Mick Brown -: South Georgia the Serengeti of the Southern Ocean

Fascinating and mysterious, vast and sweeping, these were the opening lines to the report given in 2012 with regards Mick Brown; two years later Mick Brown was back at the camera club to present a talk on South Georgia the Serengeti of the Southern Ocean.

Mick Brown’s home base is Pembrokeshire, but spends most time of the year as a guide on polar expeditions and has a wealth of facts and figures to go with his images which he showed to members on Thursday 3^rd April.

Mick explained that to explore the wild life and history of South Georgia you must travel by ship, sailing from the various ports in Chile and Peru. South Georgia which is a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, it is a remote and inhospitable part of the earth’s surface, but has a magical attraction. The island is 167.4km long and 1.4 to 37km wide and is the largest island in the territory.

The images Mick showed members were of the many sea birds the island supports such as the Albatross, large colonies of King Penguins along with Petrels, Prions, Shags, Skuas, Gulls and Terns, also birds unique to the Archipelago such as South Georgia Shag, South Georgia Pipit and the South Georgia Pintail. There is no native population; but images were shown of a few settlements with the present inhabitants of the British Government Officer, Deputy Postmaster, Scientists and support staff from the British Antarctic Survey.

Following a coffee break Mick continued to explain that there are no native land mammals, though Reindeer, Brown Rats and Mice have been introduced through the activities of man. Reindeer amongst the Seals was an amusing image, these being introduced to the island in 1911 by Norwegian Whalers for meat and for sport hunting. In 2011 a complete cull was announced to take place, leading to the eradication of Reindeer from the island.

To conclude Mick showed members images relating to Sir Ernest Henry Shackelton’s Polar Expeditions to the Antarctic and his final resting place in Grytviken, South Georgia.

Images taken by Mick Brown.                  

Thursday 10^th April Judging Print/Digital of the year.

Thursday 17^th April Judging of Audio Visuals.