News

There is nothing that gives more to the sense of place of wilderness, than the presence of a grizzly bear. Imagine the Rocky Mountain landscape without the great bear. It is, as if the landscape has lost part of its soul. Most of the western states have suffered this fate. Grizzlies have lost over 90% of their former range. Now their most important enclave in the lower 48 is at stake. It is the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the adjacent Flathead River Valley,

.. is undoubtedly one of the most important tools in wildlife photography. While sometimes it seems one may be wasting one's time, I have learned that if one gives in to the waiting game, animals start to present themselves: You discover a little bird's nest nearby, you observe a fox that does its daily round to mark its territory, and if you are luck,y the moment you are waiting for may come true. Some of the best images in my career happened after such long hours of waiting

Alaska After flying hours below the layer of fog we see a silver lining at the horizon. We need to put the plane down on a gravel bar and set up camp for the night. My pilot, Ken, wants to look for a spot where we can get out of the wind. We are fighting a stiff breeze of 20 – 30 knots on the nose of the plane. As we are flying further inland, the sun finally breaks through the layers of fog. In the far distance, I see the Brooks Range. Dark clouds are hugging the mountains a

Alaska Strong winds and dense fog did not allow us to set up a base camp at Teshekpuk Lake. I had hoped to cover the area around the lake because of plans to open up vast parts of the lake to oil drilling. In 2006, the Department of the Interior sold leases to 500 000 acres in and around Teshekpuk Lake. It is already late in the afternoon, and the fog sealing is slowly lowering. We decide to fly out towards Prodhoe Bay. Because of the strong wind, we fly extremely low over

Alaska We started our aerial expeditions heading north beyond the Arctic Circle. Coming from Fairbanks I met my pilots in Coldfoot, and we flew west towards the National Petroleum Reserve. It is a vast landscape of open valleys, soon turning into treeless tundra. Only willow bushes remain. Beneath us I see the trails that caribous have carved into the ground over decades and centuries. On the riverbeds, we also see the tracks of grizzly bears and wolves. On the gravel bars of

We are supposed to head out in the field today for several weeks of intensive aerial photography, but I just wanted to squeeze in another post about a super cool little tool: The Nikon GP-1 GPS receiver. This little thing is a must for people who do aerial photography. I think it is also very cool for someone who is on a hiking, rafting or whatever trip and wants to later go back to locations on a maps recreating a picture trail. The GP-1 receiver just slides onto the camera

Expedition Came back to Anchorage a few days ago after a short overflight on a bush plane. We started in Anchorage, flying towards Katmai Park, covering Cook Inlet, along the Chigmit Mountains, and in between, landing in Urus Cove and Bruin Bay to document the incredible views that Volcano Augustin offers from most of the places we explored. We found lots of harbor seals, grizzly bears and black brants flying over the mud flats. It is just so incredible to see how the landsca

Thoughts A few days ago, my friend Patricio Robles Gil asked me to write a few sentences about what wilderness means to me. I was based in Kotzebue at the time, doing aerial work to document America`s Western Arctic. It is a huge wilderness area that not very many people know about – but let me get to that in another post…… Between the shoots and the editing, I sat down and asked myself that very simple question. Coming up with an answer in a few sentences was not that easy.

I often get asked about my gear, and Emil has been bugging me to do some updates about the photography, techniques and gear. So I better give it a start. I got the Nikon D3x a little while ago and I am sure some of you are burning to hear some my first impressions. Well, to sum it up in one sentence: I am completely impressed with the camera! Hasselblad vs Nikon D3x This year I knew I had to do a lot of aerial work for my Freedom to Roam project, which meant I need to get hig

NPRA A few weeks ago, I started to document America`s Western Arctic. Coming fresh from Mexico, I had a few days in Seattle and then Anchorage to acclimate to the north. The Western Arctic is a huge wilderness area that not very many people know about. For most people it is a “blank spot on the map” with very little visual reference. In the past years, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has received a lot of attention, while the Western Arctic has been forgotten about

I just made it from Mexico’s Wild Coast in Baja to Anchorage. I’ve been here with Florian since Wednesday last week, and I have to say, what a change! I do miss the warmth and turquoise waters of Baja, but I find it so beautiful to see how the summer has truly arrived in southern Alaska. Florian spent some time in Point Hope earlier this month. He tells me temperatures up there are still quite freezing, as one can tell from his pictures in Facebook . So I am glad we are goin

Mexico It is a windless day. Not a single breeze dares to disturb this enchanted late afternoon. Like a mercurial liquid, the glare of a lower sun blinds me when I glance over the water's surface. It is one of our first journeys in the Sea of Cortez, and we are nervous, anxious to see and discover. Rudder tighten up, engines off, we stop to listen. Only the pure quietness of a still day raises the possibility of us finding a whale if it happens to be in the vicinity. We’ve

Mexico My first open water dive. I stare at the immensity of the Sea of Cortez, and my stomach is full of butterflies. I think I am nervous and very. My diving knowledge, limited to a mask and a snorkel, definitely makes you understand why I am unsure about this. I know diving is a challenge, and if I skip on this one, I might regret it. Especially knowing that I am in Cabo Pulmo, the only hard tropical reef in North America. The southernmost unbelievable underwater treasure

Mexico Staring at the enchanting waters surrounding Espiritu Santo Island, I keep thinking what might be awaiting under its blueish surface. Even though it's a windy day and the waters start to build up, we jump in the panga that will bring us to the island. The ride is wild, and we are soaked and salted all the way through. We finally reach calmer waters on the easter side of the island, and we can better appreciate the interesting geological features characteristic of Espir

Mexico During the first expeditions to the southern part of the B2B region, Florian concentrated on the most important stopovers for whales in southern Baja California. The peninsula offers only a few protected areas where the Grey Whale can find calm waters to give birth and feed its young before returning to the north. Ojo de Liebre, San Ignacio and Magdalena Bay are the most important calving lagoons for grey whales in the Baja Peninsula, and documenting them in these plac

… and we did. We went on the water with Trust Me and we are now convinced she is a great vessel. After travelling for months on a ’84 WV Westfalia with 24 feet of sitting space, one can understand why we are so excited about those extra 3 feet that makes our 27′ trimaran a cozy home. Many people think having a boat is a luxury. ” Trust Me” is far from that, with no restroom, no shower, a tiny living room without tables, and few feet for me to stand up and cook, her role is

The Field Museum in Chicago launched the Yellowstone to Yukon – Freedom to Roam exhibit since the beginning of the year, and last weekend, Florian was invited to present and talk about the project of this corridor to the general public. It was a very successful weekend, and he came back to La Paz (where we are at this point) truly excited and inspired by the positive reaction of the people towards the important conservation message the exhibit tries to convey. Here you can se

Mexico It has been really scary to drive Highway Mex 1. With a Ford 150 pulling a 27’ Trimaran over a road that can barely fit two cars at the same time, can certainly be nerve-wracking. We started our journey from the Border city Tecate, where I met Florian after driving hundreds of miles from Yuba City, CA. I reached the border around 3:00 PM and met Florian on the other side. We then drove from Tecate, trying to make it to Ensenada before dark. But no matter how much we wa

Florian was also awarded this year by the Natures Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards with an image of a Horned Guan moving up the forest searching for fruits in El Triunfo Biosphere, Mexico. The images was honored under the Endangered Species category.

While documenting one of the most amazing spectacles in the Arctic: The annual migration of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, we came across situations that confronted us with deep emotions. Spending long periods of time in the wild is certainly revealing, it allows you to see the world from many different perspectives. It is hard to imagine how wildlife is able to thrive in places where the weather can be unforgiving, or food seems scarce, like the Arctic. And yet, some of th