An Arctic Expedition to Svalbard
MV Villa - 13 Jul to 20 Jul, 2024
It has been a year in planning. A trip to the northernmost part of the planet. A lot of anticipation, planning, worrying, doubts and what not. I have motion sickness, I was going to be on a small vessel and will be out on zodiac cruises everyday. To top it all off I will have to photograph on a moving zodiac at times on open seas. I really was not sure how this was going to pan out for our first ocean expedition.
Our travel started in San Francisco and we stopped over for a day in Oslo, Norway before heading out to the capital of Svalbard, Longyearbyen in late July, 2024. On arrival, I could feel the chill in the air and the almost lonely landscape. We checked into our hotel and spent the next two days just getting acquainted with the land.
We took a tour with a local wildlife company and spent some hours looking for Reindeers, Arctic Foxes and bird life. If you are interested in wildlife, I would recommend doing a day, not more, around Longyearbyen. Chances are you can see Reindeers, Arctic Foxes, Rock Ptarmigans, Arctic Skuas, Arctic Terns, Glaucous Gulls, Barnacle Geese, Snow Bunting, Purple Sandpiper, Red-throated Divers and even some Common Eiders (Males are rare, but you might be lucky). Reindeers and Barnacle Geese are very easily seen even within the town limits walking around doing their thing.
The geese with their chicks are really wonderful to observe. They do a fair share of road crossings, water crossings and interesting communications that if you are patient, are funny and heartwarming to see. Arctic Terns during summer are nesting at many parts, so be warned. Do not venture out where you see terns nesting as you are going to be pecked. They are not very much in and around town, but farther out there is a good chance there might be a nest somewhere. You will be given notice yes, if a nesting tern is around as it will try to warn/ attack you. So, just be careful of terns and skuas and if any do try to warn you, lift a stick or bag or anything other than your fleshy parts high up as they tend to attack the tallest part of the thing they are attacking. And no, we did not see Polar Bears in the town and it is quite rare that will happen. The residential areas within Longyearbyen are protected, so you can walk until there are signs stating otherwise, which in most probability you might not encounter unless you decide to take a really long walk. Polar Bears live all over Svalbard, not just in Longyearbyen. You will see them once you are in the open seas hopefully.
We travelled with Nansen Polar Expeditions on a small vessel called MV Villa which was our home for more than a week. It was an expedition trip and not a gentle cruise. So it was supposed to be busy the whole duration of the trip and for yes, it definitely was. It was a small group of 8 people who were on the trip with another 8-10 crew and expedition leaders/ guides. So it was as close to private as we could get. While the weather started out foggy and rainy, we lucked out and got picture perfect weather until our return.
MV Villa - Our Arctic Expedition Vessel
Regarding the stay on the vessel itself, it is a small ship, so there is just one large room with two beds and an attached bath, another very small cabin, bunk beds with attached bath (ours), rest are similar cabins with beds and a common bath shared by the tourists and the crew. Packing intelligently and having a system will help unpacking and re-packing. Unpacking was needed as in our case since the room was quite small, almost the size of a closet, we had to unpack and store the luggage away until our departure. It is not luxurious but it was comfortable enough.
Sea sickness was definitely there. Taking medication the day I arrived in Longyearbyen helped. After a day or two you get used to the constant movement. Must say the sea lulled me to sleep every night. Slept really soundly and was surprised about it. No complaints there :)
Can’t say things were easy while on a stationery zodiac bobbing up and down to a strong current. Looking through a viewfinder makes things even worse, close to the point of almost throwing up for me. Not discouraging anyone here, stating facts. It was very challenging at times for me personally. There was a time I simply had to put the camera and my head down. I just could not look through the viewfinder anymore. It was hard work taking every single one of those pictures. I wouldn’t change anything of course, but at the same time, realistic expectations are also necessary. Know your limits, respect them, you will be ok.
Polar Bears are often on islands walking around or if there is some kill, eating it and you cannot land. You can only observe them from the zodiacs. This makes the photography challenging. Depending on the light, you will in general need to have very high shutter speeds. That is the topmost priority when you are photographing in these conditions. It is intuition and experience. I cannot nor can anyone tell you exactly what settings you need unless they are there with you in that zodiac. The shutter speeds will be a direct correlation to the turbulence you are feeling on the zodiac. It is possible you are in a fjord and it's calm. Shutter speeds can be low then, but in my case I was in fairly windy seas twice and my shutter speeds were as high as 1/6400 or 1/8000th of a second or even more at times. ISO was also relatively high given these shutter speeds and at times lack of good light.
Worth it?
TOTALLY
How long?
7-8 days if you want to get an idea like us. More if you are already comfortable on expedition cruises.
How to dress when out on Zodiacs?
Warm base layers (at times wear 2)
Thick Fleece Layer
Lightweight Down Jacket
Windbreaker/ Waterproof jacket and pants
Beanie/ Neckwarmers/ Sunglasses/ Gloves/ Mittens (at times when its windy and very cold, which can happen)
Waterproof socks, Muck boots
Optional: Hand and Toe Warmers for extra chilly days (There was a day or two where we needed them)
Optional: Heavyweight Down Jacket (notoriously hard to pack - and for summers in the Arctic, I would say you can skip them provided you follow the above layering rules. But any other time of the year, you will be at peace knowing you have it in your luggage, so your call.)
What was my photography gear?
In general a zoom lens will work just fine. Unless you own a Prime, then take it. Just be aware that its going to be a lot of work. I had my 600mm and a 70-200mm each on their own camera body. I would say I used them almost equally though the 70-200mm was more frequently reached for given the wonderful landscapes.
Don’t bother with any kind of tripods or gimbals or such. Your posture and bodyweight are your best friends when taking pictures on a moving zodiac. On the ship, there is still movement, but you can use a tripod. I would have used my monopod once or twice the entire trip, while we were on landings. We had probably more cruises than landings in our trip, so I ended up photographing using my arms as the tripod most often.
Drybags to carry your gear. I would not recommend taking your camera bags on the zodiacs. While it is not common for splashes to happen, they can, so always try to carry them in a dry bag. It does take a bit of getting used to, so depending on the size of your camera and the bags, try them out at home before packing them in. For prime lenses, you will have to invest in a sturdier dry bag.
Please enjoy some of the images I captured during this trip here.
I hope this information was helpful and if you have any questions, please drop a comment and we will get back to you. Stay wonderstruck!