Antarctica Equipment Question: Flash?

Hello all,

 

I'm taking a cruise to Antarctica in a week or so, and was wondering whether I should take

my flash or not. I shoot a Canon 10D, and the pop up flash isn't very good - especially

when I use it with the 17-40mm lens. I rarely use my flash in nature photography since I

concentrate mostly on landscapes, and haven't really used it with wildlife since I'm usually

shooting a long telephoto lens. However, there'll be plenty of penguins close up in

Antarctica, so I was thinking that the flash might be useful on overcast days for fill flash. I

must admit that I am quite the novice when it comes to flash photography.

 

My problem is that weight is a concern as I'm also carrying camping gear for a side trip to

Torres del Paine. (My luggage is up to 65 lbs.) I don't want to take anything extra, but as

Antarctica is a long way to go, I hate the idea of needing something and not having it.

 

Btw, the flash is a Canon 420EX.

 

Thanks.

100 years ago the thought of going to antartica was as life treating as one could image. Extremely well thought out and prepared adventures just disappeared off the face of the earth some luckier only had to wait 14 months for rescue.

 

When ever I see something about a tourist going to some place like this it fills me with awe and wonder.

 

Haven't got a clue about the flash but please think about those poor bastards who went first.

I spent several summers researching penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula, and during that

time I took lots of pictures. Every so often a fill-in flash was useful, but I would not call it

vital by any means. In Torres del Paine, it's pretty much like in any national park in the

continental US (reminds me a bit of Yosemite, but with fewer trees and more lakes).

Depending on your subject, a flash could be very helpful (say, for flowers, or birds, etc.). I

do lots of bird photography and very frequently use a fill-in flash. I guess my advice

would be to take your flash if at all possible.

 

Hope you have fun. Don't get too close to the penguins (if they wave their flippers, they're

alarmed), and stay FAR away from any fur seals (they are sometimes aggressive on land

and can move surprisingly fast).

Using a long telephoto with fill flash can be tough, as the light scatters before it reaches the distant subject. I highly recc a Better Beamer flash extender. It's a flexible plastic fresnel lens that is attached to your flash with velcro. Takes 3 seconds to put on, weighs an ounce or two, and costs about $30. See it here: http://www.birdsasart.com/accs.html

What Mark said...

 

You'll have long days of daylight. Ambient light will be at its brightest. Most of the continent is bathed in blue skies and a lot of light this time of year. I don't know about the Peninsula tho. Never been there during the summertime. If that's where you're heading, do some searching to find out whether the Peninsula has a lot of bright, sunny days or is subject to a heavy overcast. Since Mark has spent several summers there, maybe email him for some input on this.

 

Cheers and have fun,

Mark,

 

I'll be on the Antarctica Peninsula. From what I've read there are long hours of daylight, but the weather can be quite variable.

 

I browsed through the IAATO regulations for tourists in Antarctica, but I don't remember seeing anything about using flash on the wildlife. In your experience, is it o.k. to use flash with the penguins? I've been in parks where flash photography with the wildlife was prohibited (e.g. Katmai National Park).

With respect to the legality of using flash: I very much doubt if flash use is specifically

banned. However (and here

I make the assumption that you're a US citizen), you are bound by the rules of the US

Antarctic Treaty (go <A HREF="http://www.state.gov/g/oes/ocns/c6528.htm">here</a>

for details). Basically, they say that unless you have a permit -- say, for scientific

research -- you cannot disturb Antarctic wildlife. So although I don't think use of flash is

banned, that means if you happened to use a flash and for some reason it caused a

penguin stampede,

you've broken the law. But that kind of a problem will be extremely unlikely if you use

sensible judgement. Don't get to

close, back off if you think the animals are nervous, be quiet, don't stand on access routes

to colonies, etc.<P>

 

I did use flash on penguins a few time, and they never responded to it, so my example was

hypothetical. But to repeat: any substantive disturbance without a permit is not allowed

under the

Antarctic Treaty. By the way, this is a very unusual situation in that the US does not make

or recognize any territorial claims in Antarctica (although we reserve the right to do so in

future). All that the US claims are the physical structures (buildings) on its bases. Since

we don't claim any territory, the US law relating to the US Antarctic Treaty only applies to

US citizens. Any nation that signs the international Antarctic Treaty is expected to have

laws that concern its own citizens, but US laws don't apply to citizens of other nations in

an area that the US does not claim.<P>

 

Bottom line: use common sense. All the reputable tour operators down there are pretty

good about keeping the human impact minimal.

> <I>I'll be on the Antarctica Peninsula. From what I've read there are long hours of daylight, but the weather can be quite variable. </i><BR><BR>

 

I don't think a flash is vital. You'll have sun round the clock and in bad weather, a flash won't help.

 

The below picture was taken during a blizzard in Russian Arctic.

 

Best regards,<div></div>

Try to find the Snow Cruiser!

I've never been to Antarctica, but I have a few general reactions.

1) The only place I've been where the flash was specifically

prohibited was the Galapagos. There are ways (I believe) to use

flash without disturbing wildlife, but that was their rule. 2) Your

flash doesn't weight that much, so there's no good reason not to

take it. And it's gonna give better results than any built-in flash.

3) I don't quite agree with Denis; on a bright contrasty day, flash

can really help to fill in shadows. It'll depend on the terrain; snow

might reflect enough light that fill-flash won't be needed. 4) I

envy you enormously! Have fun...

<I>I don't quite agree with Denis; on a bright contrasty day, flash can really help to fill in shadows. It'll depend on the terrain; snow might reflect enough light that fill-flash won't be needed.</i><BR><BR>

I just said it is not vital and I don't think you will ever need it. It may not operate properly at low temperatures. And bateries will definitely run out of charge faster. But if can take it, take it. Actually, it will be interesting to know if you have used it and how often. I will be grateful if you post your impressions and pictures when you are back.<BR><BR>

By the way, here is a good web-site with advice on photography in Antarctica.<BR><BR>

Take a gray card or an incident-light meter!<BR><BR>

Best regards,

Denis

Actually, I decided not to take the flash. I lifted my daypack and discovered it was over 30 lbs. with all of the camera gear and computer stuff. So, I started throwing stuff out. The flash never made it in.

 

Hopefully, I?ll post a trip report on photo.net like the one I wrote for Patagonia and Katmai. I?m currently in Argentina, and am heading to Torres del Paine tomorrow to hit the spots I missed last time. In any event, I?ll let you guys know whether flash would have been worthwhile.

 

Thanks for your responses.

Leave the flash at home! I just got back from Antarctica, but was on the Ross Sea side. There was so much ice around that it all aacted as a big white reflector. I bought a 550ex for the trip, and didn't use it once. We had 24 hours of daylight, but were a bit more south then the pennisula side. We had quite a bit of snow. The penguins were great. Be careful about your exposure...easy to mess up with all the snow around.

Have a great trip, especially in Chile!!! Another dream trip for me!!

 

Erik

Hello all,

 

I just got back from Antarctica last Monday. The question with regards to flash was asked of the Expedition Staff ornithologist, and she said that she'd prefer that we not use it with any of the penguins or other birds.

 

That being said, I didn't really feel the need for it at any point. It would have been nice on occasion, especially for fill flash, but not really needed. There were so many photo ops that if a particular scene did not satisfy, lighting-wise, then it wasn't too hard to find something else to shoot.

Thanks for proving my point :))

This question is off-topic, but what did you do with exposure? Any compensation? Or did you let your camera take care of that?

For exposure, I followed a few simple rules. For snow/ice scenes, I metered off of the

snow/ice and opened up 1-2 stops, depending on lighting conditions. For penguins, I

metered off their white bodies, and opened up 1-2 stops, depending on lighting

conditions. For seals/whales, I metered off of their dark bodies and stopped down one

stop.

 

If I had a seal on an iceberg, I metered off of the ice/snow and went from there - I didn't

want to blow out any highlights.

 

From my results, it looks like I tended to underexpose a bit, which is fine since I was

shooting raw can adjust things from there.

Interesting. I thought it would be more than 2 stops. I just realized that I never measured off the snow myself. Always had something gray or measured incident light. Anyway, thanks for the data.