The Arctic has huge glaciers, frozen waterfalls and floating ice. This is scenery on which man has left no mark, which has stayed unchanged for centuries, wild, bleak, hauntingly beautiful; it is a part of God’s creation we have made no effort to tame.
Ann Widdecombe
I can’t quite believe that I’m quoting Ann Widdecombe, a politician with very different views to my own! But on this subject, the Arctic, I do agree with her. This is a magical place, and as she says, ‘wild, bleak, hauntingly beautiful’.
It is also, surprisingly perhaps, full of colour. However there are plenty of scenes that lend themselves to black and white photography too.
For this week’s theme-free Monochrome Madness I want to share some images from our recent expedition cruise around Svalbard. I’m only part way through editing the hundreds of photos I took there, so these are all from the first six days of the trip. I’ll do a second post covering the remaining days on a future theme-free week.
As always, these photos were originally shot in colour and converted using Nik Silver Efex Pro. My feature image was taken in Osbornebukta on our first full day of exploration. The remainder below are presented in chronological order.
Day one
Isfjorden, departing Longyearbyen at the start of the voyage
Day two
Osbornebukta and Osbornebreen
Day three
Zodiac cruise, Osbornebreen
Day four
Air bubbles in glacial ice, Fjortende Julibukta
[these bubbles were trapped hundreds of years ago, pre Industrial Revolution; you can hear a constant pop as the ice slowly melts and that fresh air is released into our more polluted modern world]
Day four
Glaucous gull feather, Camp Zoe, Tinayrebukta
Day four
Gold prospector Ernest Mansfield’s hut at Camp Zoe, Tinayrebukta (named for his daughter)
Day five
Glacial erratic, Texas Bar, Leifdefjorden
Day six
Waterfall emerging from within the cliffs at Alkefjellet
Day six
Glaciers and waterfalls, Alkefjellet
Day six
Guillemots on and above the cliffs, Alkefjellet
Day six
Guillemots in flight, Alkefjellet
Day seven
Sea ice, 82˚ 25’ N
Day seven
Sea ice, 82˚ 25’ N
Day seven
Polar bear on the sea ice, 82˚ 25’ N
I visited Svalbard in August 2025
49 Comments
Johnathan Hall
Amazing images, they work so well in black and white!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Johnathan 😊 I think the drama of these landscapes is brought out in B&W.
wetanddustyroads
I think B&W photos suit the Arctic – they beautifully capture the mystery and remoteness of the place. Although the polar bear photo is special, all your other photos are just as beautiful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much 🙂 I’m inclined to agree about B&W suiting this environment and plan to try some more edits soon!
equinoxio21
82ºN is wayyyy up there. Compliments
Sarah Wilkie
It is – the furthest that particular ship had gone! They broke out the bubbly to celebrate 🙂
equinoxio21
I like a ship with class. 😉
margaret21
What drama in these shots! And what beauty too. Could you see yourself being sucked into enjoying this very different landcape over an extended period? It seems to grab hold of those who bite the bullet and do so (I’m obviously thinking of Christiane Ritter).
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 😊 I thought of her a lot during this trip, especially when we saw some of the huts (both trappers’ and prospectors’) during our landings. But there is no way I could endure a winter in this environment!
margaret21
Nor me, I’m sure. You can only take roughi-toughiness so far.
Annie Berger
Lucky you being able to discover such a wonderful place on Earth. I read recently about someone visiting Svalbard independently, which also sounds exciting. Love the air bubble photo – the B&W photo captured the bubbles beautifully.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie 🙂 You can visit Longyearbyen independently and there are tours available from there which take you into the immediate area but you can’t explore beyond the town limits without a guide as it’s compulsory to have training in how to deal with polar bears and to carry a rifle. Also, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be able to reach anywhere very remote other than by ship.
grandmisadventures
Incredible pictures- the black and white really bring out the contrasts in the landscape terrain
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Meg 🙂 On the bleaker days these landscapes really suited B&W, but when the sun came out the colours were incredible!
Image Earth Travel
Gorgeous, Sarah!
Alkefjellet reminds me of Patagonian scenery.
Sarah Wilkie
Alkefjellet was awesome in the proper sense of that word! Our expedition leader said it was his favourite place in the Arctic and I could see why.
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Wow! I particularly love the polar bear and the bubbly ice. I’ll even forgive you Ann Widdecombe.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s kind of you Anabel – I barely forgive myself! So glad you love the bear 🙂
Brad M
Agree, the B&W treatment adds a bit of magic to the photos. Were the seas calmer than the photos from your prior Arctic posting?
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brad 🙂 The seas were pretty calm the whole time, we were in sheltered fjords much of the time and even when out in open water, while there was sometimes a bit of a swell it was never rough or even choppy. The movement of the water in that previous post was all down to the wake of the ship. I was pointing my camera downwards from our balcony to capture that movement.
The Flask Half Full
Love these black and white images, Sarah. I always feel like B&W turns down the volume of a photo and makes you look at it differently. Well done!
Sarah Wilkie
That’s an interesting way of looking at B&W, thank you 🙂 I certainly agree that it makes you look at things differently.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Amazing places, stunning photographs. A unique destination all round.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Phil 😊 Unique indeed! I know Chris was concerned when I first suggested this trip that we would find it too much like the Antarctic, but it’s very different.
Rebecca
There’s something dramatic about capturing the world through black-and-white. Your photos are arresting, and I appreciate you sharing them, Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Aw, thank you very much Rebecca 😊
Monkey's Tale
Such amazing and wild landscapes you captured beautifully. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Maggie, so glad you like these shots 😊
Heyjude
Stunning. And the polar bear photo is just wow.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Jude 😊 As I mentioned to Brian, I have much closer shots of that bear as he came right up to our ship, but for this exercise I wanted to show him in his environment.
the eternal traveller
Fantastic landscapes. Photo number three is stunning.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much, I’m so glad you like these 😊 Many more to follow, mostly in colour!
Steven and Annie Berger
Just wonderful. Brightened up my day.
Steve
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Steve, that’s good to hear 😊
bushboy
Rather spectacular Sarah 😀 Amazing images of a wonderful landscape. I love the bonus bear 🐻❄️
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Brian 😊 I have very many more photos of the bear, a lot of them much closer, but I wanted to show him in his environment.
bushboy
I was hoping for a bear and landscape. The last one was a close up which was amazing 😀
Anne Sandler
Incredible images Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Anne 🙂
Suzanne
Sarah, the scale of it must have been awe inspiring. As Billy Connolly said, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”. So I can imagine you thoroughly enjoyed this trip well clothed 😉
Sarah Wilkie
Awe inspiring indeed Suzanne 😲 And yes, the right clothing was required but with a thick parka provided by the tour company we only really needed regular winter gear, though I did add thermal leggings to my arsenal! Then one day we had freak temperatures of 16 degrees Centigrade and were all peeling off the layers! The normal day time range was more like +3 to +9 however.
Alli Templeton
Wow, Sarah, that really is Wow! Ann Widdecombe hit the nail on the head with ‘wild, bleak, hauntingly beautiful’, and these glorious pictures have reminded me exactly why Svalbard is one place I would love to visit. Love the idea of pre-industrial era – maybe even medieval – bubbles trapped in ice. What a thing to see, although it’s a sobering thought that they’re emerging into such a different and polluted modern world, and indeed that the ice is melting to release them in the first place.
Looking forward to seeing more of your trip to this stunning wilderness.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you very much Alli 😊 From what I read, while the Svalbard bubbles are a few hundred years old (I’ve seen 1700 mentioned), there is ice in Antarctica holding air from many thousands of years ago, way before medieval times even!
Alli Templeton
That’s mind-blowing!
Sue
Goodness, what a cold, unforgiving and hostile landscape it appears to me! But I think when I was younger and fitter I would have seen it a little differently
Sarah Wilkie
I’m sure it can be all of those things. I certainly wouldn’t want to spend a winter here! But I think when you see my colour images, especially those taken oln our sunnier days, you’ll find it much less hostile-looking 🙂
Sue
Well, I shall certainly be interested to see
Dawn M. Miller
Wow, these are incredible!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Dawn 😊