Story - NOMINEE: Rene Koster

The Project ‘Antarctica’ shows a series of photographs of a voyage to the South Pole. I traveled with a sailing ship which was built in 1911; the same period the last great expeditions left for the unknown continent.

Thoughts of frozen ships trapped in ice-covered seas cross my mind, images of the photographers who joined these expeditions to report of the unexplored. Fascinated by their stories I head for the same circumstances as those of the early twentieth century. A journey of longing, to a time that once was. An heroic saga; filled with hardship and adventure, in an infinite, barren land.

This series of photographs, taken with modern equipment, is a reference to the past. Personally, I feel no need for the photographs to look as if they have been created with techniques of the early 1900’s. This is why I have deliberately chosen to work in color; allowing the grey scales of the landscape to emphasize the blue captured in ice.
In my search for the right images, I have tried to avoid as many elements of the present time as possible; things that would remind me of everyday life.
The calm misty weather gives me a sense of desolation and makes the world feel smaller. The slow rate of traveling by sailing ship influences my way of taking photographs: searching for stillness, harmony and tragedy in the landscape. In search of beauty, the beauty of emptiness and cold.

About author:
Rene Koster’s work concentrates mostly on travel photography and portraits for magazines and advertising agencies around the globe.
Work from his Antarctica project was awarded by The Travel Photographer of The Year.

INTERVIEWS
Amateur Photographer – UK
Shots Magazine The Portfolio Issue - USA
My Modern Met – USA, INT
Conde Nast Traveller - SP
PrivatAir Magazine - INT
Business Insider - USA

PUBLICATIONS
The Washington Post - USA
The Weather Channel – USA
Sputnik News – INT, FR, TR
Lensculture - INT
Maptia - INT
The Guardian - UK
Sunday Times Travel Magazine - UK
Time Magazine – Asia Edition
Avaunt Magazine - UK
Sidetracked Magazine - UK
Get Lost Magazine - AU
I Gnant - DE
National Geographic Traveler - NL
Classic Sailing – UK
De Morgen – BE

COLLECTIONS
Art collection Provence North Holland: work from the photo documentary ‘South of Wieringen’
Private collections; several landscape work
Press Museum Amsterdam collection; portrait work

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
Nomination Caribbean Travel Writer Award
Travel Photographer of The Year; ‘Four girls on a balcony’ from the photo documentary ‘Dutch Beach’, jury’s favourite image
Travel Photographer of The Year; work from ‘South, in the footsteps of Shackleton’ runner up
London Photographic Association; portrait work from the “1900” project, highly commended