Today was full of unusual perspectives. As our Photo Expedition of Svalbard continued, we were treated to an up close view of the immense ice wall that rims nearly a hundred miles of Nordaustlandet (“Northeast Land”), the second largest island of the archipelago. This island is mostly covered by an enormous ice cap. The captain paused to give us a close-up view of a dramatic waterfall that gushes from the ice cap (see photo), and used the opportunity to rinse the ship’s forward deck with a cascading blast of fresh melt water. From such a close perspective, only a wide-angle lens could take in the entire scene, dwarfed as we were by the towering wall of sculpted ice.
In the afternoon we landed at Torellneset on the southwest corner of Nordaustlandet. Here we found a group of about fifty walrus hauled out along the gravel shore. We took turns in small groups creeping up to within a short distance from these marvelous creatures (see photo). Many of them were sleeping, but regularly animals would lift their heads showing off their shiny ivory tusks. Our close views yielded many splendid full-frame photographs, yet from a further distance behind a group, a telephoto perspective better illustrates the thrill we all felt being close to these massive animals in their wild home.
On into the evening, we cruised farther northward in Hinlopen Strait with calm, mirrored seas reflecting the flights of birds and the intricately carved icebergs around us. At a latitude of North 79 degrees, 43 minutes, our path was completely blocked by tight pack ice. Here we turned around to the south and continued our wanderings along the wild eastern side of Svalbard.
