For every expedition I undertake I envision one or two "trophy" shots in my mind before I ever set out. For Antarctica it was this photograph of Adelie penguins on blue ice. It is one of my all-time favorite photographs, as close to a perfect image as I've ever come. Taken in the film days, you see it "as shot", in all its Velvia glory.

I knew that Paulet Island would be the place if it was going to happen. So did 70 other photographers aboard ship so there was great anticipation as we pierced the morning fog and anchored leeward of the island. The penguins were there to greet us, by the tens of thousands, and so too were the bergs, of a hundred species of impossible blues. All we needed were a few rays of magic light to sift through the gray dome of clouds. And then it happened! As the photo demonstrates, we received a soft, ephemeral gift from heaven just as our zodiac cruised past this turquoise gem.