30 Photos From The 2019 NG’s Travel Photo Contest That Shocked The World

On my last day in Antarctica, I was posting my last video update, I heard what I was waiting for and documented what was to come. A leopard seal was feeding on a penguin … I was in a 7mm free-diving suit to be more flexible to change positions quickly.

A normal encounter would be 20 minutes or so and I wouldn’t be too cold afterwards, but this day was different, as we swam with three different leopard seals—brrrr. I felt safe being so close to the action with my team. Just amazing.