Ross Island by Norbert Wu

Ross Island

Nature, third prize stories

1999

Meltwater drips from glaciers and freezes upon contact with sea, making frozen waterfalls. An underwater photography team worked from the US Antarctic Program's base on Ross Island during late spring. Grounded icebergs, frozen waterfalls and sea-ice stalactites form part of an underwater tableau.

Photo Credit: Norbert Wu

Norbert Wu is an independent photographer and filmmaker who specializes in marine issues. His writing and photography have appeared in thousands of books, films, and magazines. He is the author and photographer of seventeen books on wildlife and photography and the originator and photographer for several children's book series on the oceans. Exhibits of his work have been shown at the American Museum of Natural History, the California Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

He was awarded National Science Foundation (NSF) Artists and Writers Grants to document wildlife and research in Antarctica in 1997, 1999, and 2000. In 2000, he was awarded the Antarctica Service Medal of the United States of America "for his contributions to exploration and science in the U.S. Antarctic Program." His films include a pioneering high-definition television (HDTV) program on Antarctic's underwater world for Thirteen/WNET New York's Nature series that airs on PBS.

He is the only photographer to have been awarded a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship, the world's most prestigious award in ocean conservation and outreach. He was named "Outstanding Photographer of the Year" for 2004 by the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA), the highest honor an American nature photographer can be given by his peers.