We are in the Antarctic Converge, which is biologically part of Antarctica. In such a cold and extreme place, one would expect a lot of whites and grays to be the main color schemes. This is not the case. Yes, the cooler parts of the color palette are well represented, but not by the cold temperate colors of white snow and gray overcast skies. South Georgia is covered in greens, blues, and small dabs of reds. In the spring there is still a good amount of snow dustings on the mountain tops, but it is dwarfed by the blue-green hue of the ocean. In the morning sun it is turquoise and in the evening light it is pure blue. If one was to simply look at the water there would be no way of telling whether this is the Caribbean or the Antarctic.
Pina Colada anyone?
Mountains rise out of the vast Southern Ocean, and stretch their brown fingers into the water asking to be gloved in green grasses. The tide line is marked in yellow and salt-watered grasses are reddish before turning back to green. At the base of the cliffs are red kelp forests that break the blues from the greens adding contrast to a cool palette. In the distance the contrast disappears to give way to a gradient of blue water to black peak. The transition from blue-ocean to green rocky cliffs to towering peaks of striated black and white is breath taking. When a bright blue iceberg is present it is impossible to pick jaws up from the floor.
Sunset on Iceberg Alley
The skies are mostly gray from soaking in the precipitation of the Southern Ocean, but it isn’t a saddening gray. It is a neutral gray that allows true landscapes to be seen. There are no shadows, there is no color casting; it is every color perfectly saturated and every detail perfectly sharpened. It is the photographer’s playground; infinite palettes with the coolest of hues.
Sun-break at Stromness
