On Wednesday 15th April Alan Walker, a long-standing member of the club, gave us a whistle stop tour of some of Earth’s colder regions focusing mainly on the wildlife to be found there. He started his tour in the Poles including both the Arctic and Antarctica. His first stop was Svalbard which is a remote Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The main reason for going there was to photograph Polar Bears:
but images of Walrus, Ring Seals and various species of birds were also included in his talk:
To achieve these images a number of excursions in open Zodiacs into the icy cold Arctic waters were involved. Similar excursions were also necessary during his trip to Antarctica where the main subjects for photography were a number of different species of Penguin, Albatross, Elephant Seals and Fur Seals. One particular image of photographers in an open Zodiac in a blizzard perfectly illustrated the harsh conditions endured.
Alan then moved on to his numerous trips to the colder regions of North America including Alaska, Montana, Yellowstone and Canada, all visited during the harsh winter months when he had experienced temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees centigrade. Many of the images also necessitated lying on the ground, sometimes in deep snow when being appropriately dressed in layers of warm and waterproof clothing was essential. Native species photographed included Polar Bears, Arctic and Red Foxes, Bob Cats, Mountain Lions, Bison, Elk, Moose, Wolves, Coyote, Bald Eagles and very cute Sea Otters.
There was also a section on the colder regions of Europe including Finland where Alan had spent several nights in an unheated hide in temperatures lower than minus 20 degrees centigrade to capture European Brown Bears just emerging from their winter hibernation. Unfortunately, only one bear appeared which was very frustrating. Other European destinations included Greece where he took images of Dalmatian Pelicans on a frozen lake:
Bulgaria to photograph Golden Eagles and other birds and, of course, Scotland for the Mountain Hares in their white winter coats, Red Squirrels and Red Deer.
Alan had also visited Japan. Species photographed here included Snow Monkeys (Japanese Macaques) in a thermal pool, Steller’s Eagles, White Tailed Eagles, Whooper Swans and the iconic Red Crowned Crane.
In tackling photography in such extremes Alan pointed out that, in addition to being appropriately dressed, care was needed to ensure that his cameras continued to function. This involved keeping spare batteries warm and taking steps to avoid condensation forming inside the lenses when moving from the extreme cold into warmer environments. Alan’s superb images were a satisfying reward for the difficulties faced.
This was the last meeting of the 2025/26 season. Our next meeting will be in September. We welcome photographers of all abilities and experience including beginners. For details of the 2026/27 season please see the club’s web site www.keswickphotographicsociety.co.uk.
Julie Walker 16/04/26