Polar Obsession
Posted by Book reviews | Posted in canadian arctic , canon , global warming , national geographic , paul nicklen , penguins , photography , polar bears , Polar obsession , underwater photography , wildlife photography
Polar Obsession is packed with more than 160 photographs made by National Geographic photographer and biologist Paul Nicklen, from golden arctic sunsets to wildlife of every kind, and shot from every creative angle of the camera lens. Nicklen was raised in the far reaches of the Canadian north, and remembers watching wildlife for as long as he can remember.
Nicklen has captured some great images in his newest book, published in November of 2009. An interview in the book tells how he would sometimes wait for months in harsh conditions to get the photograph he was looking for, waiting for the perfect weather, lighting and animal behavior before getting the shot. Many of his photographs are taken underwater.
Nicklen had to worry about more than just freezing his subjects in the frame of the camera, admitting he sometimes was so focused on making photogporagh while diving in sub-zero temperatures, he forgot how cold it really was. He said he had to train himself to asses how cold he was at all times, coming close to hypothermia a few times while getting lost in his work.
The book is called Polar Obsession, and Nicklen talks about how he planned (or obsessed?) beforehand about what photographs he would make once he was on location (Antarctica, Canada, Norway, and other locations near the north or south pole). He said this careful planning led him to learn about the behavior of leopard seals, which often greet divers with an open-mouth charge upon their first meeting. Nicklen used this knowledge to plan the photograph of the jaws of a leopard seal filling the entire frame, which is published in the book.
The results are astounding, with every image in the book a true work of art, leaving readers wondering how the animals were posed in such an elegant fashion. the answer is true patience, Nicklen would say.
He has a great technical ability as well, evident in the brilliant prints. Many are lit with the bright antarctic sun, casting blue and white highlights onto the pages. An intamite portrait of a seal just beneahth the ocean surface, framed by waves crashing into ice shelves and Antarctic mountains in the distance transports reaers to the cold polar waters, offering a glimpse of a world that has never been presented in such detail and artistic composition before.
But his work isn't just about making magnifecent photographs.
Nicklen writes that he dreamed of his photography career while studying biology at the University of Victoria. He had always wanted to work with wildlife, and acknowledged thge changing conditions in polar polar regions caused by a warming trend. Nicklen thought working for National Geographic would allow him to share images of his slowly shrinking homeland and spread the message of shrinking ice to some 40 million readers.
And not only is the ice his home, but also home to many other humans and animal species, many of which depend on floating ice for hunting or survival.
This book is a collection of photographs, most of which were taken during Nicklen's 10-year career on assignment for National Geographic. Basically all of the photographs are the kind of breathtaking images you would expect to see in the magazine, reproduced as large prints accompanied by small pieces of text, stories about behaviors of the different animals and the effects that melting ice is having on them, or Nicklen's personal adevntures while capturing the images in the cold. The large, blank white pages thrown in throughout the book are like the vast tundras of antarctica -- a great fit for the book.
Some of my favorite pictures: A seal scanning for polar bears before coming up from under the ice for a breath, migrating narwhales, penguin hoards invading polar beaches, polar bears shaking off after a polar swim, body-surfing elephant seals and many more amazing up-close photographs of polar animals. The personality of each animal that Nickle captures in his up-close shotws are truly inspiring.
This book is listed for $50, but it is selling for somewhere around $30. The price is worth it because of the many high-quality images inside. While some interesting books are called "page-turners," this book is the opposite, causing readers to stay on one page for a long time to the nuances of every image.
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