photographer


KARSTEN BIDSTRUP


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EXPEDITION PHOTOGRAPHY



In the far north and the deep south...

I have worked as an expedition photographer for several years, giving photo lectures, organizing and running photo workshops on board expedition ships in the Arctic and Antarctica, where I also guide photographers on small-boat photo excursions.

A part of my assignments consists of supplying companies with expedition style, wildlife and landscape images.



SOUTH GEORGIA: A fur seal checking out the visitors



ANTARCTICA: A leopard seal resting



GREENLAND: Cruising in icy, adventurous waters



CANADA: Ships traffic is increasing in the Northwest Passage



ANTARCTICA: Snow shoe trekking



ANTARCTICA: Heading for the top



CANADA: The world's first hybrid electric cruise ship sailing through the Northwest Passage



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship passengers landing



ANTARCTICA: Christmas spirit



SVALBARD: The small boat seems insignificant



BEAR ISLAND: Fulmars hitching a free ride just south of Svalbard



ANTARCTICA: The British Base A, Port Lockroy



FAROE ISLANDS: Visiting Mykines, the westernmost island on the Faroe Islands



ANTARCTICA: The search lights are on in case of icebergs appearing in the water ahead



CANADA: Small Zodiac boats about to pick up passengers ashore



ANTARCTICA: Snow shoes makes life a lot easier



SVALBARD: A unique angle to a ship at speed



ANTARCTICA: Ships passengers in small boats watching Humpback Whales feeding



ANTARCTICA: Snow shoe hiking



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising between icebergs



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship visiting Base A, Port Lockroy



ANTARCTICA: Tough conditions during a cruise ship passenger landing on an icy beach



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising between icebergs



ICELAND: Attempting a landing in rough conditions



ICELAND: Midnight at the polar circle



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising between icebergs



SVALBARD: Cruise ship at anchor



CANADA: Slow speed ahead through the ice



ICELAND: Hiking at Hornberg



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising between icebergs



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ships having a brief rendez-vouz



ICELAND: A lone Puffin



ANTARCTICA: Hiking up a steep slope



ANTARCTICA: Gentoo penguin colony



ANTARCTICA: Snowshoe hiking



ICELAND: Supplying the ships galley with fresh fish



ANTARCTICA: A small boat photo cruise



FALKLAND ISLANDS: The ship's flag is taken down at sunset



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising in amazing scenery



ANTARCTICA: Visiting the Argentinian base Almirante Brown



ANTARCTICA: Any other day in Gentoo penguin land



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising



ANTARCTICA: Iceberg cruise



ANTARCTICA: Amazing snowshoeing



ANTARCTICA: Kayaking at the end of the world



ANTARCTICA: Landing on a beach at low tide is a challenge



FALKLAND ISLANDS: Trying to hold a big rubber boat is not always easy



CANADA: Cruise ship passengers experiencing an almost white rainbow



ANTARCTICA: On the lookout for whales



ANTARCTICA: A humpback whale diving



CHILE: Tough landing at the Cape Horn island



ANTARCTICA: Evacuating a small island during a typical Antarctic weather change



ANTARCTICA: A guide is making a safe path up an icy slope



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising between icebergs



ANTARCTICA: Rough conditions for the passengers in a small boat



FALKLAND ISLANDS: Preparing landing for cruise ship passengers



ANTARCTICA: A cruise ship preparing to tender passengers ashore



ANTARCTICA: A daredevil is trying a polar plunge (a swim in the freezing water)



ANTARCTICA: The rain falls in Antarctica as well



ANTARCTICA: A cruise ship at anchor



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship passengers enjoying themselves



ANTARCTICA: A fur seal telling the photographer that he is too close



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising



ANTARCTICA: An Antarctic skua hovering above cruise ship passengers on a beach



ANTARCTICA: Small boat cruising in the icy waters



SOUTH GEORGIA: A boat driver exposed to the elements



SOUTH GEORGIA: Cruise ship passengers arriving at Grytviken



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship passengers hiking up a slope



ANTARCTICA: A lone gentoo penguin challenging a cruise ship



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship passengers on a snowshoe hike



ANTARCTICA: Perfect cruise conditions



SOUTH GEORGIA: The final resting place of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is found in Grytviken



ANTARCTICA: Gentoo penguins



ANTARCTICA: Nature's very own spectacular art



SOUTH GEORGIA: Small boats tendering between a cruise ship and the shore. On the beach fur seals are resting



ANTARCTICA: The British Base A, aka Port Lockroy, in Antarctica



ANTARCTICA: On a bright, sunny day distances can be deceiveing. In this case the huge mountains are approx. 22 kilometers behind the cruise ship



SVALBARD: Polar bear guards at a landing site



FAROE ISLANDS: Cruise ship at anchor



SOUTH GEORGIA: King penguins enjoying the view



ANTARCTICA: A small boat in spectacular surroundiings



GREENLAND:Stranded piece of ice at one of the world's northernmost settlements, Siorapaluk



ICELAND: A ship's captain on the lookout



ANTARCTICA: The British Base A, aka Port Lockroy, in Antarctica



ANTARCTICA: Cruise ship at slow speed ahead through the ice



ANTARCTICA: Humpback whales diving



SVALBARD: Misty cruise



SVALBARD: A closer look down at the ship's wavebreaker



GREENLAND: Small boat passing a huge iceberg



ANTARCTICA: Kayaking in perfect surroundings



GREENLAND: A cruise ship loading a small boat near Thule Air Base



SVALBARD: Small boat cruising near amazing ice formations



FALKLAND ISLANDS: A black browed albatross welcoming a cruise ship



GREENLAND: A cruise ship at anchor in Kangerlussuaq fjord



SOUTH GEORGIA: Cruise ship passengers visiting a king penguin colony



SOUTH GEORGIA: King penguins hanging out with fur seals and elephant seals on a beach



ANTARCTICA: Chinese cruise ship passengers looking for whales



ICELAND: Afternoon small boat cruise



ALASKA, USA: The two Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait are basically the border between USA (Little Diomede to the left) and Russia (Ratmanova to the right). They are both inhabited



ANTARCTICA: A cruise ship in spectacular surroundings



ANTARCTICA: Crabeater seals on an iceflow



SVALBARD: Small boat ice cruising



SOUTH GEORGIA: King penguins on the beach



GREENLAND: Landing passengers at Qaanaaq



CANADA: Small boat afternoon cruising at Newfoundland



CANADA: The search lights are on to easier locate icebergs in the water ahead



ANTARCTICA: Gentoo penguins porpoising



SOUTH GEORGIA: A fur seal is watching as cruise ship passengers arrive at Strömness



ANTARCTICA: A cruise ship at anchor



ICELAND: Small boat afternoon cruise



ANTARCTICA: A rare occurrance when two ship from the same company (Hurtigruten) meet up in the middle of nowhere



ANTARCTICA: Adelie penguins on an iceflow next to a cruise ship



SOME EXPEDITION RELATED MAGAZINE COVERS



Be careful what you wish for



Not too long ago I was on board an expedition vessel in the far South of the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere in between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia - near the end of the world, I guess.


Midway between the archipelagos the waves seemed to become just higher and higher and the captain called for a meeting, letting the crew know that we had a hurricane ahead of us. He also told us, that if we were to get to South Georgia (which we were!) there was no way around the hurricane.


I was assigned as a photographer, hence I could move freely almost all over the ship, so I went to the bridge in the early evening. I liked the captain and I guess it was mutual, so I just chit-chatted away, at some point saying (what has become my eternal mantra); “Well, the worse the weather, the better the pictures…”.


The captain just looked at me without real expression and said in a fatherly, dry way; “Be careful what you wish for, Karsten…”.


The night came and the storm grew to become a ferocious hurricane. The small ship was thrown in all directions, creating all kinds of unpleasant situations.


My thoughts remain my own, but it’s a fact that 18 passengers were injured that night, keeping the ship’s doctor occupied, as she was stitching and stitching on end while the waves were building up around us, hammering on the hull.


The night was obviously long and as the morning finally came, I decided to pay a visit to the bridge. The captain was present, and when he saw me he just repeated his comment from the night before; “Be careful what you wish for, Karsten… You might just get it”.


Well, I did get the bad weather, but all I really wanted was the pictures - they dissapered in fierce waves and the dark of night.


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Photographer Karsten Bidstrup



DANISH travel journalist of the year 2018



All photographic images and video on this website © 2022 Karsten Bidstrup