Travelers who come to Churchill are not only awarded and awed by polar bears, but by the magic quality of light which can only be seen at high latitudes during the fall and winter months. The low angle light, ice crystals in the sky, long hours of twilight, and slow sunrises and sunsets pull me to live and work in the North Country as much as does the wildlife. Here are some images from this season’s photography expeditions.
A bear comes in from the frozen ocean ice towards us in the low angle afternoon light.
Sunrise
Spectacular sunrise, frigid October Morning, Churchill, Manitoba
Arctic gold
Hoarfrost on a willow branch, back-lit at sunrise
NHA Photography guide Jason Savage shooting subjects illuminated by the incredible light.
Sweet golden sunrise light illuminates the stems of dryas, or mountain avens poking through the fresh snow.
Tracks of red fox in the morning light.
SUNSET
To place a sunset in its location, it is good to find a shape that is characteristic of the region and expose it as a back-lit silhouette against the rich colors against the sky. This stunted, krummholz white spruce is the perfect icon of the North Country.
The temperature plummets as the sun sets over Cape Merry, at the mouth of the Churchill River, where she empties into Hudson Bay.
An incredible ray of sunlight is magnified through ice crystals in the sky.
A Churchill flag-spruce is silhouetted against another spectacular North Country sunset.
Sunset illuminates a snowdrift sculpted to perfection by recent blizzards.
Photographing sunset over a frozen pond.
Sunset pours golden light across the frozen land- a photographer’s dream.
THe sky lights up on Gordon Point at 330 pm
Moon
A purple or pink hue is common in the northern horizon after sunset in the North in the cold months. The moon rises through it, above the Canadian Shield granite.
Imagine if a sow and cubs was walking across the rim of the rocks? dream on….
Rocks, lichens and landscapes
Bright orange jewel lichens on Churchill Proto Quartzite brighten up the snowy landscape, and a classic krumholz spruce tree adds vertical relief to the flat expanses.
Lichens decorate some of the oldest rock in the world, the 2 billion-year-old Candian-Shield granite.
Stormy seas fill in the rest of the frame of a portrait of the Inukshuk.
High winds, subzero teperatures and low angle light, late Novemeber on the tundra.
The sun breaks through clouds that race across the sky during a severe blizzard, which produced blinding whiteout conditions, over 50 mph winds, and wind-chills to 50 below zero fahrenheit.
3 Comments
Hi Brad,
Just wanted to leave you a message that our trip was great. The group was terrific and having guides such as yourself and Rinie made it all the more enjoyable. Yes could have wanted a bear or 2 more but those we saw gave us some thrills. Keep up the good work.
Love these images, Brad! -Elissa at WWF
Great shots Brad! It was great to see you in Winnipeg! Thanks for the camera adjustment! I had a wonderful second trip to Churchill! Looking forward to my third with Brian in a few years!