Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris Tour Staff

Cheesemans Ecology Safaris carefully selects leaders who are tops in their field to insure that your experience is the best it can be. We also provide a complete support staff on our larger expedtions, such as to Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Arctic. The staff on your expedition can include some of the professionals listed below, your trip itinerary contains the complete staff list.

Vidar Bakken has worked extensively as a seabird scientist during his employment of 14 years at the Norwegian Polar Institute. At present, he is on the faculty at the University of Oslo and at the University Centre in Svalbard. Every year since 1986, he has made expeditions to the Arctic and has frequently guided and lectured on Svalbard voyages. He has written books on Arctic wildlife and brings an amazing knowledge of Svalbard to our voyage. Staff for the Svalbard Islands in the Norwegian Arctic.

Tim and Pauline Carr have spent fourteen years on South Georgia working for the South Georgia Museum, first as Custodians and then as Curators. Before becoming the sole resident human population on South Georgia, they spent 25 years circumnavigating the globe in Curlew, a 28-foot, engineless wooden sailboat, built in 1898. Arriving at South Georgia in 1992, the Carrs were inspired by this incredible island and wrote the book Antarctic Oasis in 1998. In addition to their sailing exploits around the island, they have explored inland extensively whilst camping in tents, bivouacs and snow holes. Tim and Pauline are delightful personalities, and they bring to our voyage an unparalleled intimate knowledge of this very special and remote island. They are on our staff for South Georgia.

Dr. Richard Davies grew up in Kenya and has been aware of the vulnerability of the environment and the importance of conservation for as long as he can remember. He graduated in philosophy at Oxford and went to sea as a merchant seaman before qualifying as a doctor in Belfast. He and his wife Sarah sailed their yacht Cowrie from the UK to the Falklands in 1996 and he has practiced medicine there ever since. The isolation of the Falklands requires a wide range of medical skills and he enjoys the challenge of working in this small community. Richard also served two years on the islands Legislative Council, and was chairman of the government's Environmental committee. But he is happiest when exploring the coast in his beloved yacht. He is on our staff for South Georgia.

Tim Davis has been a self-employed professional photographer for more than thirty years, now working in wildlife photography after spending his formative years photographing sports, annual reports and advertising projects. His wildlife work has appeared in diverse publications from National and International Wildlife, Terre Sauvage, Wildlife Conservation and BBC Wildlife to Sports Illustrated, Outside and Time. Recent animal and wildlife advertising work includes Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Mutual of Omaha and others. He has traveled extensively on all seven continents in pursuit of wildlife stock images, marketed worldwide through his various agents. He has received a top award in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards and was co-author of Popular Photography's Nature Column with his wife and partner, Renee Lynn. Tim and Renee were also featured on Wild Discovery of the Discovery Channel. See a sampling of his work on his website. He spent a month photographing an Emperor Penguin colony on the Antarctic continent. Tim has been leading Antarctic adventures with us since 1994. He is on our staff for South Georgia.

Patrick Endres was born and raised in the Midwest but was lured to Alaska in 1981 by pursuits of higher education, an innate love of the natural world, and a youthful zeal for adventure and travel. In the beautiful surroundings of Alaska he was able to combine his childhood love of the visual arts and interest in nature to forge a career in freelance photography. He brings many years of experience to Alaska Photo Graphics, a business through which he presents the creative world of photography. His work has been widely published. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

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Dr. Art Ford retired from a career with the U.S. Geological Survey doing geological research in polar and alpine regions. He earned his PhD degree at the University of Washington (Seattle) for the first geological study of one of the active, high volcanoes of the Cascades Range of Washington state (Glacier Peak), after which he taught geology for two years at San Diego State College. In 1960 he joined the USGS to lead expeditions that explored mountains near the South Pole (Thiel Mountains). In his many years of Antarctic research he led or participated in 13 expeditions to the Pensacola Mountains; the Lassiter Coast of the southern Antarctic Peninsula; the Shackleton Range (as exchange scientist on the 22nd Soviet Antarctic Expedition, in 1977); the Black Coast of the central Antarctic Peninsula (a 1986 joint USGS-British Antarctic Survey expedition); and was a geologist on the Deep-Sea Drilling Project vessel Glomar Challenger's first explorations of Antarctic sea floors, of the Ross Sea, in 1972. His 35 years of research in Antarctica and many parts of Alaska produced nearly 200 maps and reports, including the chapter Antarctica in Encyclopedia Britannica. He was awarded the American Polar Medal and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Explorers Club, and the Geological Society of America. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

Bjørn Frantzen brings a great sense of humor and personality in addition to his in-depth knowledge of the Arctic. As leader of the Norwegian Polar Institute's office in Svalbard, former president of the Norwegian Ornithological Society, and current head of the Svalbard Nature Conservation Society in Svalbard, he has extensive experience. Bjørn has also worked with nature conservation in the Russian part of the Barents Region and as a monitor of the oil transportation from the Russian Arctic to Europe and the USA. Staff for Svalbard Islands in the Norwegian Arctic.

Dr. Ross Hofmeyr hails from South Africa where he trained in emergency medicine and currently works in anaesthetics and critical care. A particular passion for wilderness and remote medicine led him to spend fifteen months in the Antarctic as doctor and expedition leader for the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE). A keen outdoorsman who revels in spending time in the field, Ross divides his spare time between mountaineering, paragliding and volunteer wilderness search and rescue missions. He looks forward to returning to the White South this austral summer as a member of the Cheeseman team. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

Maria Honig has exihibited a passion for the sea during her long involvement in recreational and vocational maritime activities. She studied both Marine Biology and the Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and has frequented the coasts of South Africa and Namibia by sailboat and fishing vessel. More recently, her interests have been focused on the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem while working for the World Wildlife Fund for Nature Responsible Fisheries Programme and the Albatross Task Force. She sailed both South Geogia and the Antarctic Peninsula last season and is excited to share her experiences with you. She is on our staff for South Georgia.

Joe Kaplan has pursued a passion for natural history since childhood. Though interested in many aspects of avian ecology, the population dynamics of the common loon has fascinated him for almost twenty years. When Joe is not in the field, he can be found mending historic lighthouses, tending garden, or organizing a grassroots effort to protect land near his home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He is on our staff for South Georgia.

Ali Liddle has spent fourteen years living in the Falkland Islands where she currently shares her working hours between teaching at the Infant and Junior school in Stanley and working as Educational Officer with Falklands Conservation. In 1997 she spent nine months on South Georgia where she ran the small Post Office and took every opportunity to explore the local area around Grytviken and King Edward Point. She has published three books to date one entitled Plants of the Falkland Islands and two art and craft books for children which use penguins and albatross as a source of inspiration. Ali is a keen runner, having completed three Falkland marathons in the last four years. She enjoys camping trips around the Falkland Islands in the summer months and is an enthusiastic photographer and artist. She is on our staff for South Georgia.

Bruce Miller is a retired computer engineer who now enjoys his family, his travels, and his freelance photography business, Cooper Mountain Photography, specializing in wildlife, nature, and sports photography. Bruce is a fantastic teacher and will lecture on digital photography and Photoshop. He also enjoys working with others one-on-one to give photo advice and answer questions. In addition to previous Southern Ocean trips, he has accompanied us to five other international destinations, including Africa and the Neotropics. He is on the staff for Antarctica.

Tom Murphy founded Wilderness Photography Expeditions in 1986, and teaches a well-known and respected photography seminar series primarily in Yellowstone National Park as described on his website. Tom will teach photography sessions on ship and ashore to help you bring your wildlife photography to new levels of excellence. He is the author of several books including The Light of Spring: The Seasons of Yellowstone. He has also been featured in a PBS Nature series program, Chistmas in Yellowstone. He is on our staff for Antarctica and South Georgia.

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Rod and Marlene Planck operate a successful natural history photographic business. Rod has been a professional nature photographer for over twenty years, with Marlene as manager of the business. Rod's images have appeared in Audubon, Sierra, National Wildlife, Natural History, Backpacker, Birder's World, Ranger Rick and Photo Life. His images have appeared also in numerous calendars, textbooks and advertising layouts. Together, Rod and Marlene conduct a popular series of week-long workshops around the country for nature photographers of all skill levels described on their website. Rod and Marlene live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where Rod does a lot of his spectacular photography. It is near to many of the forests, bogs, and lakeshores that Rod has photographed over the years and has come to know and love. They have been on our Antarctica staff for over ten years. In addition to Marlene and Rod's wide-ranging knowledge of natural history and photography, they bring a contagious enthusiasm for the seabirds we'll encounter on our Southern Ocean charters. They are on our staff for South Georgia and Antarctica.

Craig Poore is our historian and will tell us the great stories of Southern Ocean history, including early exploration, the heroic age and the more recent conflict in the Falklands/Malvinas. On board, he will also be on deck watching for cetaceans and heading up our entertaining conservation fund raiser. On shore, he will assist with zodiac logistics. Craig travels a lot for his full-time job in the software industry and is an expert on packing. He has authored an excellent polar packing list and (in the spirit of Amundsen) has put a lot of study into packing the perfect bag for Antarctica that is complete, while still being reasonably light and manageable. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

Edward Rooks is a professional wildlife artist with a keen interest in nature. Take a peek at some of his work on his website. A naturalist par excellence with an artist's eye, he teaches drawing workshops during our Antarctic expeditions both during days at sea and onshore. He excels in helping you uncover your unknown artistic talent if you choose to join him. Edward has led wonderful tours for us in the past to his native Trinidad where he grew up beside the sea. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

Monika Schillat has traveled as Expedition Leader to the Antarctic for the past eight years. Originally from Germany, Monika is now a resident of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, where she lectures on Latin American History at the Patagonian National University. She is a published historian, her works include several books on the history of Tierra del Fuego and the South Atlantic Islands. She is also author of travel guides, two essay books - one on Antarctica and the other one on the Arctic, plus an Antarctic Bestiary with her personal watercolour sketches. She is on our staff for South Georgia.

Dave Shaw is a research biologist at the Alaska Bird Observatory and a freelance writer and photographer. His writing and images have appeared in both magazines and scientific journals. He received a Masters degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Alaska in 2006 and has worked as a naturalist guide in Antarctica, Central and South America, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountains. He is on our staff for Antarctica.

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Updated in August 2009

All material © Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris.
All photos © Doug or Ted Cheeseman, unless otherwise credited.
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