These are a set of images assembled from slide photographs that my father, a marine micro-biologist, shot in the Antarctic. They were recorded over three separate scientific expeditions: the first to Macquarie Island in 1951-2, which was the first scientific over-winter trip to the island; the second to Mawson Base in 1956; and the final one to the US McMurdo Base in 1961-2. During the final trip my father became the first person to dive beneath the ice for scientific purposes (there is an image below of him in his dry-suit). Later in his life my father was Director of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. He is currently approaching his 93rd birthday.
I have done very little to the images. I have not cropped them. I have not adjusted their tones or colours. I have not made any effort to disguise their dust and scratches. They are as scanned.
What I especially like about these photographs is that they do nothing to downplay the complex interaction between science and the landscape. There is no sense of pristine wilderness. The focus is on tents, machines, buildings, labs, etc. and their relation to the Antarctic environment. The Second World War had finished roughly a decade ago, leaving science and technology to be harnessed for other purposes, but by scientists and technicians whose identities were shaped by wartime experience (even if they were never literally soldiers).
Macquarie Island, 1951-2, John Bunt
Mawson Base, 1956, John Bunt
Mawson Base, 1956, John Bunt
Mawson Base, 1956, John Bunt
McMurdo Base, 1961-2, John Bunt
McMurdo Base, 1961-2, John Bunt
McMurdo Base, 1961-2, John Bunt