August 10, Danskøya Island 37F

Click on this link to see photos of our favorite images from the Svalbard shoot for the Arctic Documentary Project.

This morning is cold. Most definitely the coolest we’ve experienced. Danskøya Island is on the northwest part of the archipelago and is on the edge of better polar bear habitat. The ice is nearly 80 miles offshore, so any bears that are stranded on the Islands of Svalbard migrate towards the top getting as close to the ice pack as possible. Mark tells me that, “typically the ice is 15-20 miles offshore but this year is unusual.”  Surprising how often I keep hearing something similar to “this year is unusual” from people that work in the arctic. That’s been the description for hotter than normal temperatures and the varying climatic changes they’ve caused. Equally amazing is that I first started hearing people talk about the “unusual year” over ten years ago. My wife Tanya is stepping in here to describe our morning and the rest of the day as we head further north and east.

A Polar Bear wanders the snow-covered rocks in Holmiabukta, Svalbard, Norway. Nikon D7000, 200-400mm lens

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August 8, 2011, Cloudy and 43F

Tanya and I spent the past three days in Lonyearbyen in a small, very European, apartment, catching up on business matters, writing and a little rest before our next group of guests arrived.

Tanya and Dan in the rented apartment having dinner.

The first trip went really well, but every adventure to the field is new, so it’s always in your mind that the the next can be even better. Our boat is full again, housing our eight invited photo enthusiasts that all arrived on schedule. Jeanne, one of our dear and long-time friends, and a retired, 30-year 757 pilot for United Airlines, arrived in Longyearbyen minus her luggage. True to form she had a huge smile on her face and lots of great stories about the turmoil she faced trying to explain to the “lost luggage department” where they needed to deliver her bags once they found them. The story Jeanne described, as usual, was hilarious with the central theme pivoting on the idea that the agent just could not get the concept that the boat she was scheduled to board was something smaller than the typical 1500 passenger cruise ship. And, unlike the cruise ships, there was no port she would be visiting that had an SAS office she could check in with. Suffice it to say, it’s people like Jeanne who take a very bad situation and turn it into a comedy routine, that makes this job so worthwhile. Read the rest of this entry »

July 27 – Clear skies, Temp Around 45F

Sailing into the midnight sun, Svalbard, Norway. Nikon D7000

The weather continues bright and sunny. For two days now we’ve had skies with virtually no clouds. Some wind yesterday afternoon but amazingly if it weren’t for the desolate landscape, void of vegetation, and cool temps, I would swear we were cruising the Bahamas. Last night Mark downloaded the ice chart and the pack ice is 80 miles to the north. The past two days we’ve managed to find two separate groups of walrus. The first on Moffen Island, a restricted refuge we’re not allowed to enter. Regulations state that even our ship must remain 300 meters out from shore. Surprisingly, with all the necessary restrictions we had a fairly productive shoot capturing walrus coming and going. We were all thrilled to be taking pictures.

After Moffen we made our way down to Murchisonfjorden and spent the night anchored in a calm bay. The midnight sun cast its long shadows throughout the early hours of the AM. Rising from my bunk and making my way into the galley was painful due to the intense glare off the water. The brilliance sent me scurrying back to my dark, little cabin to retrieve sunglasses before making my way on deck. Unfortunately my mini travel thermometer is no longer working. I’m disappointed not to be able to get an accurate reading of the outside temps. I’ll be getting something a bit more robust for my travels in the future but for now the air temperature feels something close to 45F. It’s a guess but enough time in the outdoors makes it relatively accurate.

We finally get moving around 9:30am. Mornings are always difficult in the far north since it’s all too easy to be out hours on end in the the glorious light of the midnight sun. As we slowly make our way out of the waters of Murchisonfjorden we find a pair of walrus seemingly lolly gagging but very possibly feeding in the serene waters of the fjord. We set the engine to neutral and drifted slowly, hoping they might get curious and come visit. No such luck. After 20-30 minutes we decide to slowly motor off towards the mouth of the fjord.

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July 20, 2011

Our trip from Montana was uneventful – though flying anymore I find literally painful. When Tanya and I travel overseas we always plan to arrive at least a day early, ideally two or even three. Acclimating to a new time zone slowly can make all the difference on the first part of any adventure. In today’s world we are all very busy, and for most it’s exceptionally difficult to take even one more day away from work, but we suggest to all our guests to try and come early. The first day of your adventure is invariably more enjoyable if you can spare the time.

We broke our trip up by staying one night in Oslo. Our hotel was a Best Western not far from where we landed and it was typically European with very small rooms but an equally comfortable bed. The night passed quickly, never really getting dark. Around 10:00am we caught the well-organized, pleasant and clean bus to the airport.

PHOTO TIP

Keeping a camera close has always been the answer to great pictures. It’s never been easer to be prepared for that special image that presents itself. I carry a small body with a minimum of 28mm lens to record special moments that I find while traveling. There are so many great options to choose from today such as Nikon advanced Coolpix 5700. The photo of this unique looking, early European design car caught my eye while waiting for the bus to the airport. I took out my small, go anywhere camera and shot these pictures.

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Chopper prepares for aerial bear survey and photo shoot.

Yesterday I posted a series of images shot from a helicopter that I produced while on assignment as a volunteer for Polar Bears International. I thought about how some might be interested in knowing more about the ins and outs of taking photos from a helicopter and thus the reason for this blog entry.

One of the most important elements of shooting from a helicopter is safety. The pilots make this a priority but even they are unaware of some things you should know that will keep everyone alive.

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This blog entry marks the beginning of an adventure, actually more like a mission. A mission to document the changing arctic, its wildlife, landscapes and the people who make this part of the world their home. And in all reality it’s not truly the beginning for I’ve been working on this assignment for nearly my entire photographic career.  It’s actually the start of me making a decision to create a cohesive project. To compile my work in an organized manner that captures an ecosystem and it’s time in history.

Take a look at my recent shoot with Musk-ox for The Arctic Documentary Project

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Harlequin Ducks with the Nikon D3S

I’ve just returned from the Alaska tundra where I was producing material for a new book project on documenting the changing arctic for Polar Bears International. Before I left Nikon was kind enough to send me their newest digital SLR the D3S for testing and evaluation. I was most interested in the video features so much of this blog will relate to that. There are numerous web sites that go into lengthy details about this camera so this is a relatively short but real world analysis of this amazing new camera.

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It’s a great morning here in Anchorage. Got in last night and I’m now having a cup of coffee in the Alaska Boardroom where they do a fabulous job of taking care of you. Some days are just better than others but thankfully most are great. Today however has been exceptional.

The reason has been people. It began at the Super 8 here in Anchorage. It began with a middle aged African American man who showed there are still hard working, quality people that have a concern for who they are and what they do. I first saw him in the breakfast room where he was back tracking to get the breakfast on schedule due to the late shift not updating the breakfast bar. He was polite, courteous and helpful. I admired his work ethic. I then went to catch the van to the airport. I was standing outside when he approached me and asked if I was leaving to catch my flight. I told him I was and he jumped into the same mode I saw in the breakfast room, grabbing my heavy, large bags and smiling the entire time. He drove me to the airport, putting me in the front seat where we had an enjoyable conversation about the weather, his service in Iraq and where he had come from. Does your body ever tingle when you meet someone so friendly and an obvious asset to society. His name is Lew Diggs and my only mistake was not taking his photo.

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This begins my first blog for the new section on the PBI web site appropriately titled Arctic Exposures. You’ll be able to view it on the PBI site as well as here on our Natural Exposures blog we affectionately call the Corkboard. For those who aren’t familiar with my work, I’m currently an advisory board member for Polar Bears International. I’m also a professional photographer. My wife and I run a small company that markets my fine art photographic prints and documentary work and we employ two other people besides ourselves. Both of them seem like family. We call our little business Natural Exposures and so the connection to Arctic Exposures is established.
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