Paul Nicklen’s “Polar Obsession” (9 Photos)
All Photographs © Paul Nicklen / National Geographic
A young polar bear leaps between ice floes. Barents Sea, Svalbard, Norway. These photographs are from Paul Nicklen’s recently released book, Polar Obsession (National Geographic Focal Point, $50), the culmination of 15 years of work photographing wildlife in the arctic and Antarctica. The book celebrates the arctic and Antarctic ecosystems and discusses the urgent need to halt global warming, which threatens their existence. For more from Nicklen on Polar Obsession, see our recent interview with the photographer.
A kittiwake soars in front of a large iceberg. Svalbard, Norway.
In the Arctic spring, meltwater channels drain toward and down a seal hole, returning to the sea.
Narwhals dive deep under the ice to feed on Arctic cod, then return to the surface to breathe and raise their tusks high in the air. Lancaster Sound, Nunavut,
Canada.
A gentoo penguin chick peeks, checking for patrolling leopard seals before tempting fate. Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula.
A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. Antarctic Peninsula.
A large bull walrus returns to the shores of Prins Karl Forland after diving and feeding on clams. Svalbard, Norway.
Mother bear and two-year-old cub drift on glacier ice. Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada.
Looking towards an uncertain future, a huge male bear triggers a camera trap, taking his own picture. Leifdefjorden, Spitsbergen, Norway.
For more from Nicklen on Polar Obsession, see our interview with the photographer.
Tags: Antarctica, arctic, global warming, National Geographic, Paul Nicklen
November 17th, 2009 at 12:18 pm EEDT
These images are amazing! There is a video of him shooting that leopard seal somewhere on the net and the photos of that particular animal are astounding!!!
November 17th, 2009 at 1:39 pm EEDT
amazing!
November 17th, 2009 at 1:50 pm EEDT
So beautiful.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:59 pm EEDT
Beautiful imagery! It’s a tragedy to think that some of these animals might disappear within our lifetime.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:59 pm EEDT
The tragedy would be to let these animals and this habitat go. These photos show us what we would lose, so we have to work to keep them here.
November 19th, 2009 at 11:55 am EEDT
The spring melt photo brings to mind the neurons of our brain.. sacred geometry at its best.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:59 am EEDT
simply amazing…
November 24th, 2009 at 2:01 pm EEDT
See also:
November 26th, 2009 at 7:22 am EEDT
totally stunning shots amazing capture, the loss of this habitat would be catastrophic
November 26th, 2009 at 7:51 am EEDT
Stunning. Simply stunning.
Does anyone know what camera/lens was being used? Not only are the shots super-sharp, the colour saturation is incredible.
The teeth and tongue of that leopard seal…incredible.
November 26th, 2009 at 9:12 am EEDT
I was actually brought to tears. These images are breath taking. Such an intimate look at a world many of us will never see.
November 27th, 2009 at 5:29 am EEDT
OMG, these are absolutely incredible! Thank you very much for sharing them.
November 27th, 2009 at 8:59 am EEDT
Breathtaking. Stunning. Must have been an amazing trip. Thank you.
November 27th, 2009 at 11:02 am EEDT
The real tragedy is the number of people who THINK the animals in these beautiful photos will disapear in our lifetimes. Earth’s natural warming and cooling cycles continue, and we pull our hair out with fear that we’re causing it. Well, UK “scientists” created it… er… out of falsified statistics. Nice work frauds. Nice work.
November 27th, 2009 at 12:38 pm EEDT
amazing shots. thank you for sharing
November 27th, 2009 at 1:18 pm EEDT
So Beautiful ! The Narwhal group surfacing is magical and I love the walrus looking into the lens too. Thank you for posting these shots, I have never seen anything to match them.
November 27th, 2009 at 2:57 pm EEDT
Stunnning, thank you for posting
November 28th, 2009 at 3:45 am EEDT
Thank you so much for sharing; utterly astonishing images.
November 28th, 2009 at 11:27 pm EEDT
The sadness of the mother polar bear and the cub floating on ice, the polar bear jumping from one ice floe to another makes one wonder why climate changing issues float to the bottom of the list when the economy tanks. The world does not realize that we as humans along with this fantastic wildlife will be lost. Many thanks to this courageous photographer for his outstanding work.
November 30th, 2009 at 1:56 am EEDT
Absolutely breathtaking!
Agree with Bryan re natural warming and cooling cycles, but we can do our bit for sustainability
November 30th, 2009 at 11:22 am EEDT
Amazing shots, anyone know where I can buy or download these photos in a higher res format for my monitor wallpaper?
November 30th, 2009 at 1:36 pm EEDT
Estoy con Matt, la nitidez y saturación de las fotos es sencillamente asombrosa. Buen trabajo!
Bryan, piérdete.
I’m with Matt, the sharpness and saturation of the pictures is simply amazing. Great job!
Bryan, go get lost.
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:01 pm EEDT
Praiseworthy images gathered with skill and patience!
Before too many people bleed over the mother and child drifting on the ice, remember that these floes represent a convenience for the animals and that they can move elsewhere at will. Polar bears do not hesitate to swim.
Don’t inject false human inferences and conclusions. This is nature. Enjoy the photography and skip the poppy cock.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:44 pm EEDT
Impressive Shots.
December 13th, 2009 at 4:31 pm EEDT
I heard him on NPR while driving to work. His love of what he does is reflected in his voice and his words. When I arrived at work I looked him up on the internet and his photos also reflect his love and passion. I have just ordered the book and cannot wait to get it.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:36 pm EEDT
These are fantastic photos and we should not get sidetracked by making this political.
Having said that, I agree with Bryan and most clear-thinking people that the globe has been warming and cooling for tens of thousands of years and the likelihood that “Man” can “control” the universe is so preposterous that it defies all logic.
So Nacho, either open your mind to opposing views or shut your mouth. People on all sides should be free to voice their opinion, including you. Just try to be civil about it.
Gracias.
December 16th, 2009 at 6:47 pm EEDT
I agree with Lou!
December 18th, 2009 at 3:21 am EEDT
These are unbelievable!
December 18th, 2009 at 7:56 pm EEDT
I too agree with Lou, the pics are awsome. Polar Bears have more than trpled in population sence the fifties, so they are just fine, look at wolf population that man messed with, now they have to be hunted again. Let nature do it’s thing.
December 18th, 2009 at 7:59 pm EEDT
I too agree with Lou, enjoy the awsome pics and quit whining about something only mother nature has control of.
December 19th, 2009 at 2:10 pm EEDT
Incredible portfolio. Every image is so beautiful!
December 20th, 2009 at 7:53 am EEDT
wonderful photography, thank you
December 20th, 2009 at 8:14 pm EEDT
Amazing. Really amazing.
December 21st, 2009 at 9:31 am EEDT
It’s awesome!!!! These pictures are enough! I didn’t know there are strange creatures in the polar. Wow……. good!!! I love that shots!
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:48 pm EEDT
The pictures are beautiful, when you think of it though, it’s not the earth nor the animals that are in as much danger of “going away”as we are.As humans we will do that to ourselves and the earth will survive as it always has and the bear will return before we do.
December 26th, 2009 at 1:48 am EEDT
Amazing shots. In the first one the bear seems like he/she is jumping among the clouds.
December 28th, 2009 at 8:28 am EEDT
I hear you Brian.
Websites show pictures of Polar Bears,with captions saying”floating on glacial ice”,or”drifting trapped on an iceberg”.What they are failing to say is,this is their natural habitat.The bears live on those ice flows,swimming and feeding amoung them.Misleading people into believing something is destroying their natural habitat.The Polar Bears are fine people,look it up.That is where they live,they have been living that way for hundreds(probably more like thousands)of years.Those EU scientists,and the U.N. want you to think there is a problem so their bank accounts can get fatter.If the Earth is warming up,it’s not because of Man.This planet is a living breathing entity,it goes through phases.Some are cool,and some are warm,and some are inbetween.Do you think the warm up after the last ice age,was the result of something the cave-men did?I seriously doubt it,stop believing what you are being told without real documentation to prove what they say is actually hapening.Laws are being passed,individuals and corperations(not to mention governments)are getting rich,and people everywhere are panicing over a natural phenonimum.All those phoney global warming,and green taxes aren’t going to do anything except to make a select few a lot richer.
December 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am EEDT
Nice photos,by the way.Reminds me of when I was in Nome,Alaska.One of the most beautieful places on this planet.
(o\_|_/o)
December 28th, 2009 at 7:30 pm EEDT
I agree Bryan and Meade. Humans have no power over the might of nature. Ice ages and heat waves of immense strength prove that it is hard for even nature to destroy life. Diversity will sprout up again, even if the Earth is drastically changed. Life is more dynamic and fierce than we can ever hope to imagine.
December 29th, 2009 at 4:28 am EEDT
Very beautiful pictures, too bad thats all we gonna leave for generations to come!
December 29th, 2009 at 10:39 am EEDT
Great photos! Thanks for sharing.
December 29th, 2009 at 10:45 am EEDT
Polar bears are NOT threatened with extinction! There are more polar bears alive today than there were 20 years ago. For heaven’s sake, stop confusing your wishes with reality. Man-caused climate change is a fraud!
January 18th, 2010 at 6:02 pm EEDT
The photos are breathtaking. I agree with Bryan, Meade and Alyssa. It is all natural and we can’t do anything. Congratulations!
January 24th, 2010 at 6:48 pm EEDT
Photo-shopped!
February 18th, 2010 at 5:05 pm EEDT
Amazing, stunning what other words can I use.
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:11 pm EEDT
These pictures are so beautiful. It’s too bad that folks like Bryan and Meade don’t follow their own advice and do some research instead of agreeing with the dogma that’s out there. It’s suprising that they tell folks to do their research when it’s obvious they haven’t.
February 24th, 2010 at 3:49 am EEDT
Fantastic photos. This shows what we stand to loose if we continue to not address climate change.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:48 pm EEDT
Great pictures!
With any luck, those very polar bears will come down and eat the idiots pushing the so called global warming craze so we won’t have to listen to them any more. Get real people! Global warming is a natural occurrence. We have done nothing to cause it and can do nothing to stop it. It’s happened before and it will happen again regardless of our concern or our apathy.
April 9th, 2010 at 4:44 am EEDT
Beautiful and breathtaking photography. The colours are so vivid. I just hope that these animals are still about in the years to come.
April 9th, 2010 at 8:36 am EEDT
i loved them they were so overwelming
July 12th, 2010 at 8:28 am EEDT
Very great photos.
thanks to share these picture.
October 31st, 2010 at 3:24 am EEDT
These are great photos of the polar region, I don’t know if I will have the chance to see these personally in the near future, and even so will they still be there considering their fate with the rising global temperatures.
November 7th, 2010 at 7:54 am EEDT
Cracking pix. Thank you.
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:22 pm EEDT
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December 2nd, 2010 at 8:37 pm EEDT
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December 22nd, 2010 at 4:18 pm EEDT
To bad that people are not taking a stand towards extinction of these magnificent creatures, great pictures!
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm EEDT
It’s f*cking amazing picture and nature !! I want to be there ! BRAVO !!
February 18th, 2011 at 8:08 pm EEDT
it fazed… earthshattering photos…. bravo!
February 27th, 2011 at 1:52 pm EEDT
This is really amazing!
I don’t understand how you can take photos from that distance? I assume you don’t stand in front of a polar bear with a camera ;)
really great..
March 12th, 2011 at 4:04 am EEDT
I love those pictures. All of them.
Good Job :)
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April 12th, 2011 at 10:55 pm EEDT
The greatness of God there is no comparable.
April 21st, 2011 at 4:18 am EEDT
God creation for living, human creation to destroy it. Nice pics when human love nature.
May 2nd, 2011 at 9:30 pm EEDT
great photo. I like it.
May 3rd, 2011 at 5:42 pm EEDT
Outstandings photos, i like it.
Thanks a lot for sharing with us.
May 16th, 2011 at 7:20 pm EEDT
I love polar bears! These photos are just magical! :-)
May 30th, 2011 at 4:28 am EEDT
great photo. I like it.
June 6th, 2011 at 7:22 pm EEDT
It’s nice to certainly find a blog where the doodlekit is actually . Thank you for creating your site.
July 26th, 2011 at 8:36 pm EEDT
Everytime I look at those pictures I realize how wonderful this world is. Even though it is sometimes really messed up!
I love your work! Keep on doing it!
Cheers
July 28th, 2011 at 12:31 pm EEDT
wonderful pictures. remain that way.
August 4th, 2011 at 8:05 am EEDT
Wow, some amazing shots, but my favorite is with the narwhals.!
August 21st, 2011 at 9:55 am EEDT
I love your pictures. Can`t get enough.
I thought about printing those pictures on a canvas, so I can enjoy them even more!
Really awesome!
December 19th, 2011 at 12:19 pm EEDT
AMAZING Picture! Love them^^ Keep up the great work =)
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:41 pm EEDT
So muss es sein! klasse pix! thank you!
February 7th, 2012 at 5:20 pm EEDT
These photos are so beautiful! One of my goals is to visit the polar region, so I find these images very inspiring.
May 18th, 2012 at 9:09 am EEDT
Apparently some people think we can burn as much oil, throw away as much plastic and over-breed as much as we like and it won’t do anything to the planet.
I think that’s quite sad.
I am also very annoyed that people won’t believe scientists… when the same science gave us modern medicine, electricity, internet and more.
And yet many of those same people believe in a made up God.
Incredible.