I started talking, half-jokingly, about trying to isolate an iceberg, which I know wouldn't be an easy task. But Jesse is always super keen to make my ideas come to life. He suggested that we could isolate an iceberg through a mix of towing and paddling. But, all we had for paddling was a hiking pole. As for towing, he suggested that he could place an ice screw into an iceberg, tie that to a rope and then we would be able to tow it from shore.
Documenting Vanishing Ice: Q+A with Paul Zizka
I’ve been photographing ice since the very early stages of my career. Whether glaciers, ice caves, frozen lakes, or mountaintops, I would continuously find myself drawn to cold landscapes in search of ice in its many forms, textures, and hues. Icescapes are among the most dynamic, visually exciting, and rewarding places a photographer can document. But as I spent more time shooting ice, it became apparent that I was capturing something that is vanishing.
Greenland Grandeur: Ice, Water and Northern Lights
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to spend an entire month in Greenland, a place that feels like my second home. This trip, which marked my 6th visit to the island country known as Kalaallit Nunaat in Greenlandic and Grønland in Danish, involved leading two OFFBEAT photography workshops in familiar locations and working on a tourism photography project at a destination that was new to me. Despite revisiting several places, natural wonders such as ice, water, and northern lights made each experience unique.
Ecuador: Capturing Vanishing Ice on the Equator
On a mission to document vanishing ice across the globe, I found myself in Ecuador back in February — a South American nation named for its position on the Equator. You may wonder why I’m chasing ice on the Equator, but Ecuador is home to Andean peaks towering up to 6,310 metres. It turns out that the country’s stratovolcanoes are home to a number of receding glaciers.
Memories from Africa: Wildlife, Climbing and the Last Glaciers
The Frozen Bubbles
Extreme Blues and Bobbing by Icebergs: Antarctica
This latest trip to Antarctica was one for the memory books, filled with its highs and lows (including 7-metre waves in the Drake Passage!) and inclement weather that finally gave way to an incredible experience: five hours riding zodiacs through Charlotte Bay to photograph whales, iceberg and epic scenery. I'm already missing the sense of remoteness, scale and grandeur.
Journey to the White Continent
It always seemed so unattainable to me. But after two days at sea, and a year of anticipation, I was mesmerized when we first caught sight of a few rocks off Elephant Island through the thick fog – harbingers of our imminent arrival on the fabled White Continent. There is no wilder place on Earth, nowhere more remote, more inhospitable.
