Mapping the Antarctic: Photography, Colour and the Scientific Expedition in Public Exhibition

Early 1900s Polar expeditions experimented with photography to supplement established modes of documentation, from the work of exploration to scientific study (zoology, geography, meteorology). In recognition of the economic and educational potential of visual records, R.F. Scott employed ‘camera artist’ Herbert G. Ponting for his 1910–13 South Pole expedition: the photographs, lantern slide lectures, film and watercolours were linked to science and formed the basis of public exhibitions. Ponting’s work predominantly consisted of black-and-white images from experiments with telephoto lenses, flashlight photography and cinematography, however, studies of colour exist. Autochromes, dyes and notes on the hues of refracted sunlight and artificial light link photography and colour to the temporality of the Antarctic and the vulnerability of perception.