One Zoom Lens, Carefully Selected, Can Do It All
Picturesque Ushuaia: I began my voyage at this quaint little town at the southern tip of Argentina. I was able to capture wide variety of scenic views at various focal-length settings by exploiting the unsurpassed range of the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(42mm),Program AE (f/8, 1/160sec), ISO100, WB: Auto.
* Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Just going by the numbers, you'd have to say that I am an experienced Antarctic traveler. Indeed, I had made the voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula nine times before, and this article is based on my 10th trip. On one occasion I had taken the route from Hobart, Tasmania in the southern part of Australia to the Ross Sea. The other times I began my voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula at Ushuaia, located at the southern tip of Argentina in South America.
As you see on the accompanying map of the Antarctic Continent, the Antarctic Peninsula stretches its arm toward the South American Continent, and the very end of the peninsula is point the closest to Ushuaia, located on the southernmost tip of Argentina. In the course of this voyage, ships sail outbound from Ushuaia and go through Doraka Passage, which is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) wide, arriving at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is part of the Antarctic Continent.
As you see on the accompanying map of the Antarctic Continent, the Antarctic Peninsula stretches its arm toward the South American Continent, and the very end of the peninsula is point the closest to Ushuaia, located on the southernmost tip of Argentina. In the course of this voyage, ships sail outbound from Ushuaia and go through Doraka Passage, which is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) wide, arriving at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is part of the Antarctic Continent.
Almost everyone has a personal objective to fulfill when he or she goes on a big trip. For example, on a previous voyage, my goal was to capture the wildlife, animals, and natural beauty of the Antarctic Continent with a Beta-camcorder. The main purpose of this trip was capturing the wildlife of the continent with an HD video camera. However, since I happen to be a professional photographer as well as an inveterate photographic enthusiast, I naturally wanted to take still pictures of the animals and scenes I encountered as well.
If still photography were my sole mission, I would definitely want to bring as many cameras and lenses as possible. But this time shooting HD video was my primary objective, and that entailed lugging around a lot of heavy, bulky video equipment. This of course meant that I had to select my still-picture gear with extreme care, paring it down to the smallest, lightest outfit imaginable. Bringing even one extra lens might compromise my mission. After much deliberation I made the decision to rely on the Tamron AF18-270mm high-power zoom lens for all my still photography. Based upon my previous experience with it, I was confident that this one lens could do it all.
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Ushuaia, Gateway to the Antarctic Continent
Ushuaia - the end of the world" reads the elaborate sign in the foreground. Visible in the background are gigantic cruising boats bound for the Antarctic Continent.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(20mm),Program AE (f/5, 1/60sec), ISO320, WB: Auto.
* Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Three days after my departure from Japan, I arrived at Ushuaia (via Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina) on December 29, 2008. A signboard reading 'Fin Del Mundo (the end of the world)' symbolizes the position of the town, both physically and existentially. At present, however, the name "Gateway to the Antarctic Continent" would be far more appropriate.
Geographically, Ushuaia is a town that's far away from all the big cities in Argentina and in the rest of the world, but it's now a bustling place that attracts a fair number of visitors. Many of them are tourists booked on cruising ships bound for the Antarctic Continent, but there are also numerous travelers who want to visit Patagonia and the national parks on Fego Island. Small souvenir shops packed in side by side line the town's busy main street.
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Main street in Ushuaia on Fego Island: Shown in high tourist season it's a lively place indeed. The steep mountains in the background are snow-capped even in summer.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(42mm),Program AE (f/8, 1/160sec), ISO100, WB: Auto.
* Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Penguin-related goods cram every souvenir ship in Ushuaia, the gateway to the Antarctic Continent. I had a great time simply walking around taking lots of pictures with the supremely versatile Tamron AF18-270mm high-power zoom lens.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(20mm),Program AE (f/8, 1/160sec), ISO100, WB: Auto.
* Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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I ambled down the main street to the pier where I observed ships of every size and description, all engaged in cruising the Antarctic Ocean for one reason or another. Some were luxurious sightseeing ships; others were simple, sturdy craft clearly designed for research and study projects. The boat I took was one of the latter, a simple, robust boat that looked especially small among the others. Even the boat's name, Professor Melishef, suggests that it's used for research. It's an ice-resistant vessel that I've sailed in several times before. The boat does not actually have icebreaking capability, but it can cruise on an ice-covered sea without incurring any damage. At any rate, this type of boat is much better suited to navigating deep inroads and out-of-the-way places than an ordinary sightseeing ship. The boat can accommodate up to 42 passengers. This type of boat is more convenient for me than a ship capable of accommodating several hundred passengers. With fewer distractions I can put on my thinking cap and devise a shooting plan at each landing and observation point.
The Professor Melishef sailed for the Antarctic Peninsula at 6:00 PM on December 30. The sea stretching out in front of Ushuaia is called the Beagle Strait in honor of Charles Darwin's famous ship. Our little boat proceeded smoothly across the strait since she was protected at that point from the wild waves of the open sea. Nevertheless I was concerned that we might be tossed around mightily by those wild waves in the dead of night since we could be out on the open sea in five hours. Perhaps to calm my fears I immediately began organizing my equipment and baggage in my cabin.
The strait between the Fego Island in the southernmost part of the South American Continent and the Antarctic Peninsula is called Drake Passage in honor of the famed English mariner Sir Francis Drake, It is known as one of the wildest, most unpredictable sea passages in the world, and it takes two days to traverse in a small boat like the Professor Melishef.
As you might expect, the most popular topic among the passengers just after the boat departed was the conditions we would encounter during our passage. The question I privately asked myself was, "How much will our little boat quake today?" This was not mere idle speculation or pessimism on my part. I vividly recalled a previous passage that was so rough that our boat was tipped over at a 50-degree angle at one point!
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Drake Passage: It's the challenging stretch of water between Fego Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. This shot was taken in Manual Focus mode through the front glass at the bridge of the boat.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(18mm),Program AE (f/11, 1/400sec), ISO400, WB: Auto.
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In the galley: The 18mm focal length on DSLR cameras with APS-C-size sensors is ideal for shooting in tight spaces like the boat's dining area. It's equivalent to 28mm in the full-frame format. The Tamron 18-270mm VC zoom lens delivers natural looking wide-angle effects with virtually no linear distortion.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(18mm),Program AE (f/5, 1/60sec), ISO640, WB: Auto. * Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Landing in a rubber boat. A high-power zoom lens is essential on an expedition where situations change rapidly and you've got to move fast to get the best shots.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(18mm), Aperture priority AE (f/6.4, 1/320sec), ISO100, WB: Auto.
* Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Icebergs at sea: I took this shot from a small rubber boat while cruising around on the water searching for interesting subjects. The variety of fascinating iceberg formations is truly staggering-they seem change every moment and many of them are exquisitely beautiful and well worth photographing.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(42mm), Shutter priority AE (f/20, 1/400sec), ISO100, WB: Auto.
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Icebergs exhibit an amazing array of visual changes depending on how the sunlight seeps through them or is reflected off their surface. Perhaps these are the most popular subjects for all travelers fortunate enough to visit the Antarctic Continent.
Taken with the Canon EOS 40D and Tamron AF18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC(18mm),Program AE (f/14, 1/500sec), ISO200, WB: Auto. * Click on the picture to see an enlarged image.
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Hiroya Minakuchi
Hiroya Minakuchi was born in Osaka in 1953. He studied biological oceanography at the Kyoto University Department of Science. Internationally acclaimed for his photographic work on whales and dolphins, he has also authored a number of highly regarded books ranging from single subject photo portfolios to nonfiction novels. In 1991, Minacuchi was chosen to receive a Publishing Culture Award by Kodansha Ltd. Publishers in honor of his photographic accomplishments.
Web site (Japanese) :http://home.j04.itscom.net/orca/
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![Attractions of High-power Zoom Lenses [Photo Gallery & Essays]](../images/title_text.gif)
To be continued in Part II