After an unbelievable ‘continent landing’ at Base Brown, it was time to jump in a zodiac and go sailing through the stupidly pretty Paradise Bay.

This collection of pictures is easily my favourite from my time in Antarctica. It was snowing, but not windy. The water looked like glass and the icebergs were glorious. Everything came together for some pretty beautiful shots, if I do say so myself!

The trip started on quite a lighthearted note, as one of the first icebergs we came across looked like a…, well, it looked like this!

Everybody around me kept making comments about how it looked like a mushroom or a toadstool, but I gotta admit, for me, those objects had not exactly been the first to come to mind…

To me, this particular ‘berg looked remarkably… phallic?

Either way, it gave me a bloody good giggle and ended up being the butt of many jokes for the remainder of the voyage.

On the other side of the penis-berg were a freaking beautiful set of two natural archways. The smaller arch was quite rounded and very pretty, but it was the larger arch that appeared much more dynamic.

How gorgeous is this?!

What I love about icebergs is the ever-changing nature of them. No two are alike, and no ‘berg stays the one shape for very long. They are constantly evolving, changing, breaking and reforming, all whilst managing to stay afloat. I like to think that they are little bit like human beings in this way.

Another thing that I love about icebergs, is that they are a tangible, real and multi-dimensional form of artwork that was crafted by nothing but nature and time. They can look different from every angle, and provide endless surprises with facets and faces that you wouldn’t have expected to find.

For example, on the other side of the two arches and the penis-berg was yet another ‘face’ of the iceberg. Had we not gone to the other side of the iceberg, we would never have seen these stunning line formations.

Eventually we moved away from these icebergs and in the process, further away from Base Brown. We moved into a more protected kind of cove, and as we did so, we went from experiencing a light wind, to being gifted with the stillest air that I encountered on the entire voyage.

Without wind, the water seemed almost frozen in time. It was so still in fact, that I was able to capture this next shot with a standard exposure time and whilst the zodiac was still moving! It is an unedited shot, this is genuinely how it looked – how unbelievable is that reflection?

The only ripples in the water were caused by our zodiac and the occasional penguin surfacing. The stillness also presented us with an unparalleled amount of visibility. Because we could simply see through the water with such ease, so much more of the icebergs were actually visible.

The surrounding glaciers and mountainous landscapes really added to what was already an undeniably photogenic part of Antarctica. It is areas like this that really showcase how Paradise Bay lives up to its name.

Our zodiac spent quite a while slowly sailing through this bay, allowing us to admire and really soak up the land, sea and ice surrounding us.

This next shot is one of my favourites from the day. I love a good reflective shot, and this is a pretty decent example of one.

All too soon it was time to head back to the ship. Honestly, I could’ve stayed in Paradise Bay for just about the entire voyage! It was one of my favourite parts of my Antarctic expedition, and the memories of this day are ones that I will treasure always.

THE  LOWDOWN

Getting to Ushuaia: Ushuaia is well connected to Buenos Aires and El Calafate
Oceanwide Expeditions: An 11 night Basecamp Ortelius voyage starts at around $9650 USD
Camera: Images captured with an Olympus OM-D E-M1 in conjunction with M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 and M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 lenses
Remember: Bring twice as many memory cards and camera batteries as you think you’ll need

Disclaimer: I travelled to Antarctica with Oceanwide Expeditions on board the Ortelius MV. This post was sponsored by Oceanwide Expeditions through a subsidised expedition, however, all thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest, unbiased and in no way influenced by the Oceanwide Expeditions brand, its management or its affiliates.