Svalbard Polar Bear

Polar bear on the sea ice in Svalbard. Canon 5D Mark II, Zenitar fish eye lens, 1/160 sec @ f/11, ISO 200.

I just concluded a wonderful journey on an icebreaker ship cruising the island archipelago of Svalbard in the high arctic. Having spent the bulk of my time in Alaska’s arctic, it was a treat to explore other regions, in particular a place where mountain relief is evident, and the flora and fauna slightly different. Of course, it is everyone’s dream who visits Svalbard to have an encounter with a polar bear (a safe one that is), and my trip included a handful of very good experiences both from an observational and photographic perspective.

This frame in particular was a concept I was hoping to create, using a fisheye lens to emulate a sort of  “end of the world”  feel. But it required a rather close encounter with a polar bear which did happen out on the open ice. I took the shot from the side of the icebreaker, and it worked perfectly since pointing down a bit accentuates the curved earth when using a fisheye. I wish it was a tad sharper, but I’m happy for the shot. It was one of many during an 11 minute encounter with the bear and the entire ship was whirling in camera shutter sounds. I’ll be sharing more from my trip in Svalbard over the next few weeks. It was a tough choice to leave Alaska during the summer, but the experience was well worth it.