on large screens along the wall. One harrowing sequence shows the final collapse of the ship in a storm as it is crushed by the shifting pack ice. Background noises of seals and penguins and the ever present wind enhance the feeling of being there as one follows the sequence of photos around the room. The exhibit prohibits photography. You can see a sample of his photos HERE and read more about Hurley's life of adventure.

One of nine thangka paintings by Shashi Dhoj Tulachan

Before we left, we took a quick look at one of the other current exhibits at the Bowers Museum, Sacred Realms: Temple Murals by Shashi Dhoj Tulachan from the Gayle and Edward P. Roski Collection. These incredibly detailed paintings are huge, unlike typical temple art. They are the work of a 69-year-old Buddhist monk named Shashi Dhoj Tulachan, a second generation thangka artist living in Tuksche, a remote village located in Mustang, Nepal's northernmost district adjacent to Tibet. The practice of thangka painting is centuries old and is an art carried out by highly trained monks to teach about Buddha and the Buddhist religion. The overwhelming amount of detailed imagery in each painting includes deities, mythologies, and the use of repeated and abstracted design. For those seeking enlightenment, thangka paintings exist as objects of meditation.

Video of monks creating a thangka painting

The Bowers Museum also has a number of other exhibits and a variety of permanent collections which we didn't have time to see before the museum closed. We did stop at the gift shop on our way out and purchased a book about the Shackleton expedition and Frank Hurley's incredible photos. The more we look at them, the more we appreciate Hurley's artistic skill and his technical mastery in unbelievably daunting conditions.

ANTARCTIC CRUISE, Part 3: South Georgia to the Weddell Sea, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island (on right)

In January 2015, our friend Owen Floody went on a cruise to Antarctica, which also included stops at the Falklands and South Georgia Island.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken several trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is part 3 of a short reflection on his Antarctic trip and a few of his excellent photographs. 

The long cruise from South Georgia Island to the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula was broken up by a brief stop at Wilde Point on Elephant Island (the right-hand rock formation), the sanctuary for most of the Ernest Shackleton crew during the several months that they awaited an uncertain rescue.  Thereafter, we all were geared up for our early morning approach to the Weddell Sea, at the eastern end of the Antarctic Sound.  Indeed, the light and scenery that we enjoyed on this morning were probably the best of the trip.  But our hopes to enter and experience landings or zodiac cruises in the Weddell Sea were thwarted by the heavy ice pack and seas.  Fortunately, this did not prevent us from thoroughly enjoying the wonderful procession of large icebergs that lined our route out of the Antarctic Sound and south along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctic Peninsula to Deception Island and Ushuaia

Having already paid a more extensive visit to the Antarctic Peninsula under better conditions (clearer and calmer weather; also earlier in the season, with more young penguin chicks), I fear that the remainder of this trip was a little anticlimactic for me.  But how bad can life in such a magical place really be?  Even here, I enjoyed the atmospheric conditions and icebergs that we encountered on our remaining few landings and zodiac cruises.  In addition, it was here that we had our closest encounters with Humpback whales, including a pair that we managed to follow for quite a while in our zodiacs. 

Humpback whale tail

All in all, this was a good trip that presented some marvelous scenery and wildlife, but also with nearly constant reminders that the show was really being run by Mother Nature, not us, our crew or our tour operator.  I've come away from it with both an appreciation of how rough seas can be, but also of my ability to deal with all that was thrown my way.  Could a return trip to South Georgia, including yet another to Antarctica, be in my future?

Details: The ship was the m/v Plancius (capacity = 112), which is owned and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions (http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/).  This is a Dutch outfit with an office in Houston.  We booked our cabins directly, though it is possible to book through other travel agencies or tour operators, as is standard for such cruises.

We flew on Aerolineas Argentinas between JFK and Ushuaia, with stops of 3 (on the way down) or 1 (return) day(s) in Buenos Aires.

ANTARCTIC CRUISE, Part 2: Falklands to South Georgia, Guest Post by Owen Floody

King Penguin Colony

In January 2015, our friend Owen Floody went on a cruise to Antarctica, which also included stops at the Falklands and South Georgia Island.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken several trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is part 2 of a short reflection on his Antarctic trip and a few of his excellent photographs. 

Wandering Albatross on Nest

After devoting part of our trip's fourth day to a brief tour of Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands, we plunged back into the heavy seas for the long cruise to South Georgia Island.  We arrived there midway through the seventh day and then spent nearly four days enjoying a great number and variety of activities including landings, zodiac cruises and ship cruises.  In part, this wealth of activities reflected the much better weather that marked most of our time at South Georgia.  In addition, it reflected the constant efforts of the expedition crew to compensate for time and activities previously lost to the weather.

Fur Seals: mother and pup

To a large extent, it was my desire to see South Georgia that motivated this trip and I am happy to say that South Georgia did not disappoint.  Among the things that it combines are impressive mountains and glaciers and a special place in the history of Antarctic exploration, revolving around the fact that it was at the Stromness Harbour whaling station that Ernest Shackleton and two of his crew appeared in May, 1916, after sailing a stormy 810 miles from Elephant Island and then hiking for 36 hours over glaciers and 6,000 foot mountains from the other side of South Georgia, all as just a first step in the eventual rescue of the majority of his crew, still marooned on Elephant Island.  

Macaroni penguin

As interesting as were the perspectives it provided on the histories of whaling and Antarctic exploration, it was the wildlife on South Georgia that stole the show, not just here but for the cruise as a whole.  Our initial activities, on and near Prion Island, brought us up-close-and-personal to nesting Wandering albatrosses and sometimes-belligerent mother fur seals. 

Elephant seals

Later landings or zodiac cruises at Gold Harbour and Cooper Bay exposed us to lovely Macaroni penguins  and the spectacle of immature (but still enormous) male elephant seals facing off on the beach.

King penguins

Still, the stars of the show unquestionably were the King penguins that we encountered at Saint Andrews Bay and Gold Harbour.  These were notable for their bright colors and impressive numbers: For example, the colony at Saint Andrews alone is reported to contain more than 300,000 pairs (see very small fraction in the photo above).  But like other penguins, I found the kings most endearing for their sometimes comical patterns of movement and their elegance, perhaps especially when interacting or preening. 

Details: The ship was the m/v Plancius (capacity = 112), which is owned and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions (http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/).  This is a Dutch outfit with an office in Houston.  We booked our cabins directly, though it is possible to book through other travel agencies or tour operators, as is standard for such cruises.

We flew on Aerolineas Argentinas between JFK and Ushuaia, with stops of 3 (on the way down) or 1 (return) day(s) in Buenos Aires.

King penguins

Next week, Part 3: South Georgia to the Weddell Sea.

ANTARCTIC CRUISE, Part 1: Ushuaia to the Falklands, Guest Post by Owen Floody

Beagle Channel

In January 2015, our friend Owen Floody went on a cruise to Antarctica, which also included stops at the Falklands and South Georgia Island.  Owen recently retired from a career of teaching and research at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He has always been an avid photographer and in his retirement has taken several trips that allow him to pursue his passion. Here is part 1 of a short reflection on his Antarctic trip and a few of his excellent photographs.

Black-browed albatross

In December of 2005 I went on an 11 day Antarctic cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina, to  the Antarctic Peninsula, returning to Ushuaia by way of the South Shetland Islands.  This trip was blessed by calm seas, beautiful scenery and great wildlife, including a multitude of penguins, many with small chicks. I enjoyed this trip so much that I resolved to return to Antarctica, but this time following the longer route (approximately 18 days) that visits the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island on its way to the Antarctic Peninsula.  It is this trip that occupied me for the second half of January, 2015. 

Mixed colony of seabirds--Black-browed albatrosses and Rockhopper penguins

On any trip of this type, you ultimately are at the mercy of the weather and bad weather can affect you in a variety of ways.  First, it can slow the ship, thereby limiting the time that you can spend at some destinations.  Second, it can increase the difficulty of leaving or returning to the ship, sometimes preventing these altogether.  Together, these can limit the land-oriented activities (landings and zodiac cruises) that are the primary goals on such cruises.  Third, heavy seas and high winds can "shrink" the ship (by making the outside decks impassable) and make it more difficult to move about the parts of the ship that remain open.

Rockhopper Penguin

As you may have guessed, the conditions of my recent trip were generally bad.  This became apparent immediately, as high winds pinned our ship to its pier for 12 hours beyond the scheduled time of departure which delayed our arrival in the Falkland Islands to the extent of excluding one of the two planned wildlife-oriented landings there. 

Blue-eyed Shags

The one completed landing, on Saunders Island, was great, bringing us to a mixed colony of seabirds, most notably including Rockhopper penguins, Black-browed albatrosses and Blue-eyed shags.  Of course, we're all greedy on trips of this sort so that this success did not completely suppress thoughts of what we might have seen on the intended second such landing.

Details: The ship was the m/v Plancius (capacity = 112), which is owned and operated by Oceanwide Expeditions (http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/).  This is a Dutch outfit with an office in Houston.  We booked our cabins directly, though it is possible to book through other travel agencies or tour operators, as is standard for such cruises.

We flew on Aerolineas Argentinas between JFK and Ushuaia, with stops of 3 (on the way down) or 1 (return) day(s) in Buenos Aires.

Next week, Part 2: Falklands to South Georgia