Wolves of the Wild Frontier

Following the heat of my visit to Ecuador back in January to chase around more spectacled bears (coverage to follow on the site in a few weeks’ time for that), it was quite a climate change to then be spending a couple of months in the sub- and high-Arctic during March and April. The latter proved an up-and-down visit to Baffin, although the bears did eventually play ball and some fantastic encounters ensued. As always though, the landscapes and settings for each polar bear that we met with made up for the long breaks in between sightings. More on that later in the year, but as my last trip to Baffin in the current format (I have another project in the formative stages…watch this space!), it was certainly a great way to bow out.

Preceding that, however, was an epic four weeks on the southern side of the Hudson Bay, where, based out of Nanuk Lodge, I was on the trail to photograph a wolf pack. Over the full duration, I managed to have seven separate encounters with these incredible animals – a pack I first photographed back in March 2016 – and although we are now several generations on from those individuals, there is an increasingly strong connection between the viewer. Some of the times after we had tracked these beautiful animals, and worked positions with them, their natural curiosity led to some incredible photo and video opportunities from, at times, point blank range. The days were long,  the temperatures in the -30 to -40 range for the most part, and driving a snowmobile for 10-12 hours a day for 28 days straight was at times challenging. But…it all proved worth it for those magical encounters. My frost nipped chin (thanks to a face mask freezing itself to my chin) and my burned fingers (from my hands being too cold to feel the heat coming through the handlebars on the snowmobile) were part and parcel of the job….albeit ones I could do without perhaps too many more times at my age! hahaha

A big thank you to all at Churchill Wild for providing me with a cabin, great food and a snowmobile for the full 28 days (it already seems an aeon ago!)  and especially to guide Adam Reimer who’s patience in the field (particularly with me, Lizzie Daly and Bertie Gregory having subjecting him to overdoses of British humour!) was seemingly endless.

Articles to follow later in the year, some pictures being kept back for a book and one image to be released in November on a limited edition format…..it was a very productive assignment!. As a taster…here’s a little video for you: go full screen, turn up the sound, turn on hi-res and enjoy!