Pioneering Antarctic photography: Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley

Abstract

Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley became the first specialist photographers recruited to British and Australian Antarctic expeditions. Ponting was enlisted on Captain Robert Scott’s 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition, while Hurley was employed by Dr Douglas Mawson’s 1911–1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition. The enduring impact of Ponting and Hurley’s iconic images has shaped – and misshapen – a cultural perception of Antarctica, constructing a visual understanding that the author terms a “black and white memory”. In recent years, photo historians have pitted the artistry and intrinsic value of Ponting and Hurley’s photographic images against the other. This article chooses to sharpen the close-up lens on two historic photographic legacies, within the cultural context of their respective expeditions. It examines the aesthetics particular to each man’s vision, influenced and informed by: differing creative philosophies; contrasting cultures within the expeditions; the physical nature of two Antarctic locations; and the range of field experiences available to each photographer.

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