This was a trip my husband, Richard, had dreamed about for years. It well exceeded our expectations for beauty, adventure and photography, and now about 15 months later we regard it as one of our most unusual and spectacular destinations.  Yes, there are some hours of a rocky ride through the Drake Passage, but the discomfort is over soon enough and then it's smooth sailing.

Antarctica was a photographer's paradise with majestic scenery that we captured during the daylight from 5 am until 11pm.I had splurged on 400mm lens which was well worth it. It was summer there when we traveled on a Lindblad Expeditions voyage in late January 2015. We found (mostly) blue skies and temperatures that hovered near freezing. Comfortable weather for Antarctica. We were cozy in the freezing temperatures in orange down coats — courtesy of our ship, the M.S. National Geographic Explorer — and multiple layers of pants, hats and gloves.

On the ship, we spent a lot of time on the bridge with our captain and his team learning about navigation and whale spotting. The food and companionship of the other passengers was terrific. On excursions we spent hours comfortably sitting in Zodiacs exploring the icebergs, large ice floes and just soaking in the scene.  And as you can see, we could maneuver up close and personal to the wildlife. And it was phenomenal.

Photos of the trip were taken in Ushuaia, Argentina, & the Beagle Channel, the Drake Passage, the South Shetland Islands, the Lemaire Channel, Booth & Petermann Islands, the Antarctic Circle, Port Lockroy and Paradise Bay.