Polar Obsession - Photos and Writing by Paul Nicklen – Another Great Photo Book from National Geographic

Ever since my trips to Alaska, the Yukon, and Newfoundland in the early 70s I have been interested in the Arctic.  I was very excited about receiving a review copy of the Polar Obsession book by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen. It is another great one from National Geographic and the book exceeded my already high expectations.  First it is a very beautiful large format book. Second, Paul goes both underwater and across the ice to deliver unique, close-up documentation of wildlife in the Arctic and Antarctic. The book also presents timely insights into animal behavior, the fragile polar environment and the climate change that threatens the ice and those who live over and under it.

Paul grew up in a small Inuit community in the Canadian Arctic so he is at home with this effort.  He now lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, a town I have visited. There are 150 images from the polar reaches that include elephant seals, leopard seals, whales, walruses, narwhals and polar bears, penguins, albatrosses, petrels, arctic cod and tiny krill. The cover has dual image of a polar bear underwater and its reflection on the surface above it.

The books often have a photographer and a writer. Paul covers both roles here. He starts each chapter with an essay detailing the life conveyed in the images. The title page has a great shot of a sleeping seals riding the waves taken at water level. The next shot is a group of narwhals with their unicorn horns raised like spears. There is wonderful two-page sot of a group of walruses in Norway.  The narwhals get extensive coverage with some great group shots and close-ups of their horns.

The creatures of the Arctic and Antarctic are quite spectacular and Paul covers both ends of the earth.  There is a great contrast. For example, on two-page spread you see a lone polar bear in the distant framed against the blue ice glacier and cold cliffs off Norway. You turn the page to see another two page spread of a warm tone image of hundreds of Elephant Seals and King Penguins on a beach in South Georgia in the very South Atlantic.   Turn again and you are faced with a close up of a baby Elephant seal staring at you underwater.

There are many close-ups of Polar Bears that make you wonder how he took the shots. One shows a close head shot of a Polar bear shaking off waters as it comes up from a dive. Another has a bear shining red in the sunset as it hunts. The landscapes, both above and below the water are also well covered.  This is a book that I will return to many times. I highly recommend it. You can order the book at the National Geographic site.