Ponting chose this self-portrait for the frontispiece of The Great White South, his photographic narrative of the ill-fated 1910-13 British Antarctic Expedition, led by Robert Falcon Scott. During his 15 months in the Antarctic, despite the extremely challenging conditions, Ponting produced around 2,000 glass-plate negatives and film footage. He was the first official photographer to participate in a polar expedition and his work still remains one of the most compelling visual records in the history of exploration.

No. 89