01/27/08
All, I know it has been a long time, in fact it has been years, four to be exact. I am sorry I have been so distant and lost but I can assure that this lates trip will recover me in you good graces, assuming I was ever there in the first place.
Lets back up a second here and push the last four years in to a three line paragraph:
Got back from Europe, Went to Gig's funeral, Worked on a boat, Tattoo, had a show of prints from my euro trip, got a job, moved to Boston, Moved to Providence, working way to hard, trying to have fun, race motorcycles, have cars, ride bikes, still in Prov, still work in Boston, Tattoo. Done? Good, if I left anything out please don't be offended, I am tired as hell here trying to write this e-mail so just shut up.
For those of you that are new to this list, welcome. My spelling is unbeatable in a bad way, my grammar is worse but I would like to think my pictures and the places I go will make up for that fact. If you do not feel I am correct in this assumption then you can go to someplace cold, dark, light, dry and distant. Shit, that is where I am. Anyway, if you don't want this e-mails let me know and I will remove you. If there is anyone you send this to please have them e-mail me directly and I will add them to this list. Am I being optimistic about people liking what I am about to say and show? Maybe. Ok, I will go cry now.
Anyway, here we go.
I have been lucky enough to be working with an Large format (5x7) photographer named An-My Le (^ over the e, ohh shut up). She is an old friend that I met when I was a kid, she and her husband John Pilson were students of my old man's in the early 90's at Yale. An-My and John have been friends from that point out and we have all worked very closely on projects over there years.
In the last year I have traveled with An-My to the Middle East (Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait), Japan (Nagasaki and Tokyo) and now we are coming live to you from Antarctica. An-My has been in the middle of a very large project having to do with the Military and the Sea. This work started many years ago and will continue for the next few, most owhich will be shown in NYC and in her next book. You can see her current work at her galleries website here.
This latest trip has taken us from New York City to Los Angeles to Sydney to ChristChurch to McMurdo Station on the Ice. I am sorry I am so tired here and I will do my best but I have about 20 more minutes before I pass out.
The flights were great other then the fact that they all left late and were ay to long. First Leg, 6:15 hours, Second Leg: 14:15 Hours, Third Leg: 6:15 hours. As I am sure you can assume I was about to lose it but here I am. We landed in Christchurch NZ on a nice Afternoon sans Bags. Thats right, the airline lost all our luggage somewhere between there and here, but hey, we were happy as were beat to shit and in need of a shower and a sleep, The Grange was our home for the next few days, a nice little B and B on the outskirts of ChristChurch.
Good Food, Good Sleep, and Good shopping later we were off to the USAP (United States Arctic Program) CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) to get our new getups for our trio. I might mention that two days later An-My and I still had the same cloths on that we left NYC with.
We were kitted out the 9s with two huge coats, Socks up the ass, Boots like nonother you have ever seen before, Under Under pants, shirts, three pair of gloves, hats, neck warmers, water bottles, goggles so on. Two huge orange bags worth. Fitted and ready we returned to The Grange to get one more nice night of sleep before lift off the next day, still no luggage, lovely I know, I was ripe like no ones business.
Off the the airport in the AM, we get suited up, and hurry the hell up to wait. Wait in fact more then intended as the plane was in need of a part that would need to be installed before take off, so add another two hours before we bolt. Eating, sitting around, listening to music could still not prepare us for the flight we were about to take. Nothing amazing occurred on the flight, but the flight itself was pretty unreal. Ever sat in the back of a pickup truck? Well then welcome to the world of a C17 Jet with about 40 other people, Mail, Food, a big Plane landing ski and other things I cannot even begin to imagine. Loud is not the word to use, more like unreasonable. I am not one to complain and I am not in this case but merely stating the sheer dumbfounding blanket of noise that one must endure to get to the ice. The other options are LC130 (Slower Prop plane) at 8 hours or an ice breaker at shit I don't know, 4,5,6 days out? Boat sounds pretty good when you are about 2 hours into the 6 hour flight I will tell ya.
Landing on the Ice is wild, they land with the wheels and it is half as harsh as when you land on a runway, it is quite wild, you expect the world to come to an end and you have no idea when it is coming as there are no windows in the back of this here pickup truck, but all the sudden vrooooomm, and then you hear the reverse thrusters doing their things as brakes are worthless on the ice. The thrusters are the most bothersome thing about the whole process, over all I give an 11 on my flying experience (12 being landing and taking off on a C12 COD from the USS Stennis in the Persian Gulf).
Getting of the pickup is nothing a picture, movie or this stupid e-mail can explain, you will just have to get your ass out there and have at it yourself. Let me try, Air like you have never breathed in your life, Sun like you can't imagine, Mountains in the distance with sun and clouds that hollywood would kill for, An-My stood there for a few and could not speak, she moved only when I yelled at her to get a move on. Two Huge, Huge, not just huge but I mean Huge transport rigs are sitting there ready to talk your blownaway ass to camp. Trust me, I you could just sit there and freeze and be happy as a clam.
In the truck you are reminded of School bus days, only you and everyone else are in Party Sumo suits, so there is about enough space for a 70 pound 5th grader to walk down the isle of said Huge transport. On the Way, we stopped at the Kiwi Camp just over the hill from McMurdo name Scott base, named after the British Brass Balled explorer that was the second to get to the South Pole. From there it is up and over the hill to our new home where I come to you now from, McMurdo.
McMurdo has the feel of Vermont and Oregon mashed into one and put far far away. The people are happy, the Scientist can hardly hold a conversation, the beer is good, the food is better then the P-B and Js I live on. This is a hell of a place to call home. The Terrain is like Hawaii plus Everest, add Science labs, Generator Huts, Power lines, Vans, trucks so on.
We have been here for 37 hours thus far, we have had about 13 hours of that time taken by meeting and training. Throw in there a small amount of sleep, three meals, a four mile run in my underwear (We still don't have out Luggage), a Beer, and now the three hours it has taken me to do this sill post for all my friends in far off places.
I really need to sleep now, so I will finish this all by saying a few things, we will be going to The south pole, back to the airbase, over to the waste camp, and a few other places. With this said I hope to be able to take some shots of An-my allows it, we are here to get the best in the world for her, so she comes first, after her come me, then beer, food, Shower, strange people, my job, then you.
The following link will put you uptodate on the images I have decided to share. I hope you all enjoy it. Please let me know if you have anything to say and I look forward to you input. Sorry I am so beat. Ohh, and thanks to my Boss for letting me go on this trip, he rules. //db
OK, get dressed. Your mom showed you howto right? Thanks mom for that.
The littlest Kiwi girl driving a big-ool bus from the USAP (United States Artic Program) Terminal to the C17 artic Mac Truck if you will. No, PeterBuilt!
So next time you ship something via FedeX overnight or something, just feel a little bad for it ok, for it has to sit in a plane like this for the duration and I can assure you it is a trying situation. You have to yell to the person next to you if they fart, yell and I mean yell.
The Windows were dirty and I am not going to take the time to retouch them ok? Just know I can and I can do so better then anyone you know. Ya, I am that good. Bring it.
Hey look! Ice. Wait a tick, what is all that grey shit on it? Ohh, that is just db being a lazy fuck not retouching the image.
Ansel Adams meets the blueprint. It could work.
This is the look An-My makes when she is worried about the landing. I was pissing my pants laughing at her. Maybe she was just amd at that. hmmmm
Yes, the C17 is one of the coolest, most nasty looking Planes ever made. But does it come in Black?
"Ivan" the wonderbus.
The Detla, not the red headed step child, more like the old man that knows more then the new WipperSnapper. Yes, that box on the back is where you sit. If wonder what it feels like to be a fish in a fishtank? Like that with diesel smell on top. Love it!
Welcome to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. I did my best on this shot. I hate shots like this. Lets pretend someone else took this ok?
Ohh you know, my daily commute to the office, that there on the left is Crarey Lab, the lovely site that I am sitting in while I make this foolish page.
Crarey Labs, paper or plastic? Stairs or slant. I don't know. Leave me alone.
I took this picture about 45 minutes ago. It is 10:30PM now. It looks like this still and will do so for the next month and a half or so at what point it will go dark and stay that way for a long long time. I sure as shit hope I make my flight home. Not that I am not stoked to be here, it is just that, well, I like girls that shave their legs. You know what I am saying? Kidding, there are cute girls here I think.
All images are copyright of Dan Benson so step off.