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Arctic Blast

Day 2 of the 7 day Photo Challenge
Arctic Blast
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
A red fox braces against the wind during a Manitoba blizzard. The high winds kicked up a lot of snow and decreased the visibility. To make this photo, I stopped down the lens to increase the depth of field, in case an errantsnowflake threw the autofocus off and waited for a lull in the gusts for a clear shot. The intensity of the winds can be observed by the horizontal streaks cutting across the frame. The fox’s bushy tail behaved more like a sail, and would catch the wind, altering its trajectory, making it move kind of sideways across the tundra. Note the beautiful lichens growing on the exposed part of the rock.
Canon EOS 1DX, Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS II USM, handheld
1/200s; f/10; 600mm; ISO1600



On my second day I nominate Meril Darees ofMnmwow – Wildlife Photography. Meril is a world class wildlife photographer and one of my closest friends. I have spent thousands of hours shooting with him in the field: Churchill, Yellowstone, Canadian Rockies, California, Svalbard, and 5+ trips to Alaska. Over all these trips I have learned a lot from him, and significantly improved as a photographer. Please check out his work and give his page a like!

I was nominated by Barrett Hedges of BearHead Photography
Day 1- Jack Cunningham http://www.jackcunninghamphoto.com/
#challengeonnaturephotography

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Gateway to Canadian Arctic

Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea. 
– Stan Rogers

 Arrived to Winnipeg late on Tuesday night.  The weather was cold and relatively clear, temperature was 26 degrees.  Will continue the journey at 06:30 tomorrow morning on a flight traveling an additional 1100 miles due northwest to the extreme edge of Manitoba, at the gateway to the Canadian Arctic.

The tiny town of Churchill, deemed “polar bear capital of the world”, for having the highest concentration of white bears in the world.  As a result of this notoriety, Churchill might also be the most famous 800 person town in the world.

The bears here, after spending a summer wandering in a suspended animation, haven’t eaten anything since June or July and are hungrily waiting for Hudson Bay to crust over and freeze.  The shores are beginning to slush, ice is blowing in from the north, and the bears are getting excited for the winter and prospect of a seal hunt.  For the next 7 days, it is at this stage that we join them….

For those in the mood for some Canadian folk music…the great Stan Rogers: