JPG: Stories: Photo Essay: When Holga went in the Arctic (Part V/VI)

Photo Essay

When Holga went in the Arctic (Part V/VI)

By stouf

30 Dec 2008

Week 5 & 6 (Jan. 17 to Jan. 27, 2008)

Day 29: 17 January 2008

Position: 71°31.722 N / 124°58.453 W

A normal day: Sampling from the moon-pool in the morning and from the ice in the afternoon.

Day 30: 18 January 2008

Position: 71°32.969 N / 125°00.497 W

05:00 – We wake up very early this morning to do a hydrobios and two Tucker nets... it's a bit hard...

14:00 – I do Gerald's experiments for three hours. After dinner I'll try to take some zooplankton macro shots with the ring flash and my homemade focusing frame*... I'll see if it works.

(*see: http://www.lomography.com/tips/tips.php?sub=tips&cam=hfk&cid=917363)

Day 31: 19 January 2008

Another normal day: Sampling from the moon-pool in the morning and from the ice in the afternoon. During ice sampling, light was increasing, but still no sun...

Day 32: 20 January 2008

Position: 71°34.672 N / 125°06.648 W

Usual day plus a lot of sewing holes in the nets...

Day 33: 21 January 2008

Position: 71°36.229 N / 125°09.386 W

11:00 – I wake up very late today, and I had almost nine hours of sleep... I feel finally rested. But I slept so much because I'm going to work very hard later. The zooplankton team just started a 24 hour sampling plan, with a hydrobios every 4 hours. So Marc and Josée did the two first nets at 06:00 and 10:00, I'll do the 14:00 with Marc and then I'll do one at 18:00, one at 02:00 and a last one at 06:00 in the morning... Add the fact that tomorrow morning we have to bring back the tent and our sampling material from the ice because we'll make our last move at noon... Going to a new and last piece of ice...

Day 34: 22 January 2008

02:00 and 06:00 – Hydrobios sampling from the moon-pool...

08:30 – I was sent to remove the tent with Steeve, Loic and Graig. Easy job.

11:00 – We move towards our new destination. I shot some videos of the boat breaking ice.

20:00 – I went to the moon-pool to help Jacques and Myriam while they were melting all the snow that entered during the trip. The moon-pool is not completely hermetic, so every time we move, snow and ice come in...

Day 35: 23 January 2008

11:00 –I'm going for a helicopter flight to take some videos and help for snow sampling... I'm very excited.

(see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j91kuO59XU0)

Day 36: 24 January 2008

Position: 71°09.945 N / 125°04.975 W

08:30 - Normal sampling day from the moon-pool. Repaired the tucker net with Myriam (it broke because it got stuck due to the current against the bottom door of the moon-pool)... No outside activities due to high winds.

15:30 – I did the engine room tour with the chief engineer Richard. It was fabulous. 16000 hp divided in 6 diesel engines that produce electricity to turn two huge propellers.

(see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dljCGarLGLc)

20:00 – I went on the ice to take pictures of the Chinese team. Their experiments are very nice to see because they have a big panel that lights the ice to measure the transmission of light through it...

21:00 – I went also in the labs at the back of the ship and took pictures of people working there.

00:00 – I went outside with Elizabeth to watch some northern lights. It was beautiful. I tried to shoot it, but they were incredibly fast and I used a 60 iso tungsten film, so I'm quite sure that the pictures are not good at all...

Day 37: 25 January 2008

Position: 71°11.812 N / 125°02.960 W

08:30 – We went outside to make a new hole in the ice for sampling zooplankton. Everything went fine. Then we immediately started sampling. That was a mistake because we didn't leave enough time for the tripod to freeze on its feet... The result was that the tripod fell when we did the first sampling. So we decided to go back to the ship until the tripod freezes in its position.

12:15 – We went back on the ice for sampling and the tripod fell again while we were lifting the net with the snowmobile... Again... So we put it back again in deeper holes, put snow and water on the feet, and we'll wait until tomorrow. It's sure it will freeze during the night this time...

13:30 – We built the tent again, in order to protect the meteorological balloon of the Russian team. We were faster this time thanks to Sebastian's help. Sebastian is a very nice and hard working crew member. I really like that guy (and also his beloved Myriam who had her birthday today).

Day 38: 26 January 2008

Position: 71°05.578 N / 124°54.518 W

08:00 – Tucker and hydrobios from the moon-pool.

12:00 – The sun appears for the first time. Beautiful. A simple, cloudy sunrise, but I could feel my entire body absorbing these light rays...

(see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2WykpFGA3c)

13:00 – Sampling from the ice. Very windy, about -40°C, with 25 knot winds. When lifting the net with the snow-mobile, I was going toward the sun, it was a magical moment. Then, turning back, the wind was coming directly at my face, I could feel my cheeks freezing, it was suddenly less magical.

Day 39: 26 January 2008

Position: 71°05.628 N / 124°53.219 W

08:00 – Usual moon-pool activities.

13:30 – We played another soccer game. It was very funny. And the sun was out. Tonight, there will be a mask party. Let's make some 35mm-Holga.

Day 40: 27 January 2008

08:00 – Last hydrobios and the two last Tuckers. I feel already nostalgic... The tucker nets where full of Metridia, It's a zooplankton specie that produces light when disturbed... So when we poured the contents of the net into a bucket, many little flashes of light lit the bucket like miniature supernovae. It's something you can't capture in photo. You just have to remember it...

13:30 – Last sampling from the ice. Everything went fine. We're all a bit sad, leaving the ship, this exciting life and going back to normal life makes us all very nostalgic. But it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. Never.

And I met people that I would like to keep in my life from now on...