Expedition Photography:Recording the Journey

Storytelling and the ability to share one’s expeditions and discoveries are key elements to exploration. During the expeditions of early explorers, like Columbus and James Cook, paintings and drawings captured moments of discovery and hardships. An expedition artist was always brought along to document the journey. Once photography was invented, expedition photographers were brought to photograph these moments of discovery along with the daily life during the journey.


When I think of the seminal work of an expedition photographer, I recall Frank Hurley’s images from Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition in 1914. Through his images, one can get a sense of the desolation of being trapped in the ice and feel the cramped living quarters of the ship during the day-to-day operation. Once trapped in the ice, the images become more compelling as he continued to photograph the ship being crushed by the ice and life on the ice once the ship went down. These images bring the story to life and allow for a deeper connection than words alone. Photographs, like the early paintings, capture the intangible while bringing you into the moment.


Photography has come a long way and is now accessible to everyone and, for that reason, plays an even more important role in our expeditions and storytelling. As an explorer and expedition photographer, I am acutely aware that followers of my expeditions expect to see compelling images.

We now have the ability to bring people sitting on their couches along on the journey in real time. Through blogging and social media, viewers can experience expeditions in the most remote corners of the world through both still images and video, getting a sense of place as exploration happens. Because of this technology, we end up with an unedited version that captures moments and raw emotions rather than, as the explorer and photographer, we remember it once we are home. I think this is extremely powerful.


As a photographer, my camera is always with me on an expedition to catch that unexpected moment, but also to capture the everyday. Moments from an icicle hanging from a ship railing, to the first glimpse of sea ice when steaming north in the Arctic Ocean, or the science being conducted on board. All are documented in an effort to record the journey and share these precious moments from remote corners of the world.

More of Gaelin's photography may be found at Global Ocean Exploration's website, and follow along with her expeditions on Twitter @GaelinGOExplore!

Photo credits: Gaelin Rosenwaks' Arctic acidification expedition (all color photos), Frank Hurley's Antarctic expedition (black and white photos)

---

Contributed by Gaelin Rosenwaks Founder/CEO Global Ocean Exploration New York, NY USA

Exploration Live!From the Deep Sea to Outer Space

Want to explore the depths of the ocean or the far reaches of the universe without leaving home? Researchers and explorers are increasingly offering ways to join their expeditions around the world in real time, no matter your location.

Thanks to video streaming from robots and submersibles and live videoconferencing with astronauts and aquanauts, all you need is an internet connection to experience first-hand the thrill of discovery!

---

NAUTILUS LIVE

With a mission to bring the deep sea into homes and classrooms around the world, the Ocean Exploration Trust operates the E/V Nautilus in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Led by founder Dr. Robert Ballard, a rotating team of scientists guides expeditions from onboard the ship and through “telepresence,” allowing for researchers to collaborate from afar.

Video captured by ROVs streams to the Inner Space Center at the University of Rhode Island where it is examined and simultaneously broadcast live to the public. This month, the Nautilus is exploring seafloor ecosystems with active seismic and volcanic activity near the West Indies.

---

NOAA OKEANOS EXPLORER

It may come as a surprise that some of this summer’s most popular reality television was streamed live…from the deep! The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made a media splash with their expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off the coast of the Northeastern US, hooking tens of thousands of viewers.

With daily coverage and live analysis by biologists, geologists and oceanographers likened to sports commentary, NOAA succeeds in getting a whole new audience excited about their daily deep sea squid sightings.

---

SLOOH SPACE CAMERA

Connecting land-based observatories to the internet, Slooh offers live broadcasts of events in space including spacecraft transits and asteroid and comet sightings. In 2011, Slooh’s footage of the total lunar eclipse was streamed live through Google, reaching billions of viewers, and this week streamed the fly-by of NASA’s Juno spacecraft on the way to Jupiter.

Making outer space even more accessible, Slooh engages a citizen scientist network to crowd-source broadcasts and recently released an iPad app allowing anyone to capture photos remotely using their observatory’s telescopes!

---

NASA

NASA has also engaged a wider audience through live-streaming events from the International Space Station. Astronauts host Google+ Hangouts, fielding questions from viewers around the world, and even teach mini lessons about gravity and physics from the ISS.

On Earth, NASA recently partnered with privately funded Orbital Sciences to live broadcast their Cygnus rocket launch, carrying supplies to the ISS.

---

With less than 5% of our world’s oceans explored and a whole universe outside of our planet, human exploration is at an exciting peak. Now, live streaming expeditions and events help make otherworldly landscapes accessible to anyone with an internet connection!

---

Contributed by Samantha Wishnak Education and Outreach Coordinator Blue Marble Exploration Brooklyn, NY, USA

Student Explorer: Rebecca Ziegler

As a Blue Marble Exploration Student Explorer, Rebecca combines her lifelong enthusiasm for “the big blue” with the formal study of the world beneath the surface.

Currently a student at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo, Rebecca is working towards degrees in Marine Science and Communications. A PADI-certified Divemaster and AAUS Scientific Diver, Rebecca works as a research assistant and field-lab technician in the Marine Science department. Most recently she participated in a shark tagging field course and became a responder for stranded sea turtles on the Big Island. While not in the water, Rebecca leads fellow students on outdoor adventures around the island through her university’s student recreation program.

While in high school, Rebecca served as a Youth Ambassador for Scott Cassell’s Undersea Voyager Project, participating in a submersible pilot training program and learning new ways to explore the ocean. In 2011 her underwater footage of a baby Gray Whale taken while SCUBA diving in Laguna Beach, CA quickly went viral and was shown on media outlets around the country, launching Rebecca into the world of underwater filming and photography. This experience inspired her to start an online campaign to save the Aquarius Reef Base, resulting in a chance to dive to the base in person! Rebecca continues to use her passion for exploration to inspire her peers to get excited and take action to conserve the ocean.

Follow Rebecca's adventures on Twitter @BectheDiver or visit her website!


Getting to Know Rebecca Ziegler

1. Why do you explore? How are you continually inspired to explore?
   
   Ever since I was young my imagination has run rampant with adventures in unknown places, always wanting to see new things and experience the world. Besides watching shows or movies about far-off places, listening to the stories from people I meet from other countries keeps me driven to explore beyond my backyard. I have always loved being around the ocean, when it came time to pick a career, it seemed like a no brainer! The ocean is so vast, with so little of it explored and so much still to learn, I have jumped at any chance to get my feet wet.
   
   
2. Is there one expedition in your future towards which you are continuously striving?
   
   South Africa is currently on the top of my radar for future expeditions. I am hoping to do both a wildlife filmmaking program and a great white shark research internship there this coming summer. This will be the first time I will be in a new country, across the world by myself, and I can’t wait!
   
   
3. Do you have one piece of advice for other students who dream of exploring the ocean?
   
   My advice would be to challenge yourself to try something new whenever you can. Whether it be a new sport, hobby or even going on a club event, you never know who you will meet along the way, or what you will learn! I have learned the only things I have ever regretted are things I didn’t do. Get involved with any local dive clubs, aquariums, or beach cleanups. Stay updated on the latest in the underwater world and if your ocean hero is making a stop near your hometown for a conference- go see them! Introduce yourself, shake their hand, and don’t be shy. Step out of your comfort zone, dare to dream, and you might discover something new.
   
   
4. Who are your role models in exploration and why do they inspire you?
   
   My role models in exploration range from Her Deepness, Sylvia Earle, to Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his family’s legacy of ocean exploration. Their pioneering feats in the underwater world feed my hunger for pursuing my own adventures. But more personally my family, friends, and colleagues inspire me to dream, discover and explore the world around me.