Departure to the Ice

Preparing to depart with the "Return to the South Pole.org" Team to Christchurch, NZ and then McMurdo and the Pole Station. 

After a three year wait we were awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Artist and Writers Grant, # W 222- to return to Antarctica, thus the first time in 55 years Geoffrey Lee Martin and Mort Beebe will meet again to set foot at the South Pole.

Morton Beebe

http://www.returntothesouthpole.org/

150 Lombard 808

San Francisco, CA 94111

Studio: 415.362.6222

Cell: 415.706.0594

Email:  mbeebe@mortonbeebe.com

www.mortonbeebe.com

Guest Speaker at CSUEB in Hayward, CA

Recently, Morton had the unique pleasure to be a guest speaker for the graduating class at California State EastBay (CSUEB) in Hayward, CA.

"Thank you so much for driving all the way out here to Hayward CSU and sharing your knowledge and experiences. It was so beneficial for the students to hear the path of your career and how many different projects you were involved in. It was great seeing your images both still and video and it is not often that we have had a guest speaker with such a diversity of experience, someone who has met both the queen of England and the Jefferson airplane. It was truly a marvelous evening. Thank you again for spending the time with the class, you created a memory that will last a long time for all the students and many years from now, they will recall your presentation."

Had a good day, week, year, and good fortune with your next projects, all the best,

Scott Hopkins
CSU Professor of Photography
ASMP Faculty Member

Find out more of CSU's excellent Photography program at

http://www.csueastbay.edu/art/photography/

South Pole Expedition 2010

Exciting News!

The Polar Project of a Lifetime

Departing under a National Science Foundation Artists & Writers Grant for the South Polar Plateau, October 2010, Antarctica.

Having submitted an application to the National Science Foundation in 2008 for an Artist and Writers Grant to return to the South Polar Plateau my dream self-assignment has come through:

Research Objectives

Fifty years after their first trip to Antarctica, American photographer Morton Beebe (PIO Operation Deep Freeze 1957-58) and New Zealand author and journalist Geoffrey Lee Martin (1957 Member of Sir Edmund Hillary's Team and author of Hellbent for the Pole) return to the continent on a visit to the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Base. Their visit comes at the end of the International Polar Year during which significant science is being conducted in Antarctica. The two meet with key researchers and scientists, reflect on their own early adventures on the continent, and offer insights into the critical role that Antarctic exploration and scientific research continues to play in human efforts to understand and cope with climate change on Earth.

The intellectual merit is expressed by the perspective of two men who were involved in Antarctic exploration during its infancy and being able to relate the changes of human inhabitance over time to a new generation. The purpose of this film is educational. It will reach an audience that is largely made up of younger generations who increasingly get their information from the web and from television specials aimed at delivering a large amount of information in a relatively short period of time. The prospect of relating the technological and scientific advances made in Antarctic exploration and experimentation has been the primary inspiration for this project. The significance of current projects in the region will be greatly magnified by the contrast with the humble beginnings of Antarctic operations in 1957-58.

Field-Season Overview

The ASMP member production team will be comprised of Producer/Director Richard Neill of Adventure Pictures and Associate Producer/Technician Jeff Pflueger of Jeff Pflueger Photo Media, NSF request for support of this project is limited to the final stage of filming in which Morton Beebe and Geoffrey Lee Martin return to Antarctica for 6 weeks during the 2010-2011 summer.

Here is more information from NSF:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/livingsouthpole/index.jsp

You can follow the latest information
on the blog:
http://www.jerney.org/antarctica/