The Photographer Who's Spent a Decade Documenting Emperor Penguins in the Antarctic

A British photographer has been documenting the life of Emperor penguins in Antarctica over the last 11 years. Sue Flood, who has worked with the BBC, as well as on Blue Planet, says despite the harsh conditions, the experience has been “a privilege.”

Flood, originally from North Wales, has visited several remote colonies in order to capture the daily life of the animals amidst the unforgivingly cold weather. And her new book, entitled Emperor: The Perfect Penguin, gives a glimpse into the time she’s spent living alongside the birds.

Flood has made close to 50 trips to the Arctic and Antarctica during her career, some of which were during the 11 years she spent working with the BBC. Working as Associate Producer on The Blue Planet and stills photographer on Planet Earth are just some of her noteworthy accolades. She has also recently been made a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and also a Fellow of the North American Nature Photography Association.

As seen in some of the images below, Flood would often be sleeping in an unheated tent in temperatures around -30C nearby the colony she was photographing at Gould Bay in the Weddell Sea. Sometimes, she says, she would awake throughout the night "by the sound of their calling". Doing so has allowed her a front row seat to observe how these animals live in their natural habitat.

All images copyright and used with permission of, Sue Flood.