Into the WildWith his Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens, Dr. Jim Pearl captures wildlife and landscapes in the most beautiful and remote places on Earth —including Antarctica. |
Article By Jennifer Gidman Images by Jim Pearl |
Before he transitioned to the medical field in the mid-’70s, Dr. Jim Pearl spent his days capturing landscapes and portraits as a professional photographer. These days, even though he’s more likely to be treating respiratory illnesses than positioning reflectors, Pearl still hones his photographic craft during travel adventures to exotic locales such as the Galápagos Islands and Antarctica. |
It was on a recent trip to the White Continent where Pearl was able to put the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD lens to the test. “I used that lens in the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, and Antarctica,” he says. “I photographed a variety of wildlife in those locations, including seals, penguins, whales, and a lot of birds.”
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Pearl’s expedition started off in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and migrated down to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. “We traveled through the islands off of South America, then through the Beagle Channel and across the Drake Passage, which is supposedly the worst water in the world,” he says. “It takes about two-and-a-half days to get to Antarctica from there.” |
The weather was a formidable photographic foe at the bottom of the Earth. “You have to make sure you bring extra batteries, since they deteriorate so quickly in the cold,” says Pearl. “You also need to take fingerless gloves to allow your fingers to spread out so you can have good control of your camera. And don’t forget your waterproof camera bag — everything gets wet getting in and out of the boats.” |
The demanding travel conditions were intensified when Pearl’s icebreaker was forced to navigate through a rare subtropical storm in the South Atlantic. “It was definitely rough out there,” he says. “We survived 75-foot waves!” |
Getting Sharp, Spontaneous Shots |
The 18-270’s 15x zoom range — which offers a 35mm picture angle equivalent of 28mm to 419mm — and crisp color rendition gives photographers the ability to capture the essence of regions that most people only get to see in high-end travel magazines. “That lens allows me to take nice close-ups of wildlife that’s far away,” says Pearl. “Plus, the detail is amazing — I managed to get a picture of a seal from about 20 feet away. In the image, you can see every hair on his face. When photographing ice floes, the blue you see in the image is the blue I actually saw — the lens picked up the color really well.”
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Not having to change lenses while penguins struck a pose was also an advantage the versatile 18-270 offered. Not only did this benefit keep Pearl’s camera sensor safe from the elements, but it allowed for spontaneity when he was on the move. “Some of the wildlife I saw in Antarctica, like the penguins or baby seals, will actually approach you, so you always have to be ready to get the shot,” he says. |
The 18-270’s Vibration Compensation (VC) feature is especially helpful on unfamiliar terrain — whether it’s on land or at sea. “The VC really helped when I was taking pictures from the ship or from one of the smaller inflatable boats — you’re always moving,” says Pearl. “We also would land in places where there were a lot of rocks and uneven spaces. It’s often hard to get good footing, so the VC was really valuable in those situations.” |
The VC’s cutting-edge moving-coil mechanism, which has helped achieve a 24 percent reduction in lens length and an 18 percent reduction in weight, also provides the compactness and portability that are critical for a travel photographer. “The lens was really light and easy to carry,” says Pearl. “I could hike up a mountain and be able to swing around with the lens without it throwing me off-balance or weighing me down.” |
Because he traveled to Antarctica in March, during the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn season, the days were long — up to 18 hours of light. “We would have plenty of photography time,” Pearl says. “What time we went out would depend on where we were that day or what we wanted to shoot. For instance, for early morning shots, we’d focus on the penguins and penguin chicks. We could sometimes get 3,000 penguins in one shot!” |
To combat the gray and white of the landscape, Pearl played with the sunlight. “One of my favorite images was taken on South Georgia Island, where I used the sun to augment the photo,” he says. “It was only 9am, but the sun was already up at around 30 degrees, streaming through a cloud. I kneeled down on the freezing ground and set up for as deep a depth-of-field as I could — you see the rocks and grass in the foreground, with the mountains bathed in sun in the background.” |
Although trying to find just the right angle to capture his subjects might require a prone position on the ground or a climb up an icy, rock-strewn mountain, Pearl revealed that these physical feats weren’t his biggest challenge on the trip. “The hardest thing to do was get a picture of an albatross in focus,” he laughs. “They would fly about 60 miles per hour, right above your head. I highly recommend prefocusing in those cases to get the best shot!” |