During my 2019 winter expedition to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, I came across these beautiful fresh polar bear tracks on the sea ice, near Nordenskiold glacier. I set my camera down low and waited for the setting sun, the mountain and the tracks to align. The proximity of ther first print and the wide dynamic range of the scene lead me to focus stack several takes and to use a graduated neutral density filter to balance the exposure. Removing the gloves to handle the filters and filter holder was definitely not the highlight, but it was all worth it! I like the significance of snow tracks, as they convey an important message, the one that beauty in the Arctic is fragile and ephemeral.
Shot on Canon 5Ds R and 16-35mm f/4
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Your Best Winter Photographs
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Felix, wonderful twist on a classic usual human foot prints in the sand ;))
Thank you very much! Really lucky to have come across these fresh tracks just before the sun dipped below the horizon
I would love to see the nearest track not cut in half by the edge of the frame, but I still love the image and rate it very highly. Getting animal tracks in the snow to "pop" is so difficult, yet you pulled it off expertly. Wonderful!