Life is good

After two days of driving and flying from Fairbanks, we happily arrived in Kaktovit, an Inupiat town, which borders the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean). Our late arrival offered approximately an hour of light, before the skies turned cloudy and dark. We stole this brief window of opportunity and launched a boat in search of the region’s famous polar bears.

The first forty-five minutes turned up zero sightings. Expectations diminished, as we turned the boat around. Out of nowhere, we saw something in the distance and hope returned. We drew closer, quietly anchored our position and sat in awe of the beautiful sleeping creatures before us. I took the image fifteen minutes after we first saw them. The cub stirred and let out a long laugh-like sigh. At that exact moment, the sun began to set, casting a golden hue across the newly frozen sea ice.

Polar Bear, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2013

Canon 1DX, Canon 600mm F/4, Canon 1.4x III teleconverter, f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 1600, handheld