A book 8 years in the making: When Stefan wintered in Antarctica for the first time in 2012 he immediately fell in love with the neighbors of his research base – the 10,000 emperor penguins of Atka-Bay.
Whenever possible Stefan would spend his free time on the Antarctic sea ice in order to observe and document the lifecycle of these magnificent birds. Being exposed to the extremely harsh weather conditions of the icy continent, he wondered why a bird that cannot fly, walks funny and always looks grumpy, could live in a inhospitable environment like Antarctica.
It was during 2017, when Stefan returned to Atka-Bay as an expedition photographer and camera assistant for the BBC, that he finally understood why.
Being out in the field even more than before, he noticed, that all of the penguins’ actions during their yearly cycle had one thing in common: they were based on strong bonds. Bonds of the emperors to their environment, bonds to their mate, bonds to their chicks and even bonds to all of the other birds in the colony.
„Penguin (A Story of Survival)” tells the emotional story of „Penguinlove“: a word which Stefan has invented to describe the deep and honest relationships, which enable emperor penguins to not only live in Antarctica, but even to create new life in a place where many think life cannot not exist.
It is a personal and intimate story about sacrifice, about dedication and about love – at the end of the world.