Polar expedition cruises offer incredible opportunities for photographers, whether your adventure-loving clients use smartphones or high-spec cameras. Here, Ponant Photo Ambassadors and multi-award-winning photographers Ian Dawson and Susan Flood share their love of expedition photography and the stories behind some of their favourite images.
Ian and Susan, who are friends, colleagues and share an enduring passion for Antarctica and the Arctic, both have professional CVs that are as impressive as the landscapes, wildlife and people that they capture in photography and films.
Ian has covered everything from conflict and celebrities to travel and wildlife, and Sue has worked with Sir David Attenborough and on BBC TV’s The Blue Planet and Planet Earth series.
What is involved in being a Photo Ambassador for Ponant in the Arctic and Antarctic?
The heart of our role as Photo Ambassadors while onboard is to help guests improve their photography. We help develop their skills through a range of lectures, workshops, and one-to-one sessions while exploring the polar regions, and hopefully by inspiring them with storytelling from our adventures.
We are fortunate to have experienced most of the voyages offered onboard Ponant’s icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s only luxury icebreaker, and enjoy sharing our own experiences of favourite destinations. From 2025 we will spend approximately three months each year sailing on Le Commandant Charcot in the Arctic and Antarctic.
When we’re not on the ship we guide personalised private trips in Scotland and on safari, as well as working on private commissions.
What is the longest polar voyage you’ve done?
Our longest (and favourite) polar voyage has to be the month-long trip from Ushuaia to New Zealand, via the Ross Sea and back to South America – so two months onboard.
This voyage offers the chance to explore the rich history of the golden age of exploration – the thrill of standing in Scott or Shackleton’s huts on Ross Island, observing various penguin species at close quarters, enjoying some of the finest whale encounters not to mention unique landscapes of amazing variety.
We’re very much looking forward to a particularly special voyage to the Ross Sea in 2026 when our guests will be joined by friend and polar historian Jonathan Shackleton (descendent of Sir Ernest) who will be on hand to share the history of his famous relative. Le Commandant Charcot will then travel onwards from Hobart to the largely unexplored eastern Antarctica, an area rarely visited, and on to Cape Town. A truly pioneering itinerary!
Do you always work together on the Ponant ships, or have separate assignments?
We have worked together extensively over the last three years, since being invited onboard Le Commandant Charcot’s inaugural cruise to the North Pole in September 2021. We were privileged to be appointed as the first two Photo Ambassadors for Ponant and we share a love of the polar regions.
Having three decades of experience in the field as photographers and filmmakers helps us enrich the guests’ experience, enabling them to return with images they are proud to have taken themselves. We both really enjoy teaching new photographic and filmmaking skills to fellow travellers.
We enjoy working together so much onboard Le Commandant Charcot that we have formed our own company – Midnight Sun Voyages Ltd, to take guests on private luxury adventures.
Do guests receive copies of your professional photos at the end of a voyage?
Guests are provided with images and videos by the Studio Ponant team on each vessel. Our images are not offered to guests at the end of the voyage but are used for Ponant’s global marketing, social media and promotional campaigns.
What are some of your favourite subjects to shoot in polar regions?
IAN: The Poles are remarkably different. I love photographing the communities and people in the Arctic. They have a rich cultural and distinct heritage very different from our own – having the opportunity to document this is a real privilege. Polar bears are an obvious and spectacular subject in the sea ice of the far, frozen North.
Penguins have to be on everyone’s list of favourite subjects in the Antarctic, from the ubiquitous and comical Adélie to the regal Emperors. I’ve experienced some of the most rewarding photography of orca deep in McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea.
Though not expected, the remnants of human exploration are real and tangible in certain parts of the Antarctic. One of the most poignant moments of my travels was standing in the haven of Captain Scott’s Cape Evans Hut while a stormy day brought temperatures down to minus 30°C outside.
SUE: I am very drawn to wildlife and particularly to animal behaviour. I have a background as a zoologist and before my role as Ponant’s Photo Ambassador I spent more than a decade working with the BBC Natural History Unit on such documentaries as The Blue Planet and Planet Earth with renowned naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
So, having the opportunity to document the animals that inhabit these dramatic wilderness areas is a huge privilege and passion for me, and it’s very special to be able to share that passion with others.
In the Arctic, polar bears are my favourite subject and we have had some wonderful polar bear encounters on some of our voyages to the North Pole, including the incredible privilege of watching a mother feed her two cubs out on the ice in front of the ship.
In the Antarctic, I have a soft spot for emperor penguins. I’ve been fortunate to spend many weeks camping in Weddell Sea with emperor penguins and they are the most beautiful subject to photograph!
When is your photography book due to be published?
Our latest book is a joint project – a fine art coffee table book of our favourite polar photography. We are currently in discussion with various publishers and are excited to have a rather special launch planned for 2026, when the book will be released just before our major exhibition on the French Riviera. There will be subsequent shows both in London and New York and further afield.
For more information, visit au.ponant.com, norddigital.co.uk and sueflood.com
