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Portfolio / White and Blue

White and Blue

Svalbard is one of my favorite locations. I used to come here for the first time to try to photograph arctic foxes, but I was not lucky. It took me a few more visits before I could get to these animals as close as I wished. Temperatures falling to minus thirty degrees Celsius helped — in such cold, the animals are less active, saving energy and heat. Thanks to this, the foxes were much more tolerant of my presence, which, together with their innate curiosity, allowed me to take some close-up portraits. — Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus)

It is easier to resist the harsh conditions of the Arctic winter as you move, but when you stay still for a while, the frost begins to penetrate clothing and eventually forces you to get up again and warm up by walking. Then you will understand how resilient the animals that spend days and nights in these conditions are, and you will begin to notice the strategies they use. The foxes curl into a ball and blanket the sensitive snout covered with shorter fur with its tail. This way, they can rest right on the snow even in heavy frosts — like a fox in this photo, which briefly raised her head only to check whether I am worth its attention. After a moment, it decided I am not, hid its face again, and continued to rest. — Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus)

Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Musk ox
Savci, Sudokopytníci, Pižmoň
Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Ovibos moschatus — Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)

Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Musk ox
Savci, Sudokopytníci, Pižmoň
Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Ovibos moschatus — Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)

Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Musk ox
Savci, Sudokopytníci, Pižmoň
Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Ovibos moschatus — Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)

Svalbard does not offer luxuriant vegetation, but the sparse grass revealed by the disappearing snow at the end of winter represents a richly set table for Svalbard reindeer. The relative abundance of the summer months is still not in sight in February, and temperatures drop to minus thirty degrees during the day, but such a thin snow cover makes life easier for reindeer. — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

While it is easy to yield to the beauty of wild animals and focus just on capturing portraits, I am still trying to experiment with other kinds of composition from time to time. It was the case of this photo of grazing reindeer, which I decided to frame with the legs of another animal crossing between me and my subject. — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

The day at Svalbard lasts only a few hours in February, and the light reminds the sunset practically all this time. After a four-months lasting polar night, it is a welcome change for Svalbard Reindeer — and, of course, a great advantage for photographers. — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

For me, musk ox is undoubtedly the king of the alpine tundra. I had an opportunity to photograph a group of these powerful animals in Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park in 2019. I captured this portrait when late-autumn sunset illuminated the scene with beautifully pinkish tones. — Musk ox (Ovibos moschatus)

Svalbard Reindeer
Sob špicberský
Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

Reindeers look for lichen on the rocks — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

Wildlife photography doesn’t always mean just detailed portraits. I equally love to photograph animals in the context of the environment in which they live. Nature in Svalbard offers many breathtaking views and directly encourages this approach. This photo of young Svalbard reindeer was taken on the last day of summer and was a reward for the strenuous climbing on the plateau, the existence of which you would doubt when viewed from below. And it probably wouldn’t have occurred to you at all that reindeer are coming here, as they don’t move in the rocky terrain with the certainty and elegance that we know from chamois or ibex, for example. — Svalbard Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

Svalbard

Mammals, Carnivores, Earless seal, Harbor seal
Savci, Šelmy, Tuleňovití, Tuleň obecný
Mammalia, Carnivora, Phocidae, Phoca vitulina — Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

When traveling for wildlife photography, I often regret not being able to capture the surrounding landscape too. I usually have to choose between those because both are best photographed at the same time when the light is most flattering and beautiful. A huge advantage of the Arctic region is that optimal lighting conditions remain almost all day in some seasons. Days last only a few hours at the end of winter, the sun travels the sky very low, and the light resembles sunrise or sunset almost all the time. Thanks to that, I had the opportunity to photograph not only animals on Svalbard but also breathtaking landscapes, such as these pink-lit mountains behind a freezing bay. — Frozen land

Purple sandpiper, Birds, Charadriiformes
Jespák mořský, Ptáci, Dlouhokřídlí
Calidris maritima, Aves, Charadriiformes — Purple Sandpiper (Calidris maritima)

Birds, Anseriformes, Mute swan
Ptáci, Vrubozobí, Labuť velká
Aves, Anseriformes, Cygnus olor — Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Birds, Storks, Great white egret
Ptáci, Brodiví, Volavka bílá
Aves, Ciconiiformes, Ardea alba — Great White Egret (Ardea alba)

Birds, Charadriiformes, Eurasian oystercatcher
Ptáci, Dlouhokřídlí, Ústřičník velký
Aves, Charadriiformes, Haematopus ostralegus — Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

Birds, Cormorants, Pygmy cormorant
Ptáci, Kormoránovití, Kormorán malý
Aves, Phalacrocoracidae, Microcarbo pygmaeus — Pygmy Cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus)

Sika
Sika
Cervus nippon — Sika (Cervus nippon)

Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Alpine chamois
Savci, Sudokopytníci, Kamzík alpský
Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra — Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra)

Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Alpine chamois
Savci, Sudokopytníci, Kamzík alpský
Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra — Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra rupicapra)

© 2021 Michal Krause