awildlifejourney
Polar bear swimming at the surface, looking straight into the camera
78.9° N · 11–18° E · JULY

Svalbard

Ten days along the pack ice edge — looking for polar bears, and with everything else that happened to show up.

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Region
Svalbard archipelago, pack ice edge
Dates
July, Arctic summer
Transport
Sailing ship, Zodiac
Observed
Polar bear, bearded seal, harbor seal, walrus, humpback whale, puffin

The light here doesn't know night. At three in the morning the fjord lies just as still as it does in the afternoon, and in that stillness the ice keeps changing shape — one moment a wall, the next a sculpture, then just water again.

Most of the time is spent waiting at the railing. A polar bear swimming between the floes, a fluke breaking the surface for a moment, a call going across the deck because someone has spotted something no one had announced yet. This is a selection of what came in front of the lens during those ten days.

Photos

Thirteen photographs, loosely sorted by time.
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