Summer again

Hamiltonbukta, Spitsbergen
Hamiltonbukta, Spitsbergen

It’s summer again. For most people time to pack their swimsuits and head out to a beach, either around the corner or in a nice and warm holiday place. For me it’s different. Summer is the time to pack my thermal underwear and down jacket and head up north. There are few nice beaches and there is sun, but with an average summer temperature of around 5ºC and a water temperature which isn’t much higher (can even be as low as -1.8ºC) I don’t think I’ll bring my swimsuit… A good thing I won’t need it, as my bag will be full enough with camera equipment, warm clothes and some literature. I’m up for 5 weeks in the high Arctic of Spitsbergen. First two trips guiding for Oceanwide Expeditions on the Plancius around Spitsbergen, then 2.5 weeks on Longyearbyen Campsite. I might be guiding a bit more during that time, but there will also be lots of time for photography. One of my spear points will be getting a nice story about Brunnich’s Guillemots. And it will be the first time I bring my filters to the Arctic, so that will also give some possibilities, I hope.

For now it means I won’t be posting much on this blog the first 9 days, after that I’ll schedule things, so you can still see what I’m doing. I hope you’ll be enjoying it as much as I will…

Arjen Drost

Arjen is a Polar ecologist, nature photographer and full time expedition guide on expedition cruise ships in both Polar regions. With his pictures and stories he likes to show the beauty of these very fragile and threatened places.

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