Churchill, Canada… A little town on the edge of the arctic, just left of nowhere, I took a deep breath of the chilly air.   Here I was… on a magnificent expedition, a photographic adventure I’d dreamed of for years… mere hours away from snapping my first shots of the mighty polar bear.  

Because of the dramatic white snow-scapes during the polar bear ‘safari’, I concentrated on light, background and composition while I was out in the field.  It was not until I returned home and I started to process the images, that I began to anthropomorphize the bears -  assign human expressions and actions to the bears themselves (common among  people who observe these magnificent creatures).  I recognize these are my own interpretations, and you will have your own, but that’s what makes the pictures all the more fun to flip through...  and I like it better than naming them “polar bear 1-2-3” , etc.  Thanks to my own critical eye – and my wife’s all the more – I narrowed my polar bear shots from 1300 to 80 that I selected for a book (soon to be available), down to these 21 on the website.  That said, I may add a few more over time if my family lets me indulge.  

Considering the bone-chilling temperatures, photographing the polar bears in the arctic environment was thankfully relatively straight-forward. Shooting white bears on the snow and ice required increasing image compensation by anywhere from ¾ stop to 1 ½ stops depending on the light.  The majority of the days were overcast, so ¾ stop worked well most of the time, leaving almost no reason to use a filter.  I shot morning and late afternoon at 200 ISO, then dropped it back to 100 ISO during the main part of the day. While I brought several lenses, I mostly used my 500mm, occasionally with a 1.4 extender. I also used my 70-200 when it was appropriate. These bears do not move remarkably fast, thus shooting at a shutter speed of 125 was perfectly acceptable (although I did take it up for the sparring bears). I busted out the 24-70 lens to photograph the northern lights, but an even wider lens would have been useful (next time!).  

 Whether you’re looking through the lens or at one of these photos, it’s nearly impossible to not fall in love with these animals.  Polar bears seem to touch an emotional chord in many people, which makes the exchange and sharing of these images another wonderful and unexpected result of my experience in Churchill. Friends have asked me if this was a once in a lifetime experience and I am hesitant to say yes… because I would love to return.  But (why does there always have to be a but),  there are so many other places I would like to visit and photograph, I am not sure when… but I will return.  To anyone who thinks the trip might be of interest, it is a fabulous experience.  Don’t wait.  The polar bears sadly may not be here much longer.   

 I have contributed (and will continue to contribute) to non-profit organizations that support activities designed to save the polar bears.  While there are many organizations, the two I have recently supported are Polar Bears International
( www.polarbearsinternational.org) and The Natural Resources Defense Council www.nrdc.org.    

You can see the photos individually below or view a slide show here.