Svalbard The High Arctic Expedition
July 13th - July 22nd 2019
This July 2019 I lead my annual expedition around the northern archipelago of Svalbard in search of Polar Bears, Walrus, Arctic Wildlife and of course breathtaking Arctic landscapes. I have been leading photographic expeditions to Svalbard and the Arctic for a decade now and I never tire of returning to this incredible part of the world. Glaciers, mountains, Arctic Tundra, Polar Bears and other Arctic species are just a part of the attraction. There is something quite surreal and unique about the Arctic. The landscape speaks to me on a very personal and intimate level and I am awed by the sheer majesty and power of the mighty Polar Bear and the outright tenacity and ability of the Arctic fox to survive and thrive in such a harsh environment. This incredibly fragile region of our planet is a photographers paradise and never ceases to disappoint. Every expedition to this precious environment is both unique and special and this trip was no exception.
July is a wonderful time to visit the high Arctic. The midnight sun blesses the region with twenty fours of summer daylight; doubling the amount of time one normally finds available for photography. The normally dark nocturnal hours are a wonderful time to photograph this time of year with soft light that bathes the landscape in a gentle golden glow. This year we encountered little in the way of fog and had fantastic visibility almost the entire expedition. It is always my preference to try and photograph at night when the light is at its softest and we spent much of our time on this trip working early in the morning.
