Heading for the top

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) rock climbing, Extremedura, Spain.
Canon EOS 1D Mark II, 500mm, f/4, 1/1250 sek @ f/5,6, ISO 250

It seems I keep coming back to some pictures time after time. As I was going through some of my pictures from last years trip to Spain I rediscovered this image of a White Stork climbing a large boulder rock. It is almost as it is heading into the clouds. I guess this is one of my favourite pictures, so I thought I would share it with you.

Endangered!!!

European Arnica (Arnica Montana) - Red listed as vulnerable (VU) - Norway
EOS 1D Mark III, 17-40 mm f/4, 1/125 sek @ f/14, ISO 100, flash, Hoya polarizer

In the area comprising the Norwegian mainland, the Norwegian Economic Zone and the Fishery Protection Zone around Svalbard, 3799 species have been classified as Red List species. Of these 384 are vascular plants, like the European Arnica (Arnica Montana). This particular species is considered vulnerable, and the Norwegian population has had a reduction of 30-50 % in the last ten years! As nature photographers we comprise a magnificent tool in the battle to hinder further loss of biological diversity.

The general public seems to eagerly want to save the species they find cute and pretty, and have some knowledge about. Pandas, tigers and so on... Unfortunately there is a severe lack of knowledge about the local natural diversity, even in our own back yard. Nature photography can help to change this, by depicting the beauty around us and emphasizing the necessity to protect natural habitats important for endangered species. Only by saving land can we save the species living there.

Norway, in the same way as EU, is aiming to stop all loss of biological diversity before 2010. That is within a year and a half.

What you see is what we’ve got – take care of it!

Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) - Red listed as endangered (EN) - Norway
EOS 1D Mark III, 500 mm f/4, 1/1000 sek @ f/4,5, ISO 250

Amazing north

Midnight at a Northern Norway Lake, Storfjord, Troms

EOS 1D Mark III, 17-40mm, f/4, 1 sek @ f/22, ISO 100, Hoya polarizer

I’ve just come back from an amazing week in Northern Norway. The weather was brilliantly cold, keeping the mosquitoes away, and I even got some fog to set the mood in the pictures. At this time of the year there is a midnight sun in this part of the world, making photography most interesting in the night. Just as you start feeling tired the sun breaks through, sending warm light into the extravagant landscapes.

Adjit Mountain at midnight, Storfjord, Troms
EOS 1D Mark III, Sigma 150mm, f/2,8, 1/4 sek @ f/22, ISO 100

A lot of the animals and plants living in the northern part of the world have adapted to their environment in some way. Some plants, like the, Hairy Horsewort (Pedicularis hirsuta), have grown fur! Brilliant plants that are listed as near threatened in Norway. Climate changes can put an end to their delicate conditions in the high arctic, alpine regions of Europe.

Flowering Hairy Horsworth (Pedicularis hirsuta), Troms
EOS 1D Mark III, Sigma 150mm, f/2,8, 1/80 sek @ f/5,6, ISO 200