Congratulations David! With over 100 photos to choose from, yours received the highest rating among members. You’ve not only brought honor to the Pacific Northwest Chapter, but you have won a year of free dues for yourself. Thanks to everybody who submitted their wonderful “Cold Places” theme photos for the December contest. They can still be seen and commented on by visiting https://pollunit.com/en/polls/tcc-2025-december »
The theme for our March 2026 contest is “Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.” Click for contest details »
Antarctica is the classic “cold” destination. It has inclement, damp, and grey weather. We had our share of those conditions before heading north along the Antarctic Peninsula. On this day, however, we found a spot of relative tranquillity to anchor for the night in the aptly named Paradise Harbour, with flat calm seas providing an excellent mirror for the snow-covered mountains and glowing orange sunset. Trying to catch golden hour light at this latitude is a recipe for sleep deprivation, given the short nights. I almost missed this one, as I had been in bed before deciding to take one more look out on deck.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Gus Lopez, Seattle, Washington
While visiting the beautiful island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, our ship anchored overnight in a protected inlet where the seawater was calm and still. I woke up early and looked out onto the balcony of our cabin to see a polar bear walking along the water, stopping to gaze at its reflection.
David Berhenke, Vancouver, Washington
The colder months in Iceland bring longer nights, which is great for Aurora hunting. This spot has steaming geysers and a hot spring outflow, which picked up the color in the sky to provide a nice ground complement to the scene. It’s more difficult shooting in the cold, trying to keep batteries and fingers warm.
