As David C mentions, we were in South Georgia/Antarctica with Aurora last November. Both Aurora and we learnt a lot about integrating the photography program into the usual running of the expeditions.
I was also with neile on that 2009 trip, and definitely the Zodiac trips can be easier without having to interact with non-photographers. Of course that's not the only issue, but it can be prominent.
goudswaard, an impression I get from your post is that you're hoping to set up a wonderful single expedition. This is commendable, but there are always challenges and you'll need to compromise.
Trips that include South Georgia necessarily include a LOT of sea-time (not surprising when you look at a map). Although I do believe that travel time is more than recompensed by the experiences you will get at the island, it does consume a lot of time. Most trips that include South Georgia don't actually spend a lot of time in Antarctica itself. In November's voyage we had 2 days in the Falklands, 4 full days in South Georgia, and just over 2 days along the Antarctic Peninsula. Those were all very full days, but I know some people came away wishing for more time amongst the Antarctic Peninsula having had a 2-day taste. The rest of the time was spent travelling. It's not wasted time, as it gives us a chance to get non-outdoor activities in (including reviewing your images and "recharging" for the next destination, and also various lecture programs and photography of birdlife as the weather allows).
Our schedule was restricted by the weather, but that's always a chance(likelihood?) on the Southern Ocean. Luckily for us the weather usually just meant slower travelling (thus we had to skip the South Orkneys) and we could still get "outside time".
Even trips down to just the Peninsula have to spend time crossing the Drake Passage. In 2009 when we headed down below the Antarctic Circle with MichaelR we had about 8 days along the Peninsula. It was billed as a 13-day trip.
The kicker with the added sea-time on these trips is that it usually directly adds to the price (ie. the running of the ship is a big cost that needs to be covered).
Just considering locations, whatever trip you go on will be a compromise. You could go on a 3-week South Georgia/Falklands/Antarctic trip and then decide which area you wanted to go back to on a future voyage, you could take on one of the purely-Antarctic itineraries and then consider the sub-antarctic islands for a separate trip, etc.
I know some people who've been to both and decided that the wildlife of South Georgia is their drawcard, and aren't really interested in Antarctica. And then there are others who feel that Antarctica is the big drawcard for them.
BTW they both have landscapes and wildlife, but I think in general the Antarctic environment is overwhelming. I'm drawn to both places, but fitting it all into one voyage is always a challenge.
Later this month I'll be heading down to Ushuaia for the
last trip of the 2010/2011 season. On this voyage all the passengers will be photographers, and we'll be running our updated photography program as the core of the voyage. The entire voyage is a long one, heading down to the Antarctic Peninsula (7 days), up to the Falklands (5 days), and then up the Patagonian coast including locations such as Peninsula Valdes. However, there's also the option to head home from the Falklands after two weeks. BTW, this voyage is a one-off opportunity and is not scheduled for 2012.
There are some
last-minute spots available, for as little as
$4500 for the 2-week option. But you'd need to be able to travel for the last half of March.
By the way, in November 2011 our South Georgia trip is being run under Aurora Expedition's banner (integrated into the ship's expedition team). It's the
November 12 departure, and under the "Activities" tab on their site you can see "Photography" listed as an option. Although the photographers won't be filling the ship, we'll be an official group within the voyage (e.g. with our own Zodiacs, lecture slots, etc) which I'm sure will be a different experience to the 2010 trip.
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David Burren