Saint Andrew’s Bay is a two-mile-wide bight framed by the towering Allardyce Range and overlooked by the dramatic 1,600-foot rock face of Mount Skittle. The bay is ringed by three massive retreating ice rivers: the Cook, Buxton, and Heaney Glaciers. It is renowned for hosting the largest king penguin colony on Earth, a dense “penguin city” that carpets the glacial plain with hundreds of thousands of breeding birds. Alongside this spectacular avian assembly, the dark sand beaches are heavily populated by southern elephant seals and Antarctic fur seals, offering an overwhelming polar wildlife spectacle.

Shortly after leaving Saint Andrew’s Bay, we spotted several whales swimming near our ship. These are my best photos of a whale so far, which is not saying much. I hope to have more chances and opportunities to improve my technique.