We were to see Svalbard at its most dramatic and bleak today. Yesterday’s weather had been surprisingly (unnaturally) warm, but today, though still milder than we had anticipated, was much more mixed. But rain or shine, this landscape is unrivalled in its beauty.
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Christiane Ritter spent a winter in the harshest conditions that Svalbard can offer. Living in a tiny hut with her husband and another trapper, but sometimes left alone there for many days. Constant darkness, cut off from the world by snow and ice; her Arctic was not my Arctic. But I think editing some of my photos in black and white has helped to emphasise what sense of bleakness I did find in this stunning environment.
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We were only in Paris for a few days and I hadn't planned to send any virtual postcards. But on our last evening we had an after dinner stroll along the Seine and were treated to an amazing sunset. I just had to share it!
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We were to experience a sense of peace on every day of this trip, the silence often only broken by the noise of the kittiwakes and other birds. Surprisingly today we were also to experience warm sunshine; not something I expected to find in Svalbard.
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Having spent the first half of August on an expedition cruise in Svalbard, I spent much of the second half wanting to return! But any return will have to wait, and meanwhile within a week of getting home we were off again, on our annual trip to Yorkshire.
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Today was definitely a day for ‘big boots’ and also definitely a day for adventure. But then, so was every day on our expedition cruise! The morning brought low clouds in places and some rain. As we finished breakfast an announcement came over the PA that beluga whales had been spotted ...
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The Arctic is a magical place, 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.
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If you love travelling as much as I do, I’m sure there are times when you read a post about somewhere interesting, maybe somewhere you’re already planning to go, and you think, ‘That will be useful’. Maybe you even bookmark it, or copy and saved some of the useful information. And just maybe, you remember, when the time comes to visit that place, that you read and saved that interesting post … somewhere!
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For several years now I have longed to visit Svalbard. A land where the sun never sets in summer, nor rises in winter. A land 60% covered with glaciers and home to exciting wildlife such as polar bears and walrus. And finally this year I made it.
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Who hasn’t been mesmerised at times by the sight and sound of the sea? Watching the movement of waves, whether on the shore or from a ship, can be almost hypnotising, or so I find.
