[Leica] South Georgia Island and Shackleton's voyage

[lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com)]

 Shackleton seems to occupy a unique place in the annals of 
polar?exploration. He is regarded as a man of unsurpassed courage and great 
leadership ability but an inept explorer. He was blessed with amazing luck 
where it really counted. As a sailor, I am highly impressed with his 800 
mile voyage though the Southern Ocean, one of the stormiest stretches of 
water on earth in a boat that I would find unsuitable for an afternoon trip 
on Long Island Sound. I fully agree that much of the credit must go to the 
exceptional navigational skills and small boat handling ability of Frank 
Worsley. On the other hand, many would question Shackleton's poor planning 
and disregard of the advice of both Worsley and the experienced Norwegian 
whalers of South Georgia Island that led to the loss of his ship, the 
Endurance. Incidentally, Shackleton is not to be credited with the amazing 
photos of the Endurance expedition. He wanted to abandon the heavy glass 
plates and movie film. All credit must be given to Australian photographer 
Frank Hurley who risked his life rescuing the films from the sinking hull of 
the Endurance. He later convinced Shackleton that the photos would be the 
only record of the failed voyage.
Frank Hurley, himself, was an exceptional person. He was an excellent 
photographer. He recorded the Shackleton expedition on B&W glass plates, 
movies, and the then popular Paget three color process. His photos of 
Australian natives and their life is considered a valuable anthropological 
resource. He served as an officer in WW1and, although too old for service in 
WW2, worked as a combat photographer for the press.?
A number of years ago my children gave me a large coffee table book 
collection of Hurley's photographs of the Shackleton 1914-1917 expedition. 
The book is titled "South With Endurance - The Photographs of Frank Hurley" 
(ISBN 0-7432-2292-X). Every photographer should have a copy. It is a 
masterpiece.
Larry Z