First light

Springtime is probably the most beautiful time of the year. The only problem is that the days are to short! The last couple of weeks have been very busy with the signing of a book contract, talks and meetings, but this weekend my friend and colleague Ole Jørgen Liodden has been visiting and we found some time to take some pictures.

Shelducks are rather shy, but by using good camouflage we managed to get within shooting distance of the amorous ducks. As with the Capercaillie from my last post, the testosterone levels were obviously high. The males were constantly chasing each other around, trying to prove their dominance to the waiting females.

The forecast for the coming days are good so I will probably go back to this location again to try to capture even more Shelduck action. The best images are still inside my head.

Game on

This is a beautiful time in the forest. Sunrise warms the ground and birds are singing from the treetops. Some species of birds have developed a system of courtship that is considered unique in the animal kingdom - lekking. In fact the word derives from the Swedish word lek, meaning "to play". But the lek is so much more than a game. Life is at stake, your own or at least the life of the next generation. Capercaillie and black grouse lekking is truly one of the highlights of the year.

At the edge

Nikon D3x, 24-70mm, f /2,8, 1/200sek @ f /9, ISO 250

I have a special interest in lines in the landscape, particularly when wildlife is involved. I like to show you a couple of pictures I like very much myself. These are Black Guillemot, Cepphus grylle, photographed in snowy conditions at the fjord ice edge, outside Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen.

The picture below show that wildlife doesn't always have to be a big part of the picture. I saw these lines the moment I came to the shore, and I just waited until the birds were in the right place. Hope you like them too.

Nikon D3x, 24-70mm, f /2,8, 1/200sek @ f /8, ISO 250

Tele or Wide?

The 500mm lens is amazing for wildlife, especially for elusive species. But ever more often I like to include some landscape in my pictures of wildlife. Especially when the scenery is as stunning as on Spitsbergen, or if I get close enough to the point where the wide angle comes out of the bag.

I only had half an hour to spend with this Ptarmigan outside Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen before I had to go to the airport. I really wanted to get some close portraits of the resting bird, but at the same time, the stunning landscape was calling for the wider lens. I put the 500mm on the D3 and used a 24-70mm on the D3x and started moving closer. As I was crawling ever closer the bird seemed unaffected by my presence. I moved even closer and at 6-7 meters I started using the wide zoom. The weather was amazing and the air was crisp, but not to cold. 30 minutes went extremely fast and I had to get back to the airport.

So now I have close up portraits and wide landscape shots of the same resting grouse. Which do you prefer?

Happy Easter Holidays!

Polar Bear!

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.