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TABLE OF CONTENTS BROWN BEARS A BEAR WALKED INTO A BAR
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FACE OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 CAPA’S LEGACY
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
CATCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 THE FISHER KING FUNNEL CREEK
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11
JERSEY LILLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13 THE HAPPY BEAR PREDATOR
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
PRIMEVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 TED
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
THE BOSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 THE LAST SUPPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21
POLAR BEARS POLAR BEARS
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
THE EMPEROR OF THE NORTH
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
DIAMONDS IN THE SKY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 78 DEGREES NORTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 WHITE OUT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27 .
THE STATEMAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 RUSH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 OUTNUMBERED
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31
THE NORTH SLOPE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
MONDAY MORNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 KAKTOVIK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 MY PLACE OR YOURS?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 HELLO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 GHOST WRITER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
A BEAR WALKED INTO A BAR
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 103” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 73”
Sometimes the most engaging pictures just happen with no real forward planning, but rather a spontaneous reaction to a fresh canvas that just presents itself. This staged shot in a ghost town in Montana was one such occasion. We had finished filming on a cold January morning and retreated to the only working premises in the deserted town to get warm and have a drink. Our refuge met every preconception of what a timeless wild west American inn should look like – a long wooden bar, wagon wheels on the ceiling, faded black and white photographs of the glory years, the odd moose head and of course a pool table. I asked the bar owner, Rosie – who had a “seen it all before” look about him, if he had a problem with us bringing a bear into the deserted bar. Not a normal request perhaps, but he welcomed the idea, only asking what the bear liked to drink. The central premise of the shot was that I wanted everyone to behave as if a bear in a bar was the most normal occurrence in this part of the world – they should act with total indifference. From the Series “Wolf Of Main Street”
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FACEOFF
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -63” x 67” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -47” x 50”
Alaska 2016 This powerful portrait of a huge coastal brown bear in Funnel Creek, Katmai National Park, Alaska works because of the eye to eye face off. My eye is level or indeed marginally lower than his and that required getting very wet. There are few dry days in the field in Alaska and this was not one of them. Over and above our matching line of vision, the simplicity of the image is helped by the absence of distractions – there is clearly nothing in the print that is not part of the bear itself. A corner of distant tundra or sky would disturb the sense of the complete and create an eye grabbing tension point. This effect is only really possible with a “head on” perspective and it shows the vastness of adult bears. This bear probably weighed 950 pounds – five times that of an average man. Encounters like this tend to be singular moments – with no other photographers nearby. In the salmon run seasons, great precision is required to know where the salmon are running on any particular week – with that comes clues as to where to find the bears. The greater the number of salmon in the river, the less a bear will worry about human presence; my trespass – once acknowledged – was accepted and life carried on. This bear was simply being a bear – he posed no threat. 5
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CAPA’S LEGACY Small - Edition of 12, Framed size -32” x 40”
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CATCH
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 79” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 57”
Brooks Falls, USA 2012 It is integral to my style of animal portraiture to obsess on the eye detail. If the eye is not sharp or if it is closed or obscured, the picture would have to have some transcending feature elsewhere to overcome this drawback. In this shot, the bear’s left eye is not just sharp – it is very clearly focused on me. There are many shots taken every year of brown bears fishing in Katmai, but this does have an intimacy afforded by the proximity and the eye contact.
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THE FISHER KING
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 83” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 60”
Alaska 2017 Over the years, I have spent many days working close to grizzlies in Alaska and this is surely my most visually arresting photograph. The intimacy is courtesy of a well-positioned camera and a 28 mm wide angle lens. The bear was big, primeval and menacing, and in this instant, just two feet from the camera. Moraine Creek is not an easy destination to get to for first light, but that was our preferred schedule. The weather forecast was for unrelenting sunshine, unusual for Alaska, and we had little appetite to work on the river with a high summer sun above us. We were on site just after dawn and the remote camera was positioned after studying the fishing pattern of the big male bear. I prefer to photograph against the light, but at seven am this is a risky strategy as shooting directly into the sun can jeopardise an otherwise strong image. The route of the river meant that there were no other options at this time, but at least with light behind me, I would have some depth of field. I was begging the bear to come to the camera and he did exactly that – with a head held high and a face full of energy. I knew that if my maths was right, I had a big image. As soon as the bear was ten yards up river, I ran and grabbed the camera. It was “in the can” – the project was wrapped and we were home for breakfast. 9
FUNNEL CREEK Alaska 2016 What is the key to having an edge in my genre of photograph in 2016? It cannot purely be technical camera fluency as that would enfranchise photographers across the globe – many of whom doubtless know their camera guide appendix far better than me. Nikon may have made me an ambassador, but not on the basis of my understanding of page 239 of the manual. Of course an innate sense of compositional balance and unerring focusing ability helps, as does a literacy in the language of light. But again, whilst this may narrow down the field, none of these skills are 10
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size 71” x 79” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 58”
uncommon. I am always conscious those that say wildlife photography is of the fact that in 2016, everyone is a about luck, because as I grow older photographer. (and looking in the mirror I see that I have aged a great deal camping in My firm contention is that the key Alaska over the last 10 days), I can to taking transcending photographs reasonably argue that research and in the field, is access to great logistical excellence tilt the odds in content and this comes from the favour of the applicants. research, perseverance, occasional bouts of bravery and most of all I want to be the best – why settle logistical excellence. These variables for anything less in this trade? This collectively morph into one goal – is not ego talking, it is natural to “precision’”. be the best you can be. To succeed will not be about me learning about Without an obsession with precision, new functions on the camera, it the game is down to luck and luck, by will be through a constancy in my definition, is a leveller. I take issue with commitment to homework.
Alaska is the perfect example of this dynamic. To go on photographic assignment there is much more a test of map work, spontaneity, people skills and quick thinking than it is of photographic prowess per se. To do a good job in this remarkable wilderness requires a respect for logistics – indeed that is what a lead photographer in the true wild must be – a logistics expert. Let’s start with a simple check. Google “Best places to photograph grizzly bears in Alaska” and there will be about 30 options articulated. The favourite places are designed for “weekend warrior” cameramen. Brooks Falls in Katmai for instance is effectively a zoo – with heavy park warden presence and soulless viewing stands. There is no joy for me in a place like this – and I did pop in to seek that confirmation this week. I am better than sitting on a stand with a long lens along with 40 amateurs. Kodiak Island has a huge number of bears, but because big game hunting is legal there, the bears are skittish and sometimes dangerous. Hallo Bay – site of the Disney Film “Bears’” has let the success go to their heads and the bear viewing is overrated, expensive and too accessible. They also regulate far too heavily. I know, I spent two days there last week being told where to sit. That is like asking Liam Gallagher not to swear. Most of Google’s 30 favourite places, hold no visceral grip on me – they are mainstream and dull. Setting up sensible and practical remote control positions leans me towards remote river banks and the summer salmon runs. Each river has its own unique salmon run and the times not only vary between rivers over a 12 week period, but each river has a different pattern each year. If the salmon run a specific river starts on July 22nd one year, they could run 7 – 10 days either side of it the next year. This requires a need to be
spontaneous and be on the ground picking up grass roots detail. “How are the fish running” became my opening gambit the second half of July. I am no fisherman either. Over these last 10 days, I have had one picture in mind – a wide angle remote control shot of a big bear on a river’s edge. Something immersive and very close. But the 2016 season has not been predictable – berries have been plentiful and bears love berries as much as salmon, so traffic in some rivers has been abnormally light. But bush plane by bush plane I narrowed down my focus to an area I knew well – 70 miles south of Illiamut on the Alaskan Peninsula. We deliberately flew very low over Funnel Creek earlier in the week and saw at least six adult bears fishing up river and so we touched down in the tiny village of Illiamut to discuss logistics. Every village in Alaska has a landing strip. The next day, we were dropped off by float plane on a tiny lake to walk the four miles through tundra and the river itself to the precise area where we had seen the bears. It is not for the faint hearted as these are big bears and it is the true wild.
camera. Not easy. Why should the bear walk towards a camera, never mind look at it – cameras don’t smell? The chance came yesterday, half way through the day and we waited over an hour with the camera just 20 feet from the bear. I have made my reputation partly through the use of remotes and it is a language I am now fluent in – manual pre-selected point focus, lens, aperture, distance etc. I know what I am doing here – largely from hard lessons learnt in the past. By getting it wrong, I now know how to get it right. It all happened in five seconds. I thought I had missed him to the right, but all was okay. I think this image is very important to the brand integrity. The focus is so sharp around the face, it will look amazing when in a large frame. The light was fantastic. I am sure the image will sell out. America and Russia are obvious markets.
Please show it around – we have sold three off the bat today. There is no point being meek and I really don’t think anyone else in the game has the “precision” to take this. I want people to see it and say “That must be a “David Yarrow”. That, after all, was the goal three long years ago and now The location was even better than we we are a little closer. dared hope – in six hours we saw at least 15 bears. I knew these bears were One other thing, this is about not necessarily dangerous, unless coming back from a big trip with you did something really stupid or one precious shot. Plurality is the were incredibly unlucky in your bane of photographers. Why confuse positioning between sow and cubs. I the end market? There is no need to have studied bears for four years now show any of my other images – they and I am not intimidated during the are dwarfed. Less must be more. This salmon run – they are far too busy image must be coveted – not part of a fishing to worry about a human, let portfolio. There is no portfolio. alone maul a human. Thank you as always for your support, There is no mileage photographing belief and encouragement. Without a bear with a long lens – just like a this, I would never have had the lion, it has been done before – it is time or the finance to have taken this hackneyed pulp. What I wanted was image. a bear three feet from my ground up 11
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JERSEY LILLY Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 76” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -42” x 55”
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THE HAPPY BEAR
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 89” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 64”
Alaska 2017 Everything in this dynamic image works – the light, the shape of the bear and most of all, his facial expression. At this one moment in time, he looks so happy just being a bear. And so he should – the water is bursting with salmon and on this stretch of the creek he is “The Don”. His prime position will be unchallenged and he can eat as much as he likes for as long as he likes – on my watch, that worked out at about 30 /40 salmon a day. I needed to lie in the river to take this image – my camera had to be as close to the water as possible. My waders were invaded at chest level and I returned to the bank absolutely drenched. It is part of the job I guess – no photographer should really return to base camp dry and clean after an intense day in the field. I maybe take this dynamic to uncomfortable levels, but it makes the evening shower and debriefing drink that much more satisfying. This is not a job for precious people.
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PREDATOR
Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52� x 69�
Katmai, Alaska 2018 ...Read More 1000 lb adult male brown bears, or grizzlies, are apex predators. They will eat almost anything. But for a few weeks every year, sockeye salmon are the easiest meal they will get and they will not threaten photographers so long as their territory is not encroached. This image of a massive bear was captured with remote controlled cameras at a bend in Moraine Creek that I know only too well. That makes me either insane or at the very least slightly odd. I must have spent several days waiting at this point in the river over the last few years and this is the best image yet. I just wanted to convey size and sovereignty - nothing else really mattered, although the real sense of place in the image is a bonus. This is raw Alaska at its best.
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PRIMEVAL
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 75” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 65”
Alaska 2017 I don’t tend to seek decisive moment images – I prefer serenity over intensity and a preconception based on action is difficult to linearly follow through to its conception. This is simply because action in the wild is a “crap shoot”. If it happens it happens, but it is not necessarily art in my book. But this image is perhaps slightly different. The detail of the kill is raw and timeless and this may subliminally elevate the visual impact. This is how I imagine the denouement of a salmon to a big bear in Moraine Creek 5,000 years ago or even five million years ago. The main players in this image have been a constant in a world of huge change – salmon ran up this 16
creek not just before we could google “Alaska” but before Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, the Roman Empire and the dawn of man. And at the end of their run, huge 1000lb bears were there to eat the salmon – just as in 2017. What an extraordinary planet we live on. It is the wildlife that is the constant and it is this wildlife that we are treating with such shameful disrespect. Bears and humans are co-tenants of the planet – the bears have just shown their habitat greater respect. Any human that thinks he has sovereignty over a bear like this, did not see this guy in action that Friday in July. He could have killed any human in a heartbeat, except he chose not to. He was primeval.
TED
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 95” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 77”
Katmai, Alaska 2018 I know the tundra of Katmai, Alaska, where Funnel Creek and the Moraine river converge, as well as I know any natural amphitheater in the world. I have flown south from Iliamna on a float plane about 20 times over the years during the salmon run. There is no consensual “best place” to photograph bears in Alaska because with consensus comes popularity and regulation, which then reduces the location’s edge and serenity. The famous Brooks Falls - for instance - is a soulless place to photograph bears in their normal habitat, because youthful game wardens and excited tourists outnumber the bears 40 to 1. I have respect for any photographer who comes away from Brooks with a big image.
Up on Moraine, however, it is the true wild. It is certainly the best place for me to employ my close up and immersive style of photography. The bear activity fluctuates with the timing of the sockeye salmon run and a matter of days can make a material difference to the chances of success. This year the salmon were very late and our trip to rain-sodden Iliamna last week was literally a washout. Soon after we left, the fish arrived and with them the bears and so I knew I had no choice but to return from LA. At one point on Tuesday - up on Funnel Creek - my guide and myself - alone in the wilderness - counted 24 bears in our sight at one single time. One three-year- old bear, fishing with his brother stood out as he was almost albino in colour. His behaviour was predictable and
relaxed as he and his twin fished the confluence and - given that this is very much my comfort zone too - I spotted a clear opportunity. My standard working distance for a remote set up is around 4 feet as this is where, with the help of a prime lens, the most textural detail can be captured. It’s still a low percentage shot as my depth of field in the rain clouds of Katmai will be three inches at best. Bears only look like cuddly teddy bears when they are between two and three years old. Any younger and they look like a hybrid animal and when they get older they lose their bedroom looks. But catch their childhood at the peak time and there is a chance you can capture a teddy bear face. 17
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THE BOSS
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -55” x 100” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -42” x 71”
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THE LAST SUPPER
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -65” x 116” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 90”
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POLAR BEARS
Alaska, 2018 We delayed releasing this image because I wasn’t really sure what to write - it was such a surreal few minutes and it took time for it all to sink in. I guess on the one hand it’s a fairly straightforward portrait of an adult male polar bear - there is nothing dramatic going on and no collapsing iceberg in the background. But on the other hand, there is fine detail in this study. He is totally comfortable with my presence and happy merely to observe and continue being who he is - the ultimate alpha mammal. His relaxed demeanor allowed me to inch closer and wait for head-on eye to eye contact. Only then can we stare into his unique world. What do I see in his eyes? Wisdom, security and governance. He is totally in control - a bit like a meeting with a therapist. He has all the answers to my none. It’s a fireside chat at the top of the world with a Statesman. I think he is telling me that he likes his tea white with no sugar. Then we can get on with the issues of the day.
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THE EMPEROR OF THE NORTH
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 104” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 74”
I wanted an image that celebrates the life of the Emperor of the North – there is no appetite on my part to deliver another hackneyed image documenting global warming. The polar bear should never be regarded as ordinary or familiar – because it is neither. That gorgeous summer’s day, I shot almost directly into the sun and the glittering sea is apposite – this is a celebration of the glory of planet earth and the polar bear’s position at its summit. He is the Emperor of the North and the star of this image. I was just a bystander with a decent camera.
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DIAMONDS IN THE SKY
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 97” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 69”
A hugely exciting morning today on the North Slope of Alaska. I think we deserve it because the last 72 hours have been very tough both weather wise and content wise. But we fancied our chances from about 5am as the storm passed. We had done our homework and had the very best local guide. It’s moments like this and images like this that make all the compromises so worthwhile. We are very privileged to work so closely with such a magnificent animal as the adult polar bear. Now off to Deadhorse…that sounds a treat in itself.
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78 DEGREES NORTH
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 101” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 72”
Svalbard, Norway 2017 I should start by saying that I have generally been disappointed by my own work with polar bears in Svalbard. I haven’t tended to do them or their habitat justice. This is a “Giants’ Kingdom” and my images from previous trips have been too marginal to do either the giants or their kingdom justice. Luck evens itself out, but nature can seem cruel in its distribution of content and in this barren archipelago, I don’t recall many favours until June 2017. This year, however, I did have some luck and came home with three images. There is no doubt in my mind that this photograph of a big male polar bear lends weight to the contention that wildlife photography does not need to be reportage – it can be art. The photograph is elevated by the negative space and the bear’s anonymity rather than weakened by it. Since 2011, I have spent over 30 days shooting in Svalbard and this is my favourite image of a polar bear in this part of the Arctic – indeed the more I look at it, the more proud I am. As my fellow Scottish photographer and friend, the great Harry Benson, once said “great images can never be repeated”. Others will decide if this is a great image, but it is certainly not going to be repeated. The eye is immediately grabbed by the detail we recognise but have perhaps never seen – the distinctive pads on the sole of his foot. The central pad, that resembles the Nike style “swoosh”, is the epicentre of a photograph that owes its differentiating content entirely to this right foot. The image is made complete by its own lack of completeness – the storytelling is started by the camera and finished by the viewer. We are asked to finish the story, not just read the story and the Spartan economy of the narrative helps us along the way. Less is more in the Arctic – its beauty is in its simplicity and the enormity of the white detail. It is not a noisy place – in fact it is characterised by the lack of noise. The image pays homage to that variable – it conveys a true sense of place. This is not a natural human habitat – it is in fact our final frontier. The irony was that it was the very last of a sequence of 60 images I took of the polar bear. A second after this moment, this most solitary of predators was over the horizon and our paths will never cross again. I did not press the trigger with this image in mind – it was such an intense 15 minutes that it would be most disingenuous to suggest that it was preconceived. The heart was beating too fast to consider creating art – these moments sometimes just happen. It was only when I returned to the ship, that I realised I had an extremely evocative photograph.
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WHITE OUT
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -39” x 95” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -31” x 68”
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THE STATESMAN
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 74” x 59” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -54” x 45”
Alaska, 2018 We delayed releasing this image because I wasn’t really sure what to write - it was such a surreal few minutes and it took time for it all to sink in. I guess on the one hand it’s a fairly straightforward portrait of an adult male polar bear - there is nothing dramatic going on and no collapsing iceberg in the background. But on the other hand, there is fine detail in this study. He is totally comfortable with my presence and happy merely to observe and continue being who he is - the ultimate alpha mammal. His relaxed demeanor allowed me to inch closer and wait for head-on eye to eye contact. Only then can we stare into his unique world. What do I see in his eyes? Wisdom, security and governance. He is totally in control - a bit like a meeting with a therapist. He has all the answers to my none. It’s a fireside chat at the top of the world with a Statesman. I think he is telling me that he likes his tea white with no sugar. Then we can get on with the issues of the day. 28
RUSH
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 73” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 53”
Svalbard, Norway 2017 This was not a normal Thursday morning and the adrenaline was high throughout this brief encounter a day’s sailing south of Longyearbyen in Svalbard. This was a seriously big bear. As with all head on images of alpha predators like this – three factors are key to making the depiction as visually powerful as the reality. The first is that my angle must be ground up – there is no other way. the second factor is that irrespective of the rush of being so close to the ultimate predator, there can be no margin of error in the focus around his eyes. An inch out either way and the image is toast. Thirdly there must be movement to convey the sense of threat. So all requirements were accomplished and we imposed ourselves rather than letting the situation dictate. In retrospect, the beauty of this enormous bear was an added bonus – he had just made a kill and had been in the water. This lent some textural beauty to his coat. It all came together in a split second – but that is the essence of photography. I have looked back at my first efforts with polar bears and compared them to this powerful image. It has been a long journey of disappointment, discovery and then finally delivery. What an adrenaline rush. 29
OUTNUMBERED
Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -45” x 75”
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THE NORTH SLOPE
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size -71” x 106” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 75”
Alaska, 2018 This photograph - taken high up on the North Slope of Alaska on Thursday morning - is special for us. It is a photograph I have always aspired to take. The best pictures can never be retaken. There were two or three key elements to its capture. Firstly, because the physical enormity of an adult bear is best conveyed head on and from low on the ground, we had to try and find a position where the terrain offered a horizon and an incline between me and the bear. The second and more important dynamic was to use the 25 mph wind to our favour. Bears can smell us from a long way away so long as they are downwind. Then of course - the overriding factor - was our safety. At all times we had to have an escape route. We knew what to do here and I had the best Inuit guide in the area. I felt safe with him, but please do not try this at home. This bear is enormous and my positioning shows that off. It was all over in maybe five seconds - but I will never forget them. People understandably worry about polar bear numbers - but be assured there is a load of big healthy bears on the North Slope. I think we saw over 25 in a week.
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MONDAY MORNING
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 104” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 74”
Kaktovik, Alaska – 2016 It is a rare privilege to get close enough to a polar bear to take an image as intimate as this and even rarer to get close to two adults. The photograph was taken in October 2016 on the North Slope of Alaska – the best place in the world to study polar bears in their natural habitat. It is a hard destination to get to and does not readily cater for visitors. More importantly it is not well regulated – this makes it an ideal location for my approach to immersive photography – which leans on transgressive practices such as getting close to danger. In order to get my eye line below or level with the bears, I had to be lying on the ground with my Inuit fixer and his vehicle right behind me. The closest he was prepared to go was 20 feet away – though on this occasion, the lead bear looked a little more interested in taking a mid afternoon nap, than attacking a human. Indeed, moments after I had positioned myself, the bear arched her back and rubbed her face on the ice – just like a human having a stretch and a yawn. It was that familiar “Monday morning” feeling. I am often reminded that animal behaviour – even with alpha predators like Polar Bears – can be remarkably similar to humans. I think this is a unique shot and there is a gratifying amount of detail.
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KAKTOVIK
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 77” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 56”
Alaska, USA 2015 In some ways this is a ridiculously lucky picture – it is rare to have this sort of access to polar bears in the wild. Furthermore, the positioning of the second polar bear is almost perfect and that was totally outside of my control. But I do believe that in fact this image endorses an approach which leans heavily on desk research, discomfort in the field and the preference for proximity, immersion and wide angle lenses. The 35m lens is my favourite lens and if I was to carry one picture in my wallet to explain why, it would be this picture. The 35m is such a crisp and examining conduit. At the time, I could not see what was in the viewfinder as I was holding the lens 30 inches below my eyes in order to get the right ground up perspective. All I remember is my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline – which in retrospect is hardly surprising. My sense is that this picture will stand the test of time. 34
MY PLACE OR YOURS?
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 104” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 74”
KAKTOVIK, ALASKA 2016 Whilst this powerful vignette is unusual for me, I hope that those who know my mind well, will guess that I have taken it. If so, that would be very gratifying, because I want to be understood just as much as I want to be collected. I have never used street lights, buildings and telegraph poles as part of any “non-staged” narrative before, but their inclusion in this image deliberately suggests an imminent and unwelcome encroachment into mundane village life by the most dangerous of predators on the planet. The picture was preconceived in London. I think the human detail does not only complement the bear, it makes the photograph relevant. Relevance is a big word for me on my journey.
counted around Kaktovik (the location of this image) at this time of year is recorded as a jaw dropping “90”. I have come to the safe conclusion that the Inuit elders from the coastal villages of the Beaufort Sea know all there is to know about polar bears. Their words are not words for “fast food” documentary television – they just say it as it is – it is their life. They respect the bears more than fear them and don’t just tolerate their presence – they admire their presence. The Inuit way of life is under just as much pressure as the polar bear way of life – after all, both are victims of our warming planet. I sense a solidarity born out of a common environmental enemy.
The polar bears in these coastal communities are – in the main – not malnourished. Indeed, look at the size The reality is that communities such as Barrow, of this female – she must weight all of 1,200 pounds Prudhoe Bay and Kaktovik in Alaska and also Churchill – seven times the average man. Her positioning just in Canada are accustomed to the daily presence of polar before sunrise was integral to the strength of the image bears until the adjacent sea water freezes in the autumn. and sunrise up there at Halloween time is around 9.30 The cohabitation is a surreal situation – perhaps without am. These are short days. equal on the planet. The end of the seasonal tenancy of the bears is being pushed out over time as a result Not all polar bears are starving – trust me – this of global warming and the villagers in these remote assignment was not my first rodeo in the artic. Polar outposts have accepted white bears as a way of life. bears can still be imperious, magnificent and sovereign. This one most certainly is. Ironically, it is around Halloween that polar bear activity around these villages peaks. Every night sirens I am very tough on myself, but I know that “My place go off and gun shots are fired by vigilantes patrolling the or yours?” is a special picture and I get quite emotional modest grid street plans. The record number of bears just looking at it.
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HELLO
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 106” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 75”
Alaska, USA 2015 This image was run in the British Press a few days after my encounter on Barter Island. It is a special picture and I guess it will become a well-known picture. It is something of a platitude to say that the bigger an image is printed, the greater the detail, but on this occasion it is very pertinent for two reasons. Firstly, a polar bear is a huge animal. If possible, any portrait should reflect this and – in this case – given that it is a head on shot, that is easy. The bear’s head in the image should be at least life size – if not more. Secondly the bear is pin sharp around its eyes. I think that I must have been closer than just about anyone has ever been to a polar bear in the wild and lived to tell the tale. I was also using Nikon’s flagship 58m lens – which captures every hair at the assigned focal point. When the first large print of the image came off the drum in LA, one of the team turned to me and said “David, look at the eyes – you are in them!”. He was right; I inadvertently took a selfie through the eyes of a polar bear. That surely is groundbreaking.
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GHOST WRITERS
Large - Edition of 12, Framed size - 71” x 84” Standard - Edition of 12, Framed size -52” x 60”
Alaska, USA 2015 I am very examining of my work and rarely get too enthused with what I take – the threshold of what transcends is very high. However, I don’t think I have ever seen a picture of polar bears like this. It has a sense of place lent to it by the fog and the arctic debris in the background, whilst the narrative speaks of a journey and togetherness. The acclaimed series Game of Thrones, has won many accolades for allowing fantasy to become reality in our subconscious minds. This was reality. It is a photographer’s photograph – by which I mean that other photographers home in on this image and can look at it for some time. The image crop was very limited because my instincts were to include the small reflection in the puddle ahead of the lead polar bear – that in itself gives a clue as to just how close I actually was.
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