Who's Behind Antarctic Shot
By Elena Marsh · Updated August 2026
Antarctic Shot is written and fact-checked by two people with different, complementary vantage points on the same subject: one behind the camera, one on the expedition team. Neither of us is affiliated with any operator compared on this site — see our affiliate disclosure for the specifics.
Lead Photography Editor
Elena Marsh
Elena has spent over a decade photographing wildlife in cold-weather environments, with several expeditions to both Antarctica and the Arctic behind her. Her work has appeared in polar and wildlife photography publications, and she writes the operator comparisons and gear guidance on this site.
Her focus on polar photography specifically — rather than wildlife photography generally — comes from a practical frustration: gear that performs fine in temperate conditions fails in specific, predictable ways in Antarctic cold and spray, and most general photography advice doesn't account for that. That gap is what Antarctic Shot's gear guidance and operator comparisons are built to close: not generic travel-photography tips, but the specifics of shore-landing limits, Zodiac logistics, and cold-weather equipment behavior that only show up once you've actually shot in these conditions repeatedly.
Polar Expedition Consultant
Diego Álvarez
Diego worked for several years as an expedition guide on polar voyages, including operators covered in our comparison — we don't name which, specifically to avoid any appearance of favoring a former employer in our rankings.
On Antarctic Shot, Diego checks the operational facts in every article before publication: landing cadence, ship specifications, Zodiac fleet sizes, and IAATO/AECO regulatory details. His time in the field also shapes the practical guidance on this site — the rules and ethics section on our homepage, and the gear advice that assumes real Zodiac transfers and real landing conditions rather than a marketing brochure's description of them. If a number in our comparison table looks off, it's the kind of thing Diego's review is meant to catch before it ever reaches this site.
Our review process
Elena writes the comparisons, verdicts, and gear recommendations. Diego reviews every operational claim — ship specs, landing numbers, regulatory status — against operators' official materials and public IAATO/AECO records before anything goes live. A claim doesn't get published until both sides sign off: Elena's read on what it means for a photographer, and Diego's confirmation that it's accurate as of the last check. Pricing and ship details are checked quarterly, ahead of and during the November–March Antarctic season, and updated when an operator changes a fleet, program, or published rate. The full methodology behind our rankings — not just who checks what, but the criteria themselves — is on our editorial policy page.
If something on this site doesn't match your own experience with an operator, or you've spotted a fact that's changed, we want to know — reach out through the contact page. You can also read more about why we built this site in the first place on our about page.