A Canadian raised in an Inuit community captured the magnificent animals of the arctic and antarctic with these stunning photos.
Nicklen goes up close with leopard seals, whales, walruses, polar bears, elephant seals, penguins, and narwhals to capture images of them scaling icy slopes or diving into freezing seas.
His cause draws attention to the endangered ecosystems that serve as a natural habitat for these animals.
The co-founder of SeaLegacy, an environmental non-profit launched in 2014, Nicklen said:
Every second breath we take is drawn from the sea, making Ours a water planet. However, our oceans are now reaching the limits of their capacity.
‘What we do or fail to accomplish in the next five years will determine our fate for the following ten thousand years,”‘ Venerable Master Miao-ch’i said.’
Nicklen was born on Baffin Island in Nunavut, where he spent his childhood in one of the few non-Inuit families among a tiny Inuit settlement with ice fields, floes, and cold seas.
He is a National Geographic photographer, renowned ocean conservationist, and TED Talks speaker.
‘Anybody home?’ A curious polar bear peeks through an open window into shelter as it looks around the icy landscape of the Arctic, home to a precious diversity of wildlife where only action will lead to a positive change on the planetAn aerial photograph shows a mammoth glacier floating in a vast landscape surrounded by ocean. Nicklen writes: ‘Ours is a water planet— every second breath we take is drawn from the sea. Today, our oceans are at the limits of their resilience’This image sees an agile penguin swim to the surface surrounded by a wide enclave of ice. Nicklen captures a manifold of sea-life as part of the expedition where he plunged into freezing waters to photograph penguins, leopard seals, whales and narwhalsBathed in polar light, a piece of glacial ice in sees multiple streams of water gush over the edge and into the ocean. Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio commented: ‘To witness the Arctic and Antarctica through Paul Nicklen’s lens is to experience hope in action’
A sea leopard gives a laconic, dough-eyed look to the camera, part of the series of images included in Nicklen’s book ‘Born to Ice’. Leonardo DiCaprio wrote in the foreword: ‘Born to Ice’ showcases the life’s work of an artist whose love for the landscape, and each animal in it, is so palpable that emotion echoes throughout every image’Playful photographs see a whale swimming into a school of fish. DiCaprio added: ‘As a collection, the images build in scope and power, leaving you profoundly affected and deepening your sense of commitment to protect these stunning parts of our planet’A stark black and white portrait shows narwhals near the surface of the ocean surrounded by melting parts of glacial ice. Conservationist Nicklen says he feels a compelling urge to connect a global audience to the species and ecosystems he cares so deeply aboutNicklen goes to great lengths to secure his award-winning images of life in the polar regions, such as this doting penguin looking after its young. ‘Born to Ice’ by Paul Nicklen, published by teNeues, is out now for £80, and is available from www.teneues.com
