Heath McFarland Photography

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Heath McFarland Photography

Adventure and travel photography

04/29/2026

More penguins!

04/27/2026

PENGUINS!!!

It’s wild to me that I’ve seen penguins enough times I’ve lost count now. 3 years ago just seeing any wild penguin would have seemed insane, now we have them wander onto station at random. They’ll be sleeping on rocks and just generally being silly.
Most of the penguins I’ve see tend to be just as silly and awkward as you would expect, emperors seem to be a little less silly, but will come find you if they see you on the ice lol.

These are Gentoo penguins. This marks my 3rd species and are the most common here at Palmer.
At McMurdo I got see Adélie penguins, and on one occasion Emperor Penguins.
🇦🇶

04/22/2026

Palmer station is on Anvers Island. The majority of Anvers island is covered by a glacier. one of the recreational opportunities we have is to cross the a part of the glacier. At the peak of the glacier is a magnificent view of the mountains around. if you continue down the other side of the glacier you will find another area not covered by the glacier. This area is very popular with local wildlife including penguins and seals.

04/20/2026

Here’s a first look at Palmer Station

here’s the winter crew saying goodbye to the summer crew who are aboard the Noosfera heading back to Chile, and eventually back home.

Noosfera is an icebreaker class research vessel built by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in the 1990s and served BAS till around 2020 when she was replace by the RV David Attenborough aka Boaty-Mcboatface and sold to Ukraine.
Now we (the USA) hire the Noosfera 2 times a year to service Palmer station. She brings the new crew and supplies including food, fuel and parts for the upcoming season.
Now that Noosfera is gone, we are pretty much on our own for the next 6-7 months till she returns.

The rest are photos from around the station

04/18/2026

Getting to Palmer station is very different from getting to the other US Antarctic stations.
For South Pole and McMurdo you start in New Zealand where you take a military cargo plane from Christchurch to McMurdo. There you can catch a different flight to South Pole.
Here on the peninsula, Palmer is only accessible via ship. It’s a 5 day journey from Punta Arenas Chile to Anvers Island and requires crossing the Drake Passage.
The Drake is famous for some of the roughest waters in the world. During my crossing I was too seasick to watch the storm, but I did get confirmation we had 20 foot seas for over a decent section of the journey. During that time I could see the waves level with my cabin window 😅 and that’s when I decided it’s best to lay down 😂

I’ve been on station for almost 2 weeks now, one week of handoff from the summer crew, and one week with the winter crew as the primary caretakers of the station. So far it’s been a wonderful place and I’m excited to share more.

Though this season I’m hoping to post more from Pole and from Palmer. They are worlds apart.

04/06/2026

First look at Anvers island. We should be at Palmer station in a few hours now.

03/10/2026

Throwback to Grand Teton national park in January of this year.
After getting back from Antarctica I had to drive my 1996 Land Cruiser and camper back to Ohio from idaho.
Well, as with any 30 year old vehicle that hasn’t run for over a year things come up. This time my trailer hitch had rusted from the inside out and broke so I was stuck in grand Teton for a few days waiting on parts… if you can call that stuck lol.
I saw a few amazing sunrises and sunsets, helped some kids who got stuck, saw some moose and just enjoyed the slow down for a few days.

I leave to go back to Antarctica in a few weeks, this time for 6-7 months rather than a full year. People keep asking how long I’m going to so this, or when I’ll get a real job. I don’t really know how to answer that anymore. The reality is, this lifestyle is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. It may not be sustainable, but that’s something I’ll deal with when the time comes rather than waste time worrying about wasting time.

02/26/2026

Last day of fire school…

I should be back on ice by the end of March. This time I’ll be flying to Chile and taking a boat across the Drake passage to Antartica.
Palmer station sits on what is often referred to as “the peninsula” this is where most Antarctic tourist ships go. Palmer is the smallest of the US research stations, winter population is expected to be under 20 people. For reference South Pole last winter was 42, and McMurdo is typically around 150-200 for winter.
This trip will complete my “Antarctic triple crown” meaning I’ve done a season at all 3 US stations. And for those wondering, yes I’m expecting to continue going to Antarctica after this season.

02/25/2026

Got some real fires in today.

01/09/2026

Made it to the Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor today

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1 Arizona Memorial Pl
Pearl Harbor, HI
96818

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