The permafrost and me

While trekking, hiking or mountaineering, I try to include my partnersin the composition, to give a sense of scale and -most important- letthe viewer, by proxy, feel more attracted and part of the scene.

This did not seem right in this extremely remote place, on theSvalbard islands, the last spots of land not permanently covered byice before the artic pack and the North Pole, just a thousandkilometers north. The place was so primaeval that it seemed wrong tohave humans, and I thought of composing just with my shadow: does itwork? Does it convey remoteness?

Incidentally, global warming was having scary effects. The land issupposedly permanently frozen, permafrost, but last summer was thawingand the impression was to walk onto a matress.

P.S. If you are interested, here istheview fromthe top.

photographer shadow distracting.

This is an impressive scene and an ominous report of your observations regarding the permafrost/global warming. I agree with your position that including a human element lends a sense of scale and helps involve the viewer in the scene, especially in such remote areas as this. It's something I need to do more in my own shooting.

 

This scene is beautiful in it's subtlety. I'm glad you didn't saturate the colors. I think it might have worked a little better if the silhouette was more obviously a human figure. At first glance, I wasn't sure. Thank you for sharing these photos of such remote places most of us may never have the opportunity to visit.

Nicely done. Like the colors and the shadow.

a most beautiful place! The shadow reminded me of your bio-pic (when do we get to see more of you?...LOL). No, let's get serious, you asked a serious question. I agree with Laurie, the silhouette is not obvious enough human. Maybe if there would be two or even three (two standing, one sitting on the earth)? Just imagining...regards!

Thanks for all the insight on this shot. To be a little-visited place, I guess it really is. Unless you have a suitable boat and expedition permits, it is pretty unlikely to be there at all, let alone stroll around. During the walk to that peak we met two arctic reindeers. I suppose they had never seen man, and we managed not to disturb them. The incredibly sad part is that one of the two had a fisherman net around the horns. A piece of rubbish which most likely had traveled thousands of miles to end on a beach where it cought it.

 

Picture wise, I reckon that the wide angle had deformed my shadow a bit too much here. I should have a shot with three shadows which might make more the point but I do not recall what I had included in its background. I will try to look for it in the next days.

 

Meanwhile, Andrea, as mentioned in the new instalment of the bio itself, a picture of me is added in the comments of a shot of mine... you will just have to suffer through all of the portfolio to find it!

 

P.S. Did anybody like the triangle of the cloud top left echoing the triangle of grass bottom right? And the way the cloud and the ridge have, accidentally, the same slope for a while?

Didn't find you yet, found some other goodies I missed. The triangles and slope? Of course the picture lives from the weaving of diagonal lines - in the hills, snow, grass, sky. Subtle, but enjoyable.

Andrea, is not a trick to have you go through all the 'folio... you'll find it, you'll find it... even though you'll have to scroll till the bottom of many a picture critique list.

Just a geographer's comment on your global warming notice. It is totally normal that the topmost layer is thawing in summer. This is the so-called active layer which in average is about 1 meter thick on Svalbard. Also, the snow melt and glacier melt will take place in summer. Due to the frozen ground the water cannot penetrate into the ground and stays in the active layer and overground. That is why it is so muddy up there and hiking season is best in late summer and autumn when temperatures drop and melting is reduced. But you are right about global warming having an affect on this beautiful environment (including permafrost thickness, glacier extent and dynamics, flora and fauna...).

Ad picture: The shadows on Svalbard can be very special in the arctic light!