Cate is having a show of her photos in Greenfield. Here are copies of the material accompanying the photos and the photos themselves. enjoy.
The Last Continent: Visions of Antarctica
Cate Woolner’s intrigue with Antarctica began by reading Dr. Jerri Nielsen’s account of treating her own breast cancer while serving as the physician for the research station at the South Pole. The book, Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole, traces her medical story but the Antarctic itself is a major character as well. Cate’s growing identity as a photographer fueled the transformation from intrigue to passion, culminating in her trip to the Antarctic Peninsula this December, summer in the southern hemisphere. There were about 20 hours of daylight, much of it high contrast, bright sun, a photographic challenge.
Cate and husband Dan Croteau of Northfield joined 100 other expeditioners aboard the Sergey Vavilov, a Russian research vessel, for the 10-day journey. Leaving from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, they crossed Drake’s Passage for two days, spent six days exploring the Peninsula on Zodiacs, returning to the ship for meals and sleep. The air temperature averaged 32 F. The Antarctic pristine scenery and wildlife were among the most spectacular Cate has ever seen.
“There were limitless “decisive moments “calling to be photographed. I did not have specific expectations or pre-conceived ideas of how the photos should look or what should be photographed. Nearly everything captured my eye and attention. The landscapes are desolate, vast and fascinating. It has been a monumental challenge to pare down the collection to the photos you see here.”
Cate studies photography at Greenfield Community College and has studied at the Woodstock Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY.
To see photos and a journal of the trip, Google voyagetothebottomoftheworld.blogspot.com
Find Cate at catewool@comcast.net if you would like to see more of this collection.
What about those icebergs?
The blue tint in icebergs forms when all the air bubbles are compressed out over time from its enormous weight. It is so dense, it does not reflect any light except blue. These tend to be older icebergs. The brown or grey tints can be algae.
Most icebergs are not grounded and travel long distances from their origins. Glaciers move down slopes toward the ocean. Once the mass of ice and rock gets to the bottom, enormous chunks fall into the ocean. These become icebergs. The ones we saw were thousands of years old.
The visible iceberg constitutes no more than 20% of the total mass. It is eaten away by salt water from the bottom up. Once a berg becomes unbalanced, it will tip.
All the water you see in these photos will be frozen solid by March or April, the beginning of fall in the southern ocean.
Thanks for coming to view the photos.
The Last Continent: Visions of Antarctica
Cate Woolner’s intrigue with Antarctica began by reading Dr. Jerri Nielsen’s account of treating her own breast cancer while serving as the physician for the research station at the South Pole. The book, Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole, traces her medical story but the Antarctic itself is a major character as well. Cate’s growing identity as a photographer fueled the transformation from intrigue to passion, culminating in her trip to the Antarctic Peninsula this December, summer in the southern hemisphere. There were about 20 hours of daylight, much of it high contrast, bright sun, a photographic challenge.
Cate and husband Dan Croteau of Northfield joined 100 other expeditioners aboard the Sergey Vavilov, a Russian research vessel, for the 10-day journey. Leaving from Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, they crossed Drake’s Passage for two days, spent six days exploring the Peninsula on Zodiacs, returning to the ship for meals and sleep. The air temperature averaged 32 F. The Antarctic pristine scenery and wildlife were among the most spectacular Cate has ever seen.
“There were limitless “decisive moments “calling to be photographed. I did not have specific expectations or pre-conceived ideas of how the photos should look or what should be photographed. Nearly everything captured my eye and attention. The landscapes are desolate, vast and fascinating. It has been a monumental challenge to pare down the collection to the photos you see here.”
Cate studies photography at Greenfield Community College and has studied at the Woodstock Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY.
To see photos and a journal of the trip, Google voyagetothebottomoftheworld.blogspot.com
Find Cate at catewool@comcast.net if you would like to see more of this collection.
What about those icebergs?
The blue tint in icebergs forms when all the air bubbles are compressed out over time from its enormous weight. It is so dense, it does not reflect any light except blue. These tend to be older icebergs. The brown or grey tints can be algae.
Most icebergs are not grounded and travel long distances from their origins. Glaciers move down slopes toward the ocean. Once the mass of ice and rock gets to the bottom, enormous chunks fall into the ocean. These become icebergs. The ones we saw were thousands of years old.
The visible iceberg constitutes no more than 20% of the total mass. It is eaten away by salt water from the bottom up. Once a berg becomes unbalanced, it will tip.
All the water you see in these photos will be frozen solid by March or April, the beginning of fall in the southern ocean.
Thanks for coming to view the photos.
