Icy Wilderness of Antarctica Captured in Beautifully Blue Landscape Photos

Landscape Photos of Antarctica by Jan Erik Waider

From Iceland to Greenland, landscape photographer Jan Erik Waider is well-versed in capturing snowy locations off the beaten path. In his series A Faint Resemblance, he journeys to the southernmost part of our planet to bring lesser-seen depictions of Antarctica's solitary wilderness. These blue-tinted photographs highlight the extreme beauty of this polar region.

Waider visited Antarctica at the end of 2019 via the ship Bark Europa. When he arrived at the continent, he was immediately struck by the light and textures of the numerous icebergs floating in the dark blue waters. “Icebergs reveal their journey and countless rotations in their structures and shapes: from smooth and polished to angular and rough,” Waider tells My Modern Met. “I was particularly fascinated by the endless variations of the color blue that is revealed in the ice of the glaciers and also in the surrounding waters. Especially on cloudy days, the blue appears particularly intense, as if it shines from inside.”

In these photos, Waider highlights the varied appearances of these massive icebergs. At the same time, he captures the stormy atmosphere in which the cloudy skies blend into the ocean making it hard to see the horizon. “Even after a two-year distance, I am still not sure what really happened there: it was definitely one of the most surreal and beautiful experiences of my life, even if very exhausting on different levels,” he says.

“Antarctica is a place that you have to work for and where you can't just sit in a regular airplane that flies you there in comfort. The trip with the sailing ship Bark Europa was definitely the right choice to also get a small taste of how the explorers must have felt, in search of the white continent or the end of the world.”