All images by Lauren Farmer. Used with permission
Lauren Farmer is a New York based photographer that has travelled to the Arctic and Antarctica on a number of occasions. She started out by becoming the Photographer in Residence on board the M/S Expedition for the Arctic 2013 season after having traveled to Antarctica with G Adventures as a guest in 2012. “It was a fantastic trip, and the Expedition was just introducing a Photography program on board. I was able to secure a position on the expedition team for the following season.” states Ms. Farmer. And the rest is history.
Upon her expeditions, she has captured loads of animal photos in Antarctic and Arctic. Lauren’s photographs often feature cute Penguines–which she states are endlessly curious and a joy to photograph. In contrast, she states that Polar Bears are powerful and awe-inspiring, but harder to shoot as they are often far away, especially when spotted from a ship.
When she makes the expedition to the great deep cold, she travels for a period of six to eight weeks at a time–and typically through October to March for the Antarctic and May through September in the Arctic.
Venturing to cold regions like this takes a major toll on your gear and your body. So after lots of recommendations and research, Lauren purchased a long telephoto lens, a number of additional waterproof camera backpacks, extra batteries, external hard drives, GoPro cameras with accessories, and storm jackets. Ms. Farmer states that her philosophy is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
When it comes to gear, Lauren shoots with a Canon EOS 1D X, with a Canon 5D Mark II as a backup. She sticks with a 24-70mm for landscapes and ship happenings, and a 70-300mm for wildlife. But as all extreme weather conditions will kill batteries, Lauren tried to keep them tucked inside of her jacket to keep them warm and ready for use. “Condensation is not nearly as much of an issue as I anticipated, but I do take every effort to dry off and warm my camera when I return to the ship from a landing of Zodiac excursion.” states Ms. Farmer.
More of her photos are after the jump; but also be sure to follow Lauren on Twitter and Instagram.
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