The Tempel fjord has a healthy population of Ringed Seal - Polar Bear prey.Nikon D3, 500mm, f/4, 1/1600 @ f/6,3, ISO 640
I went to Svalbard to photograph the arctic winter, but all the signs of Polar Bears, Ursus maritimus, made it hard not to start thinking of meeting the arctic king. The east coast is one of the safest places to see Polar bears, but it seemed also our new location on the west coast of Spitsbergen had some bear activity. Especially around the Tempel fjord, where prey was plentiful, there had been many sightings the last days. Bears are attracted to places with good ice conditions, where Ringed Seals can give birth to their young - and it was all happening at the time we where there.
A Ringed Seal pup have been killed by Polar Bears, Spitsbergen, Svalbard.Nikon D3X, 14-24mm, f/2,8, 1/25 @ f/22, ISO 100
One morning we approached the stunningly blue glacier in the end of the fjord, a yellowish creature stood out from the background. It was a beautiful adult male Polar Bear. A dream came true as the heavy animal moved gracefully back and forth infront of the amazing background. Even in -25 degrees the Nikon D3 was going warm.
My first Polar Bear!Nikon D3, 500mm + 1,4x, 1/1250 @ f/8, ISO 640
The next day we were back at the glacier hoping to see some more bears. The one from the day before had just laid down and disappeared in front of the glacier, not to be seen the rest of the day. Never the less, our hopes were up as we travelled though the morning mist. Suddenly a movement caught our attention on the ice. Binoculars up, we saw a Polar Bear couple mating in the middle of the fjord ice! The distance was great so the pictures are not the best of quality, but I don't believe many people have even witnessed this.
Polar Bears mating on the fjord ice, Spitsbergen, Svalbard.Nikon D3x, 500mm + 1,4x, 1/640 @ f/6,3, ISO 640
With global warming Polar Bears will be one of the great losers. So in a way I was happy to see these animals before they get so scarce they will be impossible to find. Getting to see this kind of behaviour was way beyond my expectations.
6 comments:
Kjekt å se at dere fikk møte Bamsen. Likte godt bilde av av den i blåisen.
Fikk dere mange bjørnemøter?
mvh Helge
Det var spesielt gøy å få se isbjørnen der den hører hjemme.
Vi så kun disse tre bjørnene.
Mvh, Roy
hallo i luken roy
ja dette her ble noen virkelig flotte bilder
skulle gjerne ha vert her selv
blir det nikon for alle penga nå?
eller er du fremdeles i tenkemodus med lånt utstyr?
ha en flotters helg og en god påske
mvh anders selland
Oh my! Stunning images and stunning weather. Congratulations my friend!
Ser ut som det ble fangst .
Gratulere
Her ble det fangst ja. Kjekt å få se bamsen i sitt rette miljø.
Anders; det ser ut til å bli Nikon nå ja :-) D3x filene var bare helt rå.
Thanks Zven! I was quit happy with the shifting light and weather, though I managed to freeze my nose on one occation...
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