WALKING WITH PENGUINS

Mourning her late husband, photographer Ursula Clare Franklin needed a new direction. Soon she was travelling the world, on a quest to photograph her favourite animal, the penguin all 18 species of them

- URSULA CLARE FRANKLIN

IN JULY 2012, AS WE APPROACHED our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband Ralph died suddenly, following a major heart attack. In my grieving state, I knew that keeping busy and having goals were essential to my healing, but I had no idea what direction to take.

Several months later, a friend was showing me photographs from her trip to Antarctica and it suddenly came to me: penguins. I have loved penguins since I was a child and delighted in their tuxedo-like plumage and funny antics, not to mention their diversity and incredible behaviour. Without thinking, I found myself announcing that I was going to photograph every species of penguin in its natural habitat. And with that, Mission Penguin was born.

At this stage I wasn't sure how many species of penguin there were. I quickly confirmed that there were 18, scattered across the southern hemisphere, in some of the remotest places in the world. This was going to be a challenge - but there was no going back.

During my marriage, I had seen three penguin species: the African penguin in South Africa; and the little and yellow-eyed penguins while on South Island, New Zealand. This meant tracking down 15 more species to complete the quest.

Most people associate penguins with snow but many species have evolved to thrive in quite different habitats. While I'd already seen penguins on African beaches, I was amazed to find that some species breed in forests, and another in deserts. Others even make their home close to the equator. Mission Penguin would clearly require a lot of travel so, to minimise my flying time and carbon footprint, I grouped closely located species together.

MY INAUGURAL EXPEDITION was in February 2016, to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Falkland Islands. Antarctica was like another world. The sheer beauty of this icy white landscape was mesmerising and gave me a sense of deep peace.