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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.
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.
Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Svalbard reindeer Savci, Sudokopytníci, Sob špicberský Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus
Freezing the sea is a fascinating process. The water first becomes dense and crushed ice gradually forms round floes, which eventually connect into an ice cover under suitable conditions. This photo shows these little ice floes still floating freely so far against the background of peaks illuminated by the sunlight, which resembles permanent sunset at this period of the year.
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.
Mammals, Even-toed ungulates, Svalbard reindeer Savci, Sudokopytníci, Sob špicberský Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla, 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 2020
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.