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11 Herbert Ponting was renowned for his adventurous approach to photography. His most famous work was taken during the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913, when he became the first professional photographer to capture the Antarctic. Ponting was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 21 March 1870. He was the son of Francis W. Ponting, a successful banker, a career that his father hoped his son would follow. On leaving school, he took a job at a bank in Liverpool. However, in 1892, he gave up his position and travelled to the West Coast of America. It was here that he met his future wife, Mary Biddle Eliot, whom he married in 1895. With the help of his family's money, Ponting bought a farm in California, but they returned to England six years later after the farm failed. After only a short period of time, however, Ponting returned to the United States, where he became interested in photography. An acquaintance commenting on one of his stereoscopic photographs suggested that he approach publishing companies and enter his work into photographic competitions. In 1901, he travelled to the Far East to photograph the people, landscapes, and wildlife of countries including Burma and Japan. The results were published in several magazines, including Harpers Bazaar, and The Illustrated London News. Ponting's first book: In Lotus Land, Japan was published in 1910, by which time he had an established reputation as a successful photographer. In 1910, Ponting set sail with the rest of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic Expedition as the expedition's official photographer, personally chosen by Scott. Both his established reputation and his connection with Cecil Meares, who was in charge of the dogs for the expedition, helped him acquire the post. The Geographical Journal wrote at the time, 'the British Antarctic Expedition should be very well served by the camera in Mr Ponting's hands'. He remained in Antarctica for just over a year, during which time the other members of the expedition witnessed his great enthusiasm for representing nature. Ponting went to great lengths to take the best photograph, on one occasion narrowly missing an attack from killer whales. He insisted on using the traditional glass-plate technique for developing his photos, his cumbersome cinematograph and large amount of developing equipment added to the difficulty of his task. On his return to England in February 1912, Ponting was disappointed by the lack of response to his photographs and films. Hearing of the subsequent deaths of Scott and the four other men who reached the pole, he set out to promote the legacy of the expedition. He held several lectures, and produced the film, Great White Silence, which received great acclaim. In the last few years of his life, Ponting turned away from photography, investing in business ventures, which made him very little money. At the time of his death in London, 1935, he was almost destitute. Ponting is remembered as a technically skilled photographer, and his photographs have become crucial in establishing both the legacy of Robert Scott and the enduring myth of his polar exploits. Herbert Ponting 1870-1935 01 Herbert Ponting, Cavern in an Iceberg, 1910 Stamped with photographer's signature and title ink stamp Green-toned carbon print mounted on board, printed early 1930s 18 x 12 1/2 inches