Day 9: Smerenburgbreen, Magdalenafjorden, Lilliehöökbreen

Spectacular glaciers, fjords, and more

The polar plunge was a break everyone needed after the excitement and exhaustion of photographing the polar bears. Having spent our time up in the northern most reaches of the High Arctic, it was now time to head back to Longyearbyen - A journey that would take two and a half days, but with some awesome stops and sights along the way.

First, we sailed much closer to a glacier that we only saw in the distance previously in the fjord of Smeerenburg, whose glacier is applicably named Smerenburgbreen. Photographing the glacier was challenging as one had to make sense of the chaotic partners in the ice. One also got a sense of the scale of this particular glacier. Even though we had to stayed at least 100 meters or so from the wall of the glacier for safety reasons, the size and power of the glacier still felt enormous.

Along the way, we encountered a massive cave forming in the glacier where the water met the ice and rock. Here we also picked up the small pieces of ice called “Bergey Bits” which we would later use in our cocktails. Apparently the ship’s doctor did not approve, but these are the risks you take in the Arctic.

After spending our morning in Smerenburgbreen, we headed to arguably the most spectacular location yet: Magdalenafjorden. Magdalenafjorden provided us with an almost 270 degree view of high fjord peaks. And when we arrived, the cloud had started to part ways and we were greeted with absolutely spectacular photography conditions. Tom was even so excited he filmed a few pieces to his camera with people standing around (which for a camera-shy guy is quite rare). What was also wild was just not that many people came out for photos. If anything, it was the usual suspects (10-15 of us).

The excitement among the group was amazing. Because the ship is a comfortable place to hang out when the weather is nice, taking photos becomes really fun and a social activity. You can set down your bag and gear anywhere, carry around a cup of coffee or even a beer if you want, and just hang out with your new friends. We experimented with all sorts of panorama photos, long telephoto shots, and even some portraits (my profile photo was taken here!).

One thing not pictured in these photos is the police boat! The Svalbard maritime police have a dedicated boat which hides in fjords for random inspections of ships like ours. In this fjord, the boat was hidden behind some rocks off in the distance. We were lucky enough to not get inspected! And what a place to hang out for the “cops”!

Our day was not over with Magdalenafjorden, however. Today was one of the few days we would have the opportunity to enjoy three locations. For our third stop of the day, we headed out on the zodiacs for a landing at a place called Lilliehöökbreen. We didn’t have to move the ship at all as this glacier was just adjacent to Magdalenafjorden. We landed here to photograph a group of walruses. At the same time as our photography began, a Norwegian Coast Guard helicopter approached the fjord, disturbing the walruses and causing them to move together in the same direction in unison. As a result many of us were able to capture some very interesting photos of the walruses, as they are typically just laying on the ground asleep.

Speaking of the rescue helicopter, it actually came to our ship to do a medical evacuation of a crew member. Luckily, the evacuation was precautionary and the crew member, as far as I know, is healthy. It happened to be the case that one of the photographers on our trip, Omar, happened to stay on the ship and grab some awesome shots of the helicopter in midair directly above him!

Photographing these walruses also gave us a unique perspective: We were shooting downwind. The smell was unbelievable - A truly disgusting fishy, muddy stench.

At this point however, I was growing bored on the walruses. I felt like I didn’t have any landscape photos, particularly any photos that I felt were unique to me. In hindsight, I think I had enough and probably could have had a few more wildlife close-up shots, but it is what it is.

So, I set out to find some unique images while most of the rest of the group wandered or continued to photograph the walruses. I came upon Jonas who was working on a composition of his own. He thought it might be interesting to stand in the water and try photographing one of the small pieces of ice with the glacier in the background. I did just that - Centering a Bergey bit in the frame and using my ND filter to smooth out the water.

Next, I wandered over to see Tom who wanted to find landscape compositions too. Initially, we sought out reflections, but they proved too far away as the guides were beginning to round us up. We identified a stream that might be interesting to shoot which would be a leading line to the glacier, but Neil walked through the snow and destroyed the composition. I did manage to grab a second landscape shot at this location, which I love, of an interesting S-curve line in the snow leading to one of the glacial peaks. Neil didn’t destroy this one.

This shot was shot handheld, but I would have loved to do a long exposure if I had the right filters and the time to do it.

Shortly after grabbing this shot, we were quickly rounded up back to the zodiacs. Apparently we were on a very tight timeline to start sailing south. Bad weather was approaching. The longer we waited, the more uncomfortable the sailing would be.

But the Arctic always brings surprises that cause a change of plans. On our zodiac ride back to the ship, with Piet at the helm, we noticed dozens of belugas swimming in the fjord. They were swimming in pods of 10-12 animals with pods in all directions. Every zodiac was greeted with belugas breaching for air within 20 meters or so of their boats. Drone video taken by Piet proved there were at least 100 to 150 belugas in the fjord at the same time. The guides later said they had never seen such a large group of belugas. The time we spent observing the belugas easily put us behind schedule, so by the time we boarded the ship, Ryan made an announcement that the seas would get rough.

A seasickness story

Personally, I’ve never been sea sick before. And so far on the trip, I hadn’t felt sea sick at all. But once we entered the open water, I started to feel it. The Polar Pioneer was sailing south, but it was rocking port to starboard as the storm blew in from the west. At some point, I went outside because I thought the fresh air would help and I told myself now was a good time for a pano on my Q2 Monochrom.

It happened Tom was also out there, standing around with his Hasselblad X-Pan, struggling himself with an onset of seasickness. I filmed some B-roll of Tom taking a photo on his X-Pan, but it was downhill from there. With the color leaving our faces, we started making up BS conversation to keep our minds occupied. We even did a lap of the ship (and looking like crazy people) because we thought that would help. Stefan, my roommate and a medical doctor, came over at some point, and I asked him to take my glasses and my Leica. I stood closer to the railing, feeling like I was about to heave. At that same moment, Tom felt a pang of relief. All of a sudden, his demeanor switched! Now, instead of the comraderie that we will hang together and get through this, Tom said to me, “Just let it go man, you will feel better if you do”. Unbelievable!

We were headed closer and closer to the mouth of the next fjord, but none of us could tell how long it would be until we would make the turn. But just as I started to go over the edge, the ship keeled to the left and our rolling eased. I almost immediately felt better, and the seasickness no more.

I can’t stress enough how close I came to being violently ill over the edge of the Polar Pioneer, and though it was very unpleasant at the time, but I knew in the moment and it remains the case that this would be my favorite memory from the ship. So, below, I present the image I captured while on the edge of seasickness with my friend Tom Heaton.

Everyone went to sleep that night exhausted and fulfilled with the incredible photography of the day, but we also knew that tomorrow would be the last day of the expedition. And somehow, the best was still yet to come.