Antarctica Then and Now

Antarctica Then and Now

Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to Noon

Fifty years ago, a young Ensign Beebe got an unexpected assignment to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze when the Navy had just begun to explore the continent. Today, the National Science Foundation Polar Programs managed by Raytheon run the largest research project on Ice. Morton is planning a return trip to produce a historical documentary. Morton will recount for us his experiences and show his breathtaking, historical photos of Antarctica 1957-58, contrasting them with the Antarctica of today.

Photographer Beebe:
That unexpected trip to Antarctica set Morton on his path to becoming an internationally acclaimed photographer. His travels over the continent produced several photo essays that were published inNational Geographic, Life, Paris Match and Stern. After Antarctica, Morton joined Magnum and started traveling and photographing stories full-time. Morton has covered the world, combining advertising assignments for his corporate clients-including Minolta, Nikon, Bank of America, Chevron, and American Airlines-with editorial assignments for Travel & Leisure, Geo, Ski and National Geographic, among others. He's worked as a photographer and film producer, working on such films as The Graduate and Petulia. He was also a pioneer in the stock photography business, helping to establish and successfully grow The Image Bank, the first modern stock agency.

Morton has published several successful books, including Operation Deep Freeze, Antarctica in 1958 and San Francisco: City by the Bay, which was first published in 1985, and has sold out five printings and is now in a third edition.

Visit to Raytheon

I just got back from a short trip out to Denver, CO to visit the Raytheon Polar Services Headquarters. It was great to meet all the people involved behind the scenes who support the NSF programs. The staff was very welcoming and we had lots to talk about. I gave a little presentation on my Antarctic Experience and it was very well received.

Exploratorium Interview

FYI-
The Interview that was taped at the Exploratorium several months ago with Geoffrey Lee Martin and myself has been edited and posted on my Antarctica page.

For the Fall

After an extremely busy Summer, I am gearing up for an even busier fall. The highlight will be a trip to Pensacola, Florida at the beginning of November where I will be attending the Old Antarctic Explorers Association (OAEA) Reunion. They are a group that celebrates the history of Antarctic Exploration. This will be my first time attending, and will be joined by my fellow Antarctic Explorer, Geoffrey Lee Martin, and filmmaker, Richard Neill of Big World Pictures. Richard, Geoff and I are embarking on a journey that will ultimately lead back to the South Pole after an absence of more than 50 years! Richard Neill will be filming our expedition that will make stops in Denver at the Polar Services Office of Raytheon Corporation, Pensacola and Miami Beach, FL, and possibly even Newport News, VA.
I will keep updating our progress on a regular basis.

An Interesting Article from NSF

I found this article from the National Science Foundation to be particularly interesting and wanted to share it with all of you.

Antarctic Earthquakes

Planning is going well for my return to the Pole. I will keep everyone updated as to my progress as soon as I know something.

The Secret Land

I came across this film today. It was made in 1948 and features Admiral Byrd, Admiral Cruzen and Captain Dufek.

The Secret Land

It is a very interesting film.

Exploratorium Images

I recently participated in an interview with myself and my colleague, Geoffrey Lee Martin, at the Exploratorium here in San Francisco. We shared stories of our experiences during Operation Deepfreeze, over 50 years ago in Antarctica, for their ongoing series, Ice Stories. It was great fun remembering after so many years. The video will be edited and posted on the Exploratorium website shortly.

Antarctica Book

For those of you who are as interested in Antarctica as I am, my friends Pat and Leslie Keough have produced a beautiful book of photography on the continent.

For more information on the book you can go to: www.keough-art.com

Morton on Flickr

I just added a photostream to Flickr. They are just some of my San Francisco shots. I am still experimenting at this point but so far I like it! Please take a look:

Morton on Flickr

More updates to come...

Fun Fact of the Day

Did you know?...

Antarctica's largest land animal is a wingless midge, an insect that grows to half an inch (1.3 cm) long.

Check out ICE STORIES for more great info on Antarctica.

Nikon equipment for sale

So the time has come to get rid of all of my Nikon film equipment. It is tough but I just don't use it anymore. I would much rather have some photo student out there learn the basics than have it sit in my closet for another couple of years. Any of you who are interested in a Nikon F3 package with an assortment of lenses, motor drives, etc. Please see my craigslist posting at:

Nikon F3 Package

I also have some more unique Nikon equipment. Like a Nikkormat FT N. It is a classic camera in great shape. You can find it at:

Nikkormat FT N

Or, if you are an underwater adventurer, you might be interested in my Nikonos IV A Underwater camera with 35mm lens and a handheld underwater light meter from Sekonic. This model is also able to shoot above water so it would be perfect to take on a whitewater rafting trip. That package can be found at:

Nikonos IV A

All equipment is in excellent shape, as I always take good care of my photo equipment.

You can contact me through craigslist if you are interested.

Thanks!

Aurora australis over South Pole Station

Look at this amazing time lapse photography of Aurora australis over the South Pole Station. It is quite beautiful...

Aurora australis over South Pole Station

Back from the East Coast

Hello all,
I have returned from my trip to New York and Washington, DC. And a very successful trip it was. The Explorers Club Annual Dinner was a great success and I had fun catching up with my fellow explorers. I met some interesting new ones as well. I don't always get the chance to get back there for the ECAD but I always have a great time when I do.
After my time in NY, I travelled on down to Washington to meet with people at National Geographic and the National Science Foundation. I am still trying to put a trip together to return to the South Pole after 50 years. I had many interesting conversations about Polar topics and met so many wonderful people at both organizations. I regret not having the time to stay longer.
Anyway, now I am back and along with continuing to pursue my return to the Pole, I will be shooting for a follow-up to my "Conversations Across Time" show at Dominican University in Marin.

Explorer's Club Annual Dinner

I wanted to share with everyone that I will be traveling to New York next week to attend the Explorer's Club Annual Dinner. I have been a member of the Explorer's Club for quite a long time now and it is always fun to travel back to NY and catch up with all of my fellow explorers. I hope to have many interesting stories to share with you, upon my return.

Antarctica Articles

I came across two very interesting articles about Polar Exploration I would like to share with you.
The first is about the Plato Observatory and the Chinese Antarctic Astronomy Program. This article found in the NY Times, Tuesday, February 19th, is full of fascinating information about the region and the history of the Chinese presence on the ice. It covers plans by the Chinese to establish a permanent observatory on Dome Argus on the Antarctic Plateau.
The second article features a story at the opposite pole. Russia's Claim Under Polar Ice Irks American is about an old colleague of mine from the Explorer's Club, Alfred S. McLauren, and his conflict with the Russian led expedition to the bottom of the ocean at the North Pole. I encourage you to read this very interesting front page story, also found in the February 19th NY Times.

updating...

I just wanted to post a little something this week so I don't go too long without a post. I have been a bit under the weather, like everyone else in San Francisco it seems.
Upcoming posts will touch on the popularity of Antarctica in the world today. It seems that everywhere I look there is something about Antarctica. This is exciting, as increased interest in the continent means I have a better chance of going back. I have a few things in the works and will keep you posted.
I also plan on updating my website (mortonbeebe.com) in the coming weeks. Again I will keep you posted on any new happenings.
Hope this finds everyone well and I'll check in again next week.

Looking back on Macworld...

Last week was the annual Macworld convention here in San Francisco. It went extremely well. ASMP was present at the Digital Photo Experience booth, where we had many of our professional photographers answering all kinds of questions to the Macworld attendees. There were many wonderful advancements in the computer world on display at the various booths and it was a pleasure to be able to be part of the show.
I was able to catch the Steve Jobs keynote (after waiting for two hours in the fog) and put my hands on the new Macbook Air. I see the new laptop as a nice solution for the photographer on the go. An appropriate compromise between the iPhone and the Macbook Pro.
As many of you may know, ASMP hosted New York Times columnist, David Pogue at Blue Sky Studios on Wednesday night. The event was a tremendous success. David gave a very entertaining presentation on "The Megapixel Myth". He discussed the tendency by camera manufacturers to propagate the idea that the higher the megapixels, the better the image quality. He had the room full of professional photographers rolling in the aisles. It was truly a wonderful event and we were very fortunate to be able to host him.
The following is a link to David's NY Times column on Macworld:

David Pogue on Macworld 2008

Thats all for now. I hope that next year's Macworld will be as great a success.

New York Times Link

An interesting article that I came across today. With Macworld 2008 coming up in a week, excitement is starting to mount...

An Apple TV with a Blu-ray Player

Speaking of Antarctica...

Today I received a link to a multimedia presentation by Geoff Lee Martin on the Sydney Morning Herald website. Geoff contacted me out of the blue a few months back. He was covering Operation Deep Freeze at the same time that I was in 1958. I thought that this was a rather nice presentation and would like to share it with you.

Sydney Morning Herald

Answer to Poll Question

The international date line runs through only a single continent and it is one of my favorites... Antarctica!

New Year, New Projects, New Events

I would like to welcome everyone into the New Year by wishing you all much success and prosperity. I hope that the holiday season treated you all well. I, myself, had a wonderful time with family and friends and now that the New Year is upon us, I am left with tremendous resolve to make this year the best one yet.
There are many exciting projects and events on the horizon and I will update you as they come along.
One of the first events that I am very excited about is Macworld 2008 in San Francisco. It is during the week of January 14th through the 18th. ASMP will be manning the digital experience booth throughout the week and we are all excited to have such involvement and enthusiasm from our members. I am particularly excited about the special event that ASMP has arranged during the week of Macworld. New York Times columnist, David Pogue, will be giving a special presentation at Blue Sky Studios between 6:30 and 8 PM on Wednesday the 16th. His presentation is entitled "The Megapixel Myth". For more information on the event you can visit the ASMP Norcal website.
There many more exciting things to come so please keep checking in for new updates, including a possible expedition to Antarctica.

Tribute to the M.S. Explorer

I found this link from the National Geographic Site. I thought it was a nice tribute to the M.S. Explorer which sank a month ago in the Antarctic Peninsula.

M.S. Explorer Tribute

National Geographic Article

There was an interesting article in the January 2008 National Geographic. It is about all of the computers, TVs and other high tech devices that are improperly disposed of all over the world. The amount of toxic chemicals that we release into the atmosphere is ridiculous. Not to mention all of the people in third world countries who are exposed to these toxins every day because they are trying to salvage materials from the discarded devices. I have provided the link below. I hope this strikes a chord with everyone because we are all effected by it.

High Tech Trash

iPhone vs. iPod touch

I have been an Apple supporter for a long time now. My relationship with the local Apple store has only gotten stronger over the years, as they have brought out one intriguing product after another. I have even been fortunate enough to be a beta tester for some of their products. Today, I finally opened the iPod touch that has been sitting on my desk for a week. To be honest, I didn't feel that I had the need for it, as my iPhone provides me with everything I need.
Now the box has been opened and what a wonderful surprise the iPod touch turned out to be. It is basically just a slimmer, sleeker version of the iPhone but without the phone and camera. The display is a bit wider. The interface is the same and the design is just as remarkable. I imagine that it will fit nicely into my family of Apple products. The best thing about the "iProducts" is the ability to carry around a portfolio of my work, in my pocket, all the time. I cannot tell you how many times I have been able to turn somebody on to my work at a social gathering by having a portable collection of my photography with me. It is a wonderful marketing tool. I could not be any happier with Apple products.

New York Times Links

Hello everyone,
Yesterday, the NY Times featured a very interesting article about Antarctica. In their article they gave two links pertaining specifically to Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica. I thought I would share them with you as well.

U.S. Geological Survey

NASA

Response to Antarctica posting

Shortly after my last posting, I received this response:

"Mort,
That was an amazing, amazing note. To be reminded of such an adventure, such a place and such a small group of people who were there at the time. It was like climbing Everest without oxygen.
Thanks for sharing this.

Best, John"

Correspondence from Antarctic traveling companion.

I recently received an email from a gentleman who also participated in the historic journey to the South Pole in 1957-58. As you may or may not know, I was part of "Operation Deep Freeze". It was an expedition through Antarctica, to the Pole and back again, ending at Scott Base, where we caught up with Sir Edmund Hillary and the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Here is an excerpt from that email:

"G'day, Morton...

This is a voice from McMurdo Sound, 50 years ago -- I'm Geoffrey Lee Martin. You may remember we flew to the South Pole, Jan 18, 1958, with Rear Admiral George Dufek and Sir Edmund Hillary to meet Vivian Fuchs' party there on Jan 20.

I was attached to Operation Deep Freeze for that summer, representing both The Daily Telegraph, London, and the New Zealand Herald. I had been a field party member of Sir Edmund Hillary's expedition the previous summer, 1956-57, but had switched to USNavy accreditation for the 1957-58 summer to be able to report more freely for my newspapers.

I've just published a heavily illustrated (from 50-year-old Kodachrome transparancies) memoir "Hellbent for the Pole" (Random House in NZ, Allen & Unwin in Australia) which recounts what we were doing at that time. Extracts can be viewed on my website: www.hellbentforthepole.com There are two or three pix of you in the book -- including a rather handsome head-and-shoulders shot in dark glasses! I believe the Polar Times will be reviewing Hellbent in its upcoming issue.

We are all getting on a bit, now, of course (Ed Hillary, who is rather frail himself at 88, reminded me recently that "there are only eight of us left" of our original party that built Scott Base). You, I guess, would be one of the youngest survivors of those years.

Judging from your website, you've had a very interesting career after leaving the Navy. I left journalism early in the '70s to head up a medium-sized public relations firm in Sydney, but became bored and rejoined The Daily Telegraph as a foreign correspondent in the mid '80s, spending time in Italy and the Far East before establishing the Sydney bureau."

Limited Release of 2nd Edition

I would like to put the word out that there is a Limited Release of my book San Francisco (2nd Ed.) available now on Amazon.com. All books are personally signed by the author. This will be the last chance to get this best-selling book. For more information go to:

San Francisco on Amazon.com

Just look for the seller name: mortonbeebe

Get them before they are all gone!

New Links

I wanted to let everyone know about two of my new favorite links.
The first is the U.S. South Pole website. It has lots of very interesting information about the history of U.S. involvement in the South Pole. I myself have been involved since the 1957 when I was a PIO for Operation "Deep Freeze".
The other link is the Antarctica blog that I am also a contributer to. Here you will find postings by other Antarctica enthusiasts, including photography collections and interesting links.

Enjoy...

U.S. South Pole

Antarctica: Information About the Coolest Place On Earth

Hello everyone,

I have been very busy since my last posting and wanted to take a break to share with you what I have been up to recently.    

In 2006, I had the pleasure of staging a keynote presentation to a group of IBM executives from New York and a few months later for the Cascadia Center for Urban Development.  It was a wonderful opportunity to present a photographic history of the city of San Francisco as seen through my lens.  San Francisco is a city with which I have a deep connection.  Following is a link to an article about the presentation:

http://www.thebarbarycoastnews.com/index.php?itemid=162&catid=3

More recently, I have been involved in local events in connection with the Barbary Coast Neighborhood Association.  One of the most interesting projects was the "Bridging Communities" event which created a human chain across the Golden Gate Bridge to support the Bay Area United Way.

And most recently, I helped organize a weekend getaway to Calistoga, CA which was sponsored by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW).  As many of you know, I am a board member for the Northern California chapter of ASMP.  This trip was centered around the release of the new book Wine Across America - A Photographic Road Trip by Charles O'Rear and Daphne Larkin.  It was a wonderful event celebrating a beautiful new book.  For more information on the book you can visit:

http://www.wineviews.com

Thanks for taking the interest in my work and look forward to future postings about a limited release of my book San Francisco: City by the Bay.

Welcome to my Blog!

Look forward to more posts in the future.