Leifdefjord, Northern Spitsbergen
Uh-oh, the pressure’s on…not for finding a polar bear, which is the normal anxiety up here in Svalbard, for we’ve already had 16 of those. No, the pressure that I’m speaking of today is the need to produce a good photograph for our daily expedition report. After all, this IS a photo expedition, complete with highly knowledgeable and well-respected photographic luminaries; plus a few of us naturalist types, who simply seem to photograph in a strictly documentation sort of manner. And so, slightly intimidated, I embarked on a day behind the lens, hoping against hope to live up to my end of the bargain. Besides, I reasoned, this is the Arctic; there’s practically a great shot to be had in every direction. Surely, I could find one suitable image that could be both pleasing to the eye AND to my more esteemed colleagues.
My first captures of the day were naturally comprised of the stunning landscapes complete with dramatic skies, picturesque mountain peaks, and immense glaciers. At least that’s what I was going for anyway. Afterwards, I had a few chances at our furry white friend, the polar bear, contrasting nicely against dark rocky islands, as it nosed around for a light summer snack of bird eggs and chicks. Then, the ship passed by and provided some truly mesmerizing images of an almost unnaturally blue iceberg, beautifully sculpted by the glacial water pouring into the fjord. And somewhere in the midst of all these opportunities, there were scores of graceful birds in flight, silhouetted against an icy blue glacial backdrop. Any of these photos would have probably sufficed, though, regrettably not all turned out as “picture-perfect” as I would have liked. Still, they would be nice additions to my personal album, and I wasn’t even half way through the day at this point. There were still fox tracks along the beach, calving glaciers in the bay, and countless other Kodak moments throughout the afternoon.
By the end of it all, and after sifting through the rubble of over 100 accumulated photographs from my efforts (plus the aid of a helpful and refreshing editing libation from my favorite bartender), I thought I probably had a dozen or more suitable images. Of course, that figure dropped significantly after watching Art Wolfe’s captivating slideshow presentation on his photographic expeditions around the globe, but hey, he’s Art Wolfe – professional photographer, and I’m just me – professional “that shot could have been much better had I known what I was doing!” So, I narrowed things down a bit more to the final cut. I almost went with a shot of the Texas Glacier and the eerily red melt waters it produces; but ultimately couldn’t because, well, there’s absolutely nothing in my home state that looks even remotely like that glacier. In the end I decided upon and best related to the image you see here, one of a discarded feather of the Arctic Tern nestled in a bed Moss Campion and its delicate pink flowers. Like all the plants up here in Svalbard, it struggles to carve out an existence in a land shrouded in ice and darkness for much of the year. And though it can be easily overlooked when viewed within the sweeping landscapes and alongside the bounty of wildlife, this minuscule plant is still a thing of beauty to be admired and even documented, with a macro lens, of course!
Uh-oh, the pressure’s on…not for finding a polar bear, which is the normal anxiety up here in Svalbard, for we’ve already had 16 of those. No, the pressure that I’m speaking of today is the need to produce a good photograph for our daily expedition report. After all, this IS a photo expedition, complete with highly knowledgeable and well-respected photographic luminaries; plus a few of us naturalist types, who simply seem to photograph in a strictly documentation sort of manner. And so, slightly intimidated, I embarked on a day behind the lens, hoping against hope to live up to my end of the bargain. Besides, I reasoned, this is the Arctic; there’s practically a great shot to be had in every direction. Surely, I could find one suitable image that could be both pleasing to the eye AND to my more esteemed colleagues.
My first captures of the day were naturally comprised of the stunning landscapes complete with dramatic skies, picturesque mountain peaks, and immense glaciers. At least that’s what I was going for anyway. Afterwards, I had a few chances at our furry white friend, the polar bear, contrasting nicely against dark rocky islands, as it nosed around for a light summer snack of bird eggs and chicks. Then, the ship passed by and provided some truly mesmerizing images of an almost unnaturally blue iceberg, beautifully sculpted by the glacial water pouring into the fjord. And somewhere in the midst of all these opportunities, there were scores of graceful birds in flight, silhouetted against an icy blue glacial backdrop. Any of these photos would have probably sufficed, though, regrettably not all turned out as “picture-perfect” as I would have liked. Still, they would be nice additions to my personal album, and I wasn’t even half way through the day at this point. There were still fox tracks along the beach, calving glaciers in the bay, and countless other Kodak moments throughout the afternoon.
By the end of it all, and after sifting through the rubble of over 100 accumulated photographs from my efforts (plus the aid of a helpful and refreshing editing libation from my favorite bartender), I thought I probably had a dozen or more suitable images. Of course, that figure dropped significantly after watching Art Wolfe’s captivating slideshow presentation on his photographic expeditions around the globe, but hey, he’s Art Wolfe – professional photographer, and I’m just me – professional “that shot could have been much better had I known what I was doing!” So, I narrowed things down a bit more to the final cut. I almost went with a shot of the Texas Glacier and the eerily red melt waters it produces; but ultimately couldn’t because, well, there’s absolutely nothing in my home state that looks even remotely like that glacier. In the end I decided upon and best related to the image you see here, one of a discarded feather of the Arctic Tern nestled in a bed Moss Campion and its delicate pink flowers. Like all the plants up here in Svalbard, it struggles to carve out an existence in a land shrouded in ice and darkness for much of the year. And though it can be easily overlooked when viewed within the sweeping landscapes and alongside the bounty of wildlife, this minuscule plant is still a thing of beauty to be admired and even documented, with a macro lens, of course!
