大象传媒

Patagonia is without a doubt one of my favourite places to film on Earth. It is one of the true final frontiers of our planet - an endless, stunning wilderness at the end of the world. Behind every turn in the road is another jaw-dropping backdrop in beautiful light that photographers spend their lives looking for.

Part of its exquisite beauty though is that it is a remote and unforgiving wilderness. Winds gust with such power that locals call them “La Escoba de Dios” or “The Broom of God”, and the coasts are battered by some of the roughest seas on the planet. To survive here all of Patagonia’s inhabitants, both it’s people and wildlife, show remarkable resilience in the face of challenging conditions.

In the 2 years that I spent on the “Patagonia” series one of the times that illustrated this most for me, had to be when cinematographer Matt Aeberhard and I filmed with the huge male southern elephant seals, or beachmasters, and their fight for the right to breed on the shores of Peninsular Valdes.

Spending most of their lives at sea in the frigid waters of the southern seas, southern elephant seals are cold weather specialists. Their thick coat of blubber perfectly insulates them from the icy water but once a year the males face a great test of physical endurance and they must return to land to breed.

Weighing up to 4 tonnes the beachmasters haul themselves out onto land for up to 80 days during the breeding season. In this time they will not feed or return to the sea for fear of losing their harem of females. This is the most physically challenging time for any beachmaster, but in Patagonia there is another problem that they must contend with.

Unlike other breeding grounds found further south in their range, here mid-day temperatures can soar to 30°C and the unrelenting wind strips the air of all moisture. For the beachmasters it is for all intensive purposes a desert.

The 15cm of blubber that once insulated them from the extreme cold of the ocean now becomes stifling in the heat and even the mildest wind whips up miniature sandstorms into their eyes.

Despite the scorching temperatures and unrelenting wind, the beachmaster has to always be on his guard as contenders to his throne lie everywhere. Most of the time a glance or a roar is enough to discourage the rival males but when that doesn't work a battle of titans ensues. Each blow saps precious energy and is magnified by the intense heat.

Spending so much time filming with individual beachmasters it’s hard not to start to root for them. After each battle the toll that it takes on the beachmaster is evident, and each day we wondered whether he would still be there tomorrow.

The sheer power and ferocity with which these marine goliaths do battle is awe inspiring, especially as we were filming down at their level - from the beach with them! To film with Patagonia’s desert elephant seals was a true privilege and one that I will never forget.