Scenes from Svalbard, Norway, August 2022

Svalbard certainly is the most vast and wild landscape I've ever visited. It was a bucket list trip of a lifetime, though I believe I will make it back there before too long. It's also the furthest north I've been on the planet, at one point going beyond 82˚N latitude into the polar ice pack. Even in the latter part of summer, the sun never dipped below the horizon while we where there.

Colin

 

Our ship, the M/V Ortelius

Abundant birdlife on the ice bergs

Svalbard reindeer, a smaller subspecies unique to these islands

Scenes from Arctic Norway

Scenes from our first Arctic Norway Adventure with Nat Expo Tours. Words don't aptly describe the topography, the culture expressed in the quaint Nordic architecture, and the scenery of Tromsø and the Lofoten Islands. It truly is one of the most beautiful places I've visited and I look forward to returning next year!

We've scheduled next year's Arctic Norway Adventure 🇳🇴 - dates are March 11-21, 2024. If you are interested in spending summer solstice in Iceland 🇮🇸 this year, we have a few spots open on that venture (June 19-28, 2023). We do have spaces in the October 2023 Namibia Tour 🇳🇦 as well (Oct 16-27. 2023). More details and itineraries on our website: www.natexpotours.com

It looks like the February 2024 Cuba Tour is full...🇨🇺

Thank you for following and feel free to share!

Colin

 

Vestpollen

Aurora borealis near Tromsø

Reine

Reine, Norway. Lofoten Islands

I could not imagine a more idyllic Nordic town. We just spent 6 nights above the arctic circle in Norway - 3 nights in Tromsø and 3 nights on the Lofoten Islands, on our first trip to Norway with Nat Expo Tours. The landscape is unlike anything I have ever experienced. We will definitely be back next year!

In the meantime, we do have a few spots open on our June 2023 Iceland tour: https://naturalexposurestours.com/2021-iceland-tour/ Please message me if you are interested...

Cheers!

Colin

Isbjørn 🇳🇴 = Polar Bear

Still going through images from Svalbard, Norway. We saw at least 12 individual polar bears aside from the female we observed crossing the ice pack. The others were viewed from Zodiacs and on more than one occasion, a scheduled landing was canceled due to bears in the vicinity.

Have a great weekend and thank you for following along!

Colin

PS - in less than 2 weeks I'll be back in Namibia to lead a group with Nat Expo Tours, LLC, so please stay tuned…

Polar bear in Hingstsletta

Polar bear tracks near the mud, Ymerbukta

Polar bear mother and cub sleeping on the beach, Kapp Lee

Happy Autumn and the March 2023 Arctic Norway Aurora Adventure!

Happy Autumn, everyone!


With the equinox comes increased solar activity and subsequently, aurora borealis. Along with that, we are heading toward the next solar maximum, so opportunities for sights like this should continue to increase over the next few years...

I will be guiding local aurora borealis tours for Alaska Photo Treks again this season and speaking of aurora tours, Mike and I have added a new trip to our schedule at Nat Expo Tours – the March 2023 Arctic Norway Aurora Adventure! Dates are March 14-22, 2023. Details and itinerary on our website.

We are offering a $200 discount for all subscribers to our newsletter. You can subscribe on our homepage: www.natexpotours.com

Happy Aurora Hunting!

Colin

Auroral corona & moon at the Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Aurora borealis over the Chugach Mountains, Eagle River Nature Center, Alaska

Polar Bear on the pack ice, 82˚N latitude, Svalbard, Norway

A polar bear crosses the pack ice north of Svalbard, Norway with Oceanwide Expeditions. Our ship, the M/V Ortelius, passed 82˚N latitude as we watched this female bear cross the moving ice. Footage by Mike Haring and myself.

It's very possible that we will lead a group to Svalbard in the near future with Nat Expo Tours. We currently have next year's tours up on our site and if you subscribe to our newsletter on the homepage, you will get a $200 discount on the Arctic Norway Aurora Adventure, March 14-22, 2023: www.natexpotours.com

Thank you for following,

Colin

Alkefjellet, Svalbard

Alkefjellet, Day 6 of our Svalbard adventure with Oceanwide Expeditions. A birder's paradise to say the least, where flocks of guillemots and gulls filled the cliffs and sky, at times resembling a swarm of insects when viewed from a distance.

Please stay tuned for more from Svalbard as I edit through thousands of images & videos...

Thank you for following along!

Colin

Brünnich’s Guillemot

Brünnich’s Guillemot

Brünnich’s Guillemots

Guillemots and gulls

Our ship, the M/V Oretlius

Atlantic Walrus

The Atlantic walrus, or Odobenus rosmarus, is also known as “Tooth Walker” by Inuit peoples because they use their tusks to haul themselves ashore and move around on land. Odobenus translates from Latin as “tooth walking sea horse.”

Svalbard, Norway was my first opportunity to witness and photograph these saber-toothed sea cows of the north (I wrote that one). At more than 2,000 pounds, they are massive creatures, and it would be easy to underestimate their agility by just watching them on land but to observe them in the water is a different story…

I have more to share from our Svalbard adventure with Oceanwide Expeditions, so please stay tuned. We may eventually take a group there with Nat Expo Tours, but for now we are scheduled to return to arctic Norway for an Aurora & Arctic Landscape Tour in March of 2023! Please message me for details on that or visit our website: https://naturalexposurestours.com/norway-tour/

Cheers!

Colin

 

 

 

Svalbard

Svalbard, Norway.

I am fortunate to have visited this iconic destination, a place sought after by almost any nature photographer. We spent 9 days cruising around the archipelago with Oceandwide Expeditions, making land excursions (when there weren't any polar bears present) and going beyond 82˚ North latitude, within 500 miles of the north pole. We saw a total of 12 bears, one walking across the polar icepack. I will have more to share when I have time to edit through thousands of images & videos. I am now in Iceland, leading a photography tour with Nat Expo Tours.

As always, thank you for following along!

Colin

Polar bear on the icepack

Arctic plant life

Morning sky from the bow of the Ortelius