Expanding my work on the Arctic

Posted by Florian – April 6, 2010

It has been several years now that I have worked on my second Freedom to Roam project. During the project I had the incredible chance to focus a lot of my energy on the Alaskan Arctic. Through the project I was able to document areas in great depth for months. For me the Arctic has such a draw, because it is such a vast open landscape that has very little human presence. Many places are true wilderness areas.

Besides Alaska I had the chance to travel to several other arctic locations throughout Canada. I had the secret wish to sometime do a project that would allow me to spend a lot more time in different Arctic and Sub-Arctic locations. There is just so much drama up north. From the winter skies filled with the Aurora Borealis, to the eternal sun of summer. From desolate frozen landscapes where polar bears thrive even in the midst of winter to the arctic tundra in summer which is teaming with life with the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Caribou and migratory birds.

It looks like there is a very good chance that this dream of expanding my work in the arctic dramatically may come true this year. I would be focusing 150% of my energy shooting locations between Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Svalbard. Together with my publisher Braided River books we have been talking about the possibility to collaborate with a fantastic partner to create a book on the Arctic. This partnership would allow us to reach a very broad general public and give insights into Arctic ecosystems and the threat they are facing due to global warming. This is specially important during a time, where vast part of the population is questioning the role humans play in the climate change crises.

So please stay tuned and check in for updates. We should know for sure here in a couple o days. As I am counting on this to go through, I have already continues my work in the Alaskan Arctic this year and am catching a plane to Svalbard, high up in the European Arctic, in a few hours. So if this goes through, you should be able to follow me around to some of the most spectacular locations in the circumpolar arctic.

Even though I have continued my work on F2R – B2B this year already, we would be pushing the book and the project out one more year, as we do not want to cut the documentation of some of important missing locations short.

F2R – Moving North – Ocean wonderers

Posted by Florian – April 3, 2010

It is the time of the year that the Grey Whales are making their journey back north migrating some 6000 miles along America`s west coast from Baja California to the Bering Sea. The grey whale is one of the flagship species representing my “B2B – Freedom to Roam” project. They literally migrate the entire distance twice a year. It is the longest migration undertaken by any mammal on the planet. For me it was really important to document this migration story as part of the project.

Thousands of whales return to the lagoon systems of Baja California every year.  It is where the mating takes place and where pregnant Grey Whale mothers give birth to their calves. Over the past 2 years I spent several weeks in the different lagoons of Laguna Ojo de Liebre, San Ignacio and Bahia Magdalena to get  a true insight into this part of the whale`s life. It is magical how the lagoons come to life with the whales.

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SPRING MIGRATION – HEADING NORTH

It is the time of the year now, that the whales are heading back north. Males start leaving the lagoons as early as February, followed by the females without calves in early March and eventually by the females with calves in late March and April. Traveling an average of 75 miles a day the journey back north takes them about 2 to 3 moths.

I had a “slight” change of plans and instead of staying in Baja California until May I am heading north to the Arctic myself. I am planning to photograph arctic wildlife, while the landscape is still frozen and the animals are shown in the arctic elements.

F2R – Moving North – Winged Migration

Posted by Florian – April 3, 2010

THE WINGED MIGRATION

I have been working on my second Freedom to Roam project ” B2B – The Wild Coast ” for a few years now. This spring I came back again to Baja California to photograph aspects of the massive migration that takes part along America`s West Coast. I was specifically interested in the different shore birds and waterfowl that rely upon a “daisy-chain” of wetlands on their migration to their nesting grounds up north in the high arctic. A lot of the habitats are in tidal zones along the coast. They are facing different pressures from encroaching development and the possibility of significant sea-level rise in the coming decades. For me the migrations symbolize the interconnectedness of the natural world like few other phenomenons.

In comparison to legged land mammals, birds have the incredible advantage of wings that lets them overcame huge distances of unsuitable habitat or developed landscapes. They however cannot master the enormous migrations without adequate reserves of energy. Migratory birds are dependent on important habitat that lets them consume large quantities of high energy food in a short period of time. It is therefore essential we set aside such important migratory bird sanctuaries that allows migratory birds to stop over in the course of their long migrations.

Migration hotspots can be found all along the west coast. One of the most famous locations for the Western Sandpipers is the Copper River Delta near Cordova, Alaska. Several million western Sandpipers make a stopover there before they continue their journey to the arctic.

Most striking wildlife shot: which one?

Posted by Emil – February 24, 2010

After a long period of silence, our blog is starting to come alive again.We apologize from being away for so long, but we are back!

I have been asked to provide our most striking wildlife image from last year. I wanted to ask around to get a more neutral approach, because I have fallen in love with all of this ones. So I thought writing a blog post might be the best way!

So I just need to know, from your perspective which ones from the following images, you think is the most striking wildlife shot!

Please try to be as selective as possible, that way I already can see what is worth sending and whit what I can spare some time.  If it gets published, I will let you know :0) Just click on the comments below, and you will find a form to send me the # number of your favorite image.

Thanks for your help! Here are the images:

#1 Caribou migration from the air. Alaskan Arctic:

#2 Aerial perspective of Murres swimming over icy waters. Alaskan Arctic.

#3 Munk’s Devil Ray congregation. Baja, Mexico.

#4 Ringed Seals resting over ice caps. Alaskan Arctic.

#5 Aerial perspective of two huge Fin whales launch feeding. Baja, Mexico.

#6 A wild mexican female jaguar patrols her territory close to Calakmul Biosphere Reserve,  Mexico.

click on comments below and send me the # number of your favorite shot! Thanks for your help! My deadline is next Monday

Arctic Dreams…..

Posted by Florian – July 20, 2009

Dreaming is such a wonderful thing. It lets our mind unfold in an entirely hopeful fashion. No fears of failure or negativity. It seems that the older I have grown, the more I dare to dream. It unleashes an incredible amount of energy. When I dreamed off the arctic in the past it was the thoughts of a wast unspoiled wilderness filled with resilient life. A landscape so unknown and big, that my imagination could run free creating a fascinating sense of wonder and desire to explore. As wilderness is shrinking around the world, we need such wilderness, that is not  disrupted with mines and drilling rigs. We need it, to simply give our mind and spirit the Freedom to Roam!

By the hundreds of thousands members of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd fill valley after valley, Nikon D3x, 24-70mm f2.8

Barren Ground Grizzly wandering the edge of the Arctic Refuge. Nikon D3x, 600mm f4 VR lens

Far away from the centers of our civilization lies a land of wonder, where hundreds of thousands of caribou roam the plains, where myriads of birds migrate to rear their chicks and where the kingdoms of grizzly and polar bears meet. It is America’s vast Arctic, far removed from the rest of the world, but heavily affected by humankind.

Thousands of murres gather on pools on the ice awaiting the nesting season on the nearby cliffs; Nikon D3x, 70-200mm f2.8

A large lead opens in the Chuckchi Sea between Pt. Hope and Cape Lisburne; Nikon D3x, 24-70mm f2.8

For many years environmental organizations have fought for the protection of the Alaskan arctic, but as the energy crisis worsens, pressure is driving Congress to open this wilderness sanctuary to oil drilling and mining operations. As part of my Freedom to Roam project in connection with the Blue Earth Alliance and Braided River Books, I am  working to produce photographic material in support of the Arctic Conservation Campaign. With compelling imagery I hope we can reach Congress and the general public by showing a true portrait of a land often called a “barren wasteland”.

Sea ice landscape at the edge of the lead. Nikon D3x, 14-24mm f2.8

A polar bear roams the edge of the packice in the Chuckchi Sea. Nikon D300, 200-400mm f4 + TC/E 1.4

After spending many months on the ground amongst hundreds of thousands of caribou, nesting birds and barren ground grizzlies in 2008, I realize, that the only way to cover this massive expanse of land is the aerial perspective. So in 2008 I started to plan a major “Arctic Aerial Expedition”, as part of the 2009 work on the Freedom to Roam project. The goal was to show wildlife in their environment, offering a true representation of the way animals depend on this interconnected ecosystem. My goal was to document the retreating sea ice, the platform for seals, walrus, birds and the polar bear as well as to document the 3 major caribou herds of the arctic slope.

I want to invite you to follow my blog as I am going to share with you some of the amazing experiences I had over the last weeks photographing Alaska`s Arctic. Please pass the info on to friends who are interested in wildlife, conservation, Alaska and photography.