nature photog in the Arctic

[jerome_smith]

Has anyone had the pleasure of doing nature photography in the high

Arctic, i.e., Barrow,AK, Baffin Is., NWT, St. Lawrence Is., NWT,

etc., etc. Please tell all, and advise us re: time of year, cost,

accommodations, photo tours, photo subjects, anything else.

 

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Thanks in advance.

[hans___]

Barrow, Alaska - Probably the easiest place to start from in Alaska

to get within telephoto range of some really exotic birds of the high

arctic like king & spectaculed eiders, red phalaropes, long-tailed,

parasitic & pomarine jaegers (and so much more) on their tundra

breeding grounds - the best time is June when everything is just

thawing out for the short summer. Bring a headnet for the mosquitos

that also live on the tundra in fantastic numbers.

 

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The best place to stay in Barrow is the Top of the World Hotel

($125/night), and Alaska Airlines serves Barrow ($450 rt, Anchorage).

Things are expensive in Barrow - a dinner special at the mexican

resturant runs $17 and its not fancy.

 

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Polar bears - the Barrow public safety department actively

discourages them from coming too close to Barrow by whatever means

necessary - you might see some out at the end of the point past the

old Navy Arctic Research Lab (of "The Thing" fame) if you can find a

way out there. Most people obey the public safety dept's warning

signs about not going out there because polar bears tend to follow

trucks back into town. People in Barrow actively hunt sea mammals -

finding seals in the ice flows near town is a rarity, and if you do

the guy driving your boat might shoot it. Barrow is mostly a bird

thing, and the easiest way to get out on to the tundra is get arrange

to get dropped off (there is a taxi in Barrow) at the somewhere along

the road to the city natural gas wells inland south of town - lots of

tundra thaw lakes and a terrific amount those high arctic birds.

 

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There are lots of other non-nature subjects in Barrow, expecially

during the spring bowhead whale hunt (it continues into June) when

its easy to catch a snow machine sled ride out to the hunters camps

on leads in the icepack when the whole town goes out to help

land/process the whales. Tourism isn't well developed in Barrow, but

there is one company (Tundra Tours) that's been around for awhile -

for bird pictures though, all you have to do is get out the road. Hans

[micheal_f._kelly]

I have gone to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge out of Kaktovik, a

village on the north coast, east of Barrow. You can get a charter

flight out of Barrow or there are flights to Kaktovik from Fairbanks.

Not much in the way of services. You can get details from the Fish and

Wildlife service. There is no place I have been that has the sense of

"being out there" like the ANWR. On a clear day you can see 200-300

miles. I saw snow geese, musk oxen, bear, arctic loons, caribou and of

course lots of mosquitos.

The caribou migration is a very spectacular event to witness but

difficult to plan the timing for arrival. When planning a trip to a

remote place like this remember to include extra days for problems.

Don't expect the charter company to pick you up the exact day you

arranged. I was grounded in Kaktovik for 8 days due to fog. Just don't

HAVE to be back on a certain date. The summers, tho very short, can be

very nice with lots of wild flowers and sunshine.

Alaska Discovery Inc., a guided adventure company, does raft trips in

the Arctic National Wildlife refuge. Their web site is

www.akdiscovery.com.

[ian_binnie]

Oddly enough, yes. About 15 years ago, I had a "summer" job doing construction work at Alert, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. I took quite a few rolls of slides on my few days off, and I just happened to look at a few of them last night. A few observations that might be of some use if you get to the far, far north: there is hardly any green in the landscape, so choose a film that does well with blue, brown and grey casts; there can be a huge brightness range in any scene, especially if there is snow or pack ice in the photo; when it warms up enough, the mosses and other ground cover produces beautiful flowers which might make good macro subjects; exposed rock tends to be freeze-fractured (and very sharp), which might also make a good macro subject; if you go far enough north, the sun just circles the sky in summer, and I don't recall that there was any distinct change in the colour temperature of the light over the course of the day (the air temperature does change a fair bit); if you look down the cracks in the pack ice, you'll see the most beautiful blue colour (be careful not to take a swim). Finally, the weather can change really fast and it's easy to get disoriented in cloud or snow, so be cautious on hikes. Good luck. I'd certainly go back to the far north if I ever got the chance. (No ditch digging though...)

[majik]

Well I have had extensive experience creating photographs in the high Arctic. If you would like to see the photos and read the text then google: High in the Arctic Eskimo. I have posted these images and the text on over 30 photo forums, under the name of Majik Imaje (the initials of my four Inupiaq sons).

 

I was sent to this village (Point Hope) in 1981 just for 3 weeks as an electrican to wire two construction camps, when the job finished I QUIT the company and stayed. That was 27 years ago and I am still here. I had to use snow to process my film in 1982 because I had no water, none. Since then I have been on 5 whale hunts with the Inupiaq people of Point Hope, the oldest continually inhabited settlement or village in all of North America. Life can accuratelly be traced back to over 2,600 years to this one spot of land.

 

Anyplace or any village you go to in the Arctic is a rare photo opportunity ! But using digital cameras at sub zero temps is going to present a big problem. e-mail me if you want more information.

I am not hard to find !

a small hotel of sorts is abailable in the village, the cost of a room is 150 a night for a very small room. But I am sure other accomadations could be arrainged. I am thinking of starting a photo tour of the area for p eople that are interested in this very ancient and old village with ruins dating back thousands of years are still visible.

I truely hope that some of this information helps, whether you go to Kotzebue, Barrow or any of the other villages. you will capture and create images that the world simply finds, "FASCINATING" !<div></div>