Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer
A brief overview of the life of Ireland's greatest Antarctic explorer.
Category: Photo Galleries
Photographs from Captain Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition
Captain Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition 1910 – 1913.
A Photograph Gallery.
A collection of some of the lesser seen images captured on Robert Falcon Scott’s, ill fated Terra Nova Expedition.
Demetri Gerof with a dog team at Cape Evans photographed during the last, tragic voyage to Antarctica by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, circa October 1911. Scott was tutored by Herbert Ponting, the renowned photographer who was the camera artist to the expedition, which enabled Scott to take his own memorable pictures before perishing on his return from the South Pole on or after 29th March 1912. (Photo by Captain Robert Falcon Scott/Popperfoto/Getty Images)
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Remembering Sir Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Photo Collection.
A collection of photographs of the great Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. These pictures give a very brief outline to an immense and heroic career, which was forged on the ice of Antarctica. Shackleton’s first venture south was aboard the Discovery (1901-1904) with Robert Falcon Scott, and he was invalided home after suffering from scurvy on the homeward leg of their farthest south journey.
Shackleton next led his own expedition, the Nimrod (1907-09), where he got to within 97 miles of the South Pole. In 1914 he again sailed for Antarctica, hoping to cross the entire continent by foot, via the South Pole, which had been claimed by Roald Amundsen in 1911. The Endurance Expedition (1914-17) never reached Antarctica, as the ship was ensnared in the ice of the Weddell Sea. What transpired is perhaps the greatest survival story of all time, as Shackleton somehow succeeded in getting his entire crew safely home, despite overwhelming odds.
Unperturbed by this experience Shackleton plotted yet another escaped to the frozen continent, and left aboard the Quest in 1921. While the ship paused, en route, at the island of South Georgia, Shackleton suddenly took ill, and died, in his cabin, on January 5th 1922.
All images courtesy of Getty Images
On This Day – November 19th 1911.
Terra Nova Expedition – Southern Journey.
Outward March – Camp 15, November 19th 1911.
It was day 19 of Robert Falcon Scott’s Southern Journey, and progress was slower than Scott had expected. The ponies were struggling in the harsh conditions and were constantly sinking in the deep snow. Scott’s team had developed pony shoes for the animals, and when trialed on the soft surfaces, they proved to be a significant success. However, Lawrence Oates who was in charge of the ponies, objected to their use, and most were left behind, despite their effectiveness.
This was a decision that Scott should have over-ruled. Of the 19 ponies brought along on the expedition, 9 had died prior to the departure of the South Pole journey, which greatly weakened their prospects of hauling the supplies to the Beardmore Glacier. The remaining 10 animals that set out with the team on November 1st, should have been afforded every possible advantage, for the gruelling task ahead.
On This Day – November 16th 1911 – Photographs of One Ton Depot.
Scott’s Southern Party at One Ton Depot.
November 16th, 1911
The Terra Nova Expedition.
Extracts from Robert Falcon Scott’s Diary.
Wednesday, November 15. – Camp 12.
“Found our One Ton Camp without any difficulty [130 geographical miles from Cape Evans].”
Robert Falcon Scott, on reaching One Ton Depot.
“After a discussion we had decided to give the animals a day’s rest here, and then to push forward at the rate of 13 geographical miles a day.”
“A note from Evans dated the 9th, stating his party has gone on to 80° 30′, carrying four boxes of biscuit. He has done something over 30 miles (geo.) in 2½ days – exceedingly good going. I only hope he has built lots of good cairns.
“Most of us are using goggles with glass of light green tint. We find this colour very grateful to the eyes, and as a rule it is possible to see everything through them even more clearly than with naked vision.”
Thursday. November 16. – Camp 12.
“Resting. A stiff little southerly breeze all day, dropping towards evening. The temperature -15°. Ponies pretty comfortable in rugs and behind good walls. Continue Reading →
Scott’s Southern Journey, Day 1 – Photo Gallery
Scott’s Southern Journey.
On This Day – November 1st 1911.
A collection of photographs taken on November 1st 1911, as Captain Robert Falcon Scott embarked upon his quest to be first to reach the South Pole. Prior to his departure, Scott had been tutored in the techniques of photography by the expedition’s photographer Herbert Ponting, as Ponting himself would not be part of the group that would venture southwards.
This enabled Scott to keep a visual record of the journey, and all of the images below, were captured on the very first day of the outward journey, and show the establishment of the first pony camp, along the route.
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Herbert Ponting – Terra Nova Photographer
Expedition Photographer
The Terra Nova Expedition
Herbert Ponting (21 March 1870 – 7 February 1935) was the photographer and cinematographer for Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) to Antarctica.
By the time the Terra Nova set sail, photographic film had been in use for almost 20 years, but Ponting preferred the method of using glass plates to produce his high quality images. He was one of the first men to capture video sequences in Antarctica, using a device called a cinematograph, and he also took some of the first known colour stills, using autochrome plates.
Because of his age, Ponting was not included among the number to embark upon the Southern Journey, in an attempt to reach the South Pole. Prior to the departure of the team, Ponting had tutored Scott in photography techniques, to enable him to capture images and a visual record of the journey south.
Herbert Ponting spent 14 months at Cape Evans, and departed the expedition, along with 8 others aboard the Terra Nova in February 1912. He had acquired a huge inventory of images and film which he hoped to have compiled into a visual narrative, which would be then used by Scott, in a series of lectures upon his return.
The news of the deaths of Scott and his polar party, would affected him deeply.
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Herbert Ponting – Antarctic Landscapes
The Photographs of Herbert Ponting
From The Terra Nova Expedition
A collection of some of Herbert Ponting’s photographs of Antarctica, taken during Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition, 1910-1913.
Elephant Island – Photo Gallery
Elephant Island
Excerpt – Under the command of Luis Pardo, Shackleton, Crean and Worsley had sailed on the Yelcho, and to their utter jubilation the pack ice had fragmented before them and had finally afforded them their long sought passage. As they scouted along the coast Worsley spotted the camp, barely discernible beneath its shroud of snow, and anxiously they watched for signs of life. Almost immediately the saw the men emerge like ants, and a quick count of the manic dots on the rocky beach seemed to indicate that all were present.
With no energy to sustain the immediate excitement, the men on Elephant Island wilted and watched the ship, praying for a signal that they had been sighted. For a brief horrible moment the ship turned away from them, and their distress was almost unbearable. Then the elation of the realisation that a lifeboat was being lowered, and the unmistakable silhouette of the man climbing down the ladder. It was Shackleton. “The Boss” had returned for them.
Shackleton and Crean came ashore, with some Chilean sailors, throwing boxes of cigarettes to the men, and Shackleton nervously asked of Wild, “Are you all well?” to which Wild responded, “We are all well, boss.”
From – On This Day August 30th 1916
Elephant Island Gallery
Port Wild, where Shackleton’s men sheltered in his absence. The Yelcho monument is the small protrusion.
Terra Nova Expedition Crew Photographs
The Terra Nova Expedition
Terra Nova Crew Photo Gallery
Captain Scott (1868-1912) on the ‘Terra Nova’, c1900s-c1910s (1936). It was during the Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) that Scott and four companions reached the South Pole, only to find that the Norwegian expedition under Amundsen had beaten them to their objective by a month. Delayed on their return by blizzards and running out of supplies, Scott and his team died at the end of March. Their bodies and diaries were found eight months later. From His Majesty the King, 1910-1935, introduction by HW Wilson (Associated Newspapers Ltd, London, 1936). (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
Able seaman Mortimer McCarthy at the wheel of the ‘Terra Nova’, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1910. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Captain Lawrence Oates (1880 – 1912) in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images.
Lawrence Oates died on the day of his 32nd birthday, March 17th 1912 – He was the second member of the Polar Party to die.
Petty Officer Edgar Evans (1876 – 1912) in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Edgar Evans was the first of the returning Polar Patry to die. His demise occurred on February 17th 1912 near the foot of the Beardmore Glacier.
Geologist Frank Debenham (1883 – 1965) grinds stone samples at camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 12th July 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Lieutenant Henry Robertson Bowers (1883 ? 1912) in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, April 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
‘Birdie’ Bowers died alongside Scott and Wilson, in their tent on the Ross Ice Shelf circa 29th March 1912.
Canadian explorer Sir Charles Seymour Wright (1887 – 1975) in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, January 1912. He has just returned from the Great Ice Barrier as part of the first support party, while Scott and the others continued on toward the South Pole. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Terra Nova Crew Photo Gallery
Dr. Edward Adrian Wilson (1872 – 1912) works on a sketch at camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Wilson would die alongside Scott and Bowers, in their tent on the Ross Ice Shelf around March 29th 1912 – The day of Scott’s final journal entry and the day it is presumed the last of the five man Polar party died.
Thomas Clissold leads an Emperor penguin by a rope in the Ross Dependency, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1st April 1911. Clissold was the expedition cook. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868 – 1912) writes his journal in the Winterquarters Hut, in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during his Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 7th October 1911. Behind him are pictures of his wife and son. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Apsley Cherry-Garrard (1886 – 1959) with the pony ‘Michael’ in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, October 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Dog handler Cecil Meares with his animals on the deck of the ‘Terra Nova’, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 3rd January 1911.
Expedition cook Thomas Clissold makes pies at camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, January 1912. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Anton Omelchenko cuts Patrick Keohane’s hair at their camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, January 1912. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, 17th December, 1910, Crew members letting down the water bottle over the side of the ‘Terra Nova’ ship into the pack ice (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, Photographer Herbert Ponting taking a picture of whales with his camera over the side of the Terra Nova ship (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, Full length portrait of Lieutenant Rennick on board the Terra Nova off the coast of New Zealand (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, Expedition team member Williams at the sounding engine on board the Terra Nova ship (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
1st December 1911: British explorer Captain Scott (1868 – 1912) on his doomed expedition to the Antarctic. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Dog handler Cecil Meares makes a dog harness at camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 13th July 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)Dog handler Cecil Meares makes a dog harness at camp in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 13th July 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Bosun Alfred B. Cheetham with the ship’s ice anchor, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, December 1910. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
Photographer Herbert Ponting (1870 – 1935) is attacked by an angry penguin at Cape Royds, Ross Island, in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic, 1911. (Photo by Herbert Ponting/Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, 11th December, 1910, The -Terra Nova+ anchored to the ice (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, December, 1910, Captain Oates with some of the ponies in their stables on board the ‘Terra Nova’ ship (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, Full length portrait of crew members looking relaxed on the fo’castle on board the Terra Nova off the coast of New Zealand (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, Sailors making clothing on board the Terra Nova (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, December, 1910, Expedition team members working the pumps on board the Terra Nova ship (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, A group of officers pose for a photograph on the deck of the Terra Nova (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
H,G Ponting, Captain Scott+s Antarctic Expedition 1910 – 1912, 17th December, 1910, Dr, Wilson aims his rifle while practicing shooting on the deck of the ‘Terra Nova’ ship (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)
Terra Nova Expedition – Photo Gallery
The Terra Nova Expedition 1910-1913
Photo Gallery
A wonderful collection of photographs of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova Expedition, from the lens of Herbert Ponting.