Shane Bilston was one of the two wintering plumbers at Mawson research station in 2017, responsible for the water supply, waste management, heating and fire services. This was his first trip to Antarctica, in complete contrast to his normal plumbing job in Broome, Western Australia. Shane loves to travel and has now finally achieved his ambition of living and working on all seven continents.
Shane captured this ‘Happy Feet’ moment of emperor penguins at Auster Rookery. He says he was lying on the ice when the curious birds wandered up to him. Not wanting to take his gloves off, he had the camera sitting on the ice and was randomly pushing the shutter button. Shane used an Olympus Tough point and shoot camera set on auto mode. The photo makes him smile every time he sees it.