Arctic Wildlife

A few shots from a recent trip to Svalbard. It's been 3 years since I was last able to visit, and over 2 years since I last picked up a camera, but some things are worth waiting for. There are a few more on Flickr if anyone is interested.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qB5

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yjo

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfs​kQP

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qCn

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yi6

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfp​WJk

Scott_online wrote in post #19368846
A few shots from a recent trip to Svalbard. It's been 3 years since I was last able to visit, and over 2 years since I last picked up a camera, but some things are worth waiting for. There are a few more on Flickr if anyone is interested.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qB5 2022-04-07 04-24-21 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yjo 2022-04-06 17-01-10 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfs​kQP 2022-04-09 05-13-05 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qCn 2022-04-07 08-26-31 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yi62022-04-02 14-24-47 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfp​WJk2022-04-07 04-24-15 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

Fantastic shots !

Scott_online wrote in post #19368846
A few shots from a recent trip to Svalbard. It's been 3 years since I was last able to visit, and over 2 years since I last picked up a camera, but some things are worth waiting for. There are a few more on Flickr if anyone is interested.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qB5 2022-04-07 04-24-21 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yjo 2022-04-06 17-01-10 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfs​kQP 2022-04-09 05-13-05 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qCn 2022-04-07 08-26-31 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yi62022-04-02 14-24-47 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfp​WJk2022-04-07 04-24-15 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

Wow!

Beautiful shots.

Just amazing shots; Svalbard is high up on my list of places to go shoot just for these amazing creatures. What's the experience like getting there, booking excursions, etc? I'm assuming these were taken during a scheduled outing and you weren't just off to wander the ice by yourself, anyway.

Scott_online wrote in post #19368846
A few shots from a recent trip to Svalbard. It's been 3 years since I was last able to visit, and over 2 years since I last picked up a camera, but some things are worth waiting for. There are a few more on Flickr if anyone is interested.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qB5 2022-04-07 04-24-21 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yjo 2022-04-06 17-01-10 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfs​kQP 2022-04-09 05-13-05 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2nfj​qCn 2022-04-07 08-26-31 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfq​Yi62022-04-02 14-24-47 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/2nfp​WJk2022-04-07 04-24-15 by Scott Grubb, on Flickr

Wow. Amazing shots!

Amazing series. Agree with all that's been said.
Particularly love the ones of parent & offspring

Snydremark wrote in post #19368911
Just amazing shots; Svalbard is high up on my list of places to go shoot just for these amazing creatures. What's the experience like getting there, booking excursions, etc? I'm assuming these were taken during a scheduled outing and you weren't just off to wander the ice by yourself, anyway.

Thanks. Yes, these were taken on a trip dedicated to photography. It's relatively simple to get to Svalbard. There are regular flights from Oslo. However, the amount of accommodation there is limited, so you may need to book well in advance. Mine was a land-based trip (on snowmobile) but this is only possible in Winter/Spring when there is sufficient sea-ice. The most popular way to see Svalbard is by boat during Spring/Summer. You can't leave town without a suitably qualified and armed guide, so it's not possible (or safe!) to go exploring by yourself. There are also some areas that you can only visit if accompanied by a resident guide. There are some caveats - you are by no means guaranteed to see bears. One year, we clocked up over 1000 miles on snowmobile and didn't see a single bear. It all depends on the sea-ice. Also, the areas that visitors can access are (rightly) becoming increasingly restricted so the chances of seeing a bear are only going to decline.

Also, you have some additional *outstanding* work there in your Flicker! Please don't be shy about sharing...some of those fox shots are simply astonishing!

Outstanding Scott as always.. I must get myself booking on this trip.

Great shots. Thanks for posting

Great shots. I see you used a 300 F/2.8. Thats suggests to me that you got pretty close. I assume the 300 because you had to snowmobile in. Interested is hearing what you used and more importantly why ?

umphotography wrote in post #19369318
Great shots. I see you used a 300 F/2.8. Thats suggests to me that you got pretty close. I assume the 300 because you had to snowmobile in. Interested is hearing what you used and more importantly why ?

Thanks! I use a 300/2.8 with a 2x converter. I much prefer this to the 600/4 because it's smaller and lighter. This makes it easier to travel with, I can hand hold it for extended periods, and it fits into my bag with the camera attached. The last point is important to me because I want to be able to shoot quickly and I don't want to be messing around attaching/removing camera bodies when my hands are very cold. The downsides compared to the 600 are that I lose a stop of light and the focus speed is a little bit slower, but neither of these are critical because there's plenty of light at this time of year and the focus is still fast enough to keep up with the wildlife.

Other people on the trip were using a mixture of 500s (with a 1.4x), 600s and 800s.

Also, I don't mind giving up a bit of focal length because the backdrops in Svalbard are absolutely stunning. There are better places to go (e.g. Churchill in Canada) if you want to safely get close-ups.

Great shots!

Scott_online wrote in post #19369419
Thanks! I use a 300/2.8 with a 2x converter. I much prefer this to the 600/4 because it's smaller and lighter. This makes it easier to travel with, I can hand hold it for extended periods, and it fits into my bag with the camera attached. The last point is important to me because I want to be able to shoot quickly and I don't want to be messing around attaching/removing camera bodies when my hands are very cold. The downsides compared to the 600 are that I lose a stop of light and the focus speed is a little bit slower, but neither of these are critical because there's plenty of light at this time of year and the focus is still fast enough to keep up with the wildlife.

Other people on the trip were using a mixture of 500s (with a 1.4x), 600s and 800s.

Also, I don't mind giving up a bit of focal length because the backdrops in Svalbard are absolutely stunning. There are better places to go (e.g. Churchill in Canada) if you want to safely get close-ups.

Thank you very much for your reply. I am considering selling my 500F4 and getting a 400DO for reasons you stated. With my 1Dx2, I can us a TC and have a very portable, hand holdable set up. Probably going to sell the 500 in next coupe of months. Im going to be on the US Canadian borders this summer looking for grizzlys. I have a UTV so hand hold ability is really important to me