Svalbard

76° - 81° Latitude
Discovering Svalbard can be challenging due to its remoteness. It is by combining ski expeditions, camp trips, snowmobile travels, sea kayaking excursions, icebreaker expeditions in the North & a huge amount of boat journeys that these incredible scenes were captured.

Svalbard is the ultimate blend of wildlife, harsh conditions, rough environment, dramatic lights, and swinging weather.

Step Of Giants
Awarded Bronze Medal 🥉in Category Fine Art & Action At World's Top10 Black&White Photo Contest 2021 - ONE EYE LAND In frame, the students from the Arctic Nature guide of Svalbard leading an amazing expedition in early June 2021, crossing on the glacier tops, surrounded by some of the most amazing landscapes we can find on earth. Not everyone on this planet is lucky enough to live this kind of experience, and my love for photography comes from this; showing what some can never see... They look so soft, so white, and so smooth. When covered with snow, glaciers look so welcoming. An empty space asking to be discovered and explored; but what lays underneath can lead to serious danger. Glaciers are unstable and a lot of knowledge and confidence is needed to traverse from a place to another when walking on these hundred of meters thick ice.

A Wall Of Fog
A unique site captured during summer 2020. The fog accumulated due to the breaking record temperatures observed in July 2020 in Svalbard, in the high Arctic. It is mostly concentrated above the seawater, and dissipates once close to the glacier front as air temperatures decrease. Navigating in these conditions can be extremely hard due to growlers and bergy bits patrolling the Arctic waters. When we started the evening, we left town around 6.30 PM and a complete thick fog not able to see 50m ahead of us. I was guiding the whole evening tour in search of wildlife. On our way to the glacier front, we had the most amazing humpback whale accounter in the pitch special blind silence. An unforgatable story that I hope to tell you in person one day. We were able to locate this amazing female polar bear this same evening, at 11 pm, as she adventured swimming to the rocky island giving us incredible backlight and silhouette. It is hard to describe with words the feeling of seeing her owning the place, thinking that she has plain power, control of her area and great food supply here.. Nature is powerful.

Off The Gangway
When guiding kayaking operations in the Arctic, we get our team on a zodiac, leave the gangway from our mothership, and venture into the open waters until we jump into the kayaks and start paddling. I was standing on the gangway, watching the first team of kayaker leaving, and navigating toward that incredible symmetric rainbow formed in front of Storstappen. I have to say I was happy not to be part of that first team so I could snap a photo of that perfect short moment.

The Expedition
Winner 🏆of the TOP 10 ranking in FRANCE for the Black&White Photo Contest 2021- with ONE EYE LAND - Awarded Bronze Medal 🥉in Category Fine Art & Action At World's Top10 Black&White Photo Contest 2021- ONE EYE LAND We engaged on a skiing expedition, traversing and camping on the tops of the glaciers for a few days. Not only the landscape was amazing, but I learned amazing skills and so much more about these giants of ice. The range of skills of the students is really wide, and it was truly an experience to learn on the terrain; guaranteeing safety on the glacier before putting up a camp, probing for eventual crevasses, positioning the camp wisely, planning polar bear guard schedules, orientating tents within the campsite, building up the tent and managing self space, placement of toilets, and much more. In the frame, three students from the Outdoor Nature Guide School, who led this incredible expedition by blending great skills, knowledge, and fun. Capturing this kind of moment is unique but quite hard also. We are in polar bear land here, we cannot stay behind, alone, waiting for hours to grab the right light for a single shot. We stick to the group to assure safety, and it can be quite hard for someone who is used to patience.

Waiting For Winter
Mummy and I are waiting here, on the shoreline of Lomfjord. We have been here for a while since the ice disappeared this year. Last year, mummy found a carcasse of a whale washed ashore so she brought me back here again this August so we could feed on what is left of it; but we are not the only ones. Quite often, some other solitary males and other families are around looking for the same food so we are forced to share, and some of the big males are not so happy about that. We are waiting for the winter to come back so the ice can form again here in the North, and mum can teach me how to master the art of hunting before I wander off all alone next year.

The Wall
The approach is so quiet and the water feels like a lake. We are at the edge of NordEastLand, where the ice is hanging over the water showing this incredible ice wall of few hundred kilometres. After several months of bright light during this summer, we finally reach the moment of the years when the sun reaches an angle low enough to provide some colourful sky.

The Kill Of Svea
The fjord is filled with dense brash ice after multiple calvings from the surrounding ice fronts of Kings and Conway glaciers. We ventured with our zodiacs into this impressive landscape, pushing the ice to make a way out there. We look out, far in front of us, scanning the landscape in search of life and we see her. She is there, standing on glacial ice with a kill, just in front of the Svea crown under the sunlight in the background. Catching a polar bear in front of Sea was the ultimate goal, but catching a polar bear feeding under this light conditions; This was not even imaginable. I wish I could use other things than words to describe what you feel when you see this polar bear feeding on a seal, with blood on her face and her back. We slowly approach within safe and respectable distance to leave her undisturbed and carefully make her understand we are not competition but contemplation.

Solitary Young
Wahlenbergbreen - Isfjord - Spitsbergen We slowly approached the ice front, looking for walruses or isolated seals when, in the far back, we found this young and lonely polar bear, walking in front of the Wahlenberg glacier. A moment like such is always so intense. From the instant we spot this yellow stain in the middle of the white snow, we feel this immense wave of excitement rushing through our body, thinking, we found a polar beast. In this same place a few months later, the ice was gone, I had the extreme luck to observe 6 polar bears in one spot feasting on a walrus carcass. Definitely not a usual thing to see in Isfjorden. It was in fact two female adults with two cubs of the last year for each female. That moment was quite special to see as their behavior was incredible, noticing playful and sharing interactions between the two families.

White Walker
When the water is calm and the mood turns dark and blue, these tones are scary and the feeling is intense. We are slowly cruising on zodiacs, passing in front of these blue statues, ready to see them flip and turn around at any moment.

Second Camp Second Bear
Sveabreen - North Side Twenty-four hours after camping out for 4 days in Adolfbukta with Norwegian guests, I was already preparing to take six Italian guests to my next camp this time on the side of Svea glacier. This photograph has a powerful story. Firstly, the unique thing about it is that it was the view we had from our toilet tent installed for the camp, taken at midnight. What better place to be when having some inner self moment with your own mind... Secondly, This capture is the reason for our lack of sleep during these days. Indeed, on the second night, the rain came over, which heavily limited our visibility. At 4.10 AM, We got alarmed as we spotted a huge polar bear, about 2km away from our camp, patrolling the area, and disappearing behind the moraine hills. This left us restless and wide opened eyes during the following 5 hours, trying to spot the bear, making sure the camp is safe and ready to evacuate once more. We did leave the camp a few hours before the original plan to ensure not staying here too long when this king of predator is around. But this night, we never saw the bear again..

North Explorer
Nordenskjoldbreen glacier is one of the most visited ice front in Svalbard. It is one of the most accessible, but only this year I was able to see her by zodiac, closer to the front and lower on the water level. The perspective is simply gigantic and these ice shapes standing on top of the rock have an intense dramatic touch. Today it was raining and we could perceive the great depth thanks to the water droplets falling from the sky. Today, we heard that a polar bear female was here with here two cubs from the last year, so we spend a few hours scanning every single blind spot and rock in search for them; but we had no success this time.

The Silence
Fyglefjord - North Svalbard Have you ever wandered in between the ice? Huge part of my summer 2022 was taking people into some of the most majestic places to paddle and forward all the knowledge of Svalbard I have. Paddle in my hands, I can only hear the water agains the hull of my kayak. When I stop moving, the landscape seams simply frozen. There is no wind, it feels like such a deep silence. I can only hear the bubbles of air getting popped out of the little growlers floating around me, and the rumble of the monster glacier.

Serenity
A young juvenile black-legged kittiwake is resting on a big iceberg spit out of Monaco Glacier in the North of Svalbard. By looking at the waterline, we can almost hear the silence and the water slowly and calmly licking the bottom of the huge block of ice

A Cub In Town
AlkeFjellet - Hinlopen Straight Located in some of the most remote areas of the archipelago of Svalbard, Alkefjellet is a powerful place that hosts some of the biggest colonies of birds in the Arctic. At first we look where is the living creature into this image, but once found, the all depth comes in. This cliffside is kilometers long and the birds are inhabiting it as if it was a huge city, with a lower concentration on the outer part of the cliffs, and as a central business district overcrowded when reaching the middle and most impressive wall. It almost feels like they all have different wealth, living in the richest parts of the cliffs for some, and in the poorest neighborhoods for others. Rare are the captures of a young polar bear cub looking for a bird snack at the bottom of these cliffs. This little healthy and fluffy girl definitely made that shot unique and special. At the moment, we felt a little concerned for this little female being here alone, looking for food without mummy around. But the day after this sight, another vessel sent us an iridium satellite message saying they had found the mother sleeping in between the rocks a hundred meters behind her, which made all of us so happy for her.

Quiet & Loud
Sveabreen - Surging Glacier. It is hard to describe, hard to explain how it feels to be surrounded by this extreme nature. A raw silence cut by the growling of the ice far behind, reverberating against the mountain sides. The water is calm, It all so peaceful but in the same time so wild. When I kayak through this incredible landscape, so many emotions come to mind. The gentle noise of the paddle stroking the water surface, and the banging noise of the growlers hitting the kayak is quite overwhelming. Add to it the fact that we are constantly looking for polar bear on the coast line and you have some of the most extreme moment you can ever experience.

The Nagging Mountain
Gnålberget - Hornsund This incredible cliffside of 790m tall dropping into the fjord is home to thousands of nesting black-legged kittiwakes and Brünnich’s guillemots. These birds are responsible for the constant noise during the nesting season that has given the place its name (“gnål” means “nagging” in Norwegian) Few hours before reaching this spot, we stopped by the Polish research station of Isbjørnhamna, 10 nautical miles west, at the entrance of Hornsund, to drop off some scientists who will stay in the area to study about the glaciers and the environment. On our arrival, we got warned that a polar bear was seen two hours before, and flares were shot to get him away from the station. It is only at the moment of our departure toward Gnålberget that we noticed the polar bears being curious once more, approaching the station, which forced us to reach the scientists by Radio VHF to warn them about the potential danger coming ahead.

Landing To The Cabin
Located at the entrance of Isfjord, Tryghamna was frequently used as a safe harbor by whalers. It is an area really protected from the rough winds and swell coming from the open sea on the other side. The cultural heritage located there is unique as we can still find remains of the whaling era (17th century), and also Russian & Norwegian overwintering trapping (18th Century. In this photograph, we can see the Syssel Master Cabin at the entrance of the fjord. All the way to the end, we find the cold Kjerulf Glacier lit by the 11 PM Sun, at the end of July. This place is only accessible by boat, which makes it really unique. Wildlife thrives in huge numbers here and this time of the year is the best moment to admire one of the most powerful natural events that happen every year for only a day in Svalbard in the Alcidae bird kingdom.

Ember Of Ice
A piece of textured ice is floating into Kongsfjorden's flat waters, in Svalbard, where we find the last breath of the gulf stream. When the sun shines through the thousand-year-old glacial ice, we perceive the contrasted game of light and shadows, the liquid and hard states of matter, the loss of sense of scale, of perspectives and dimensions. It could remind of the copper hot melted shapes, but it is, in reality, the glacial erosion of the salted sea water on the freshwater blocks that creates these various deep textures; The pure and abstract side of nature.

The Polar Light
Here is the view we have from town. These mountains are seen from Longyearbyen, and these colours can be witnessed by the end of March. The cold is here, the light comes back to almost 24 hours daily, and this is the time polar bears thrive, looking for seals on the frozen sea ice before all retrieves north and leave them stranded on land, fighting for warm survival.

Taking Care
Svalbard Expedition Up North - with Latitude Blanche - Onboard PolarFront This beautiful healthy female walks her little cubs of the year by the drifted wood found on the shores toward the carcass of a whale in Lomfjorden, North East of Spitsbergen. No much ice left in early August on these coast lines, and looking for food is a task to teach to the young ones to assure a strong and healthy new generation. Polar bears have evolved over a long period of time to live on fat-rich diets and cannot survive by eating plants, like brown or black bears can.   Polar bears evolved from brown (grizzly) bears about 500,000 years ago, - They must have survived at least three or four warm and largely ice-free interglacial periods in the past.  The most likely explanation available to date seems to be that polar bears likely survived primarily by scavenging on whale (or another marine mammal) carcasses considering the large populations that must have been abundant in the Arctic before the arrival of humans and their hunting manners.

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