Fernweh

We took an unforgettable journey with two close friends to Greenland, the world’s largest island within the Arctic Circle. The area is awesome with its vast ice sheet, hundreds of immense icebergs, surprisingly large mountains, and occasional wildlife (even Polar Bears, although we didn’t see any).

We flew on a small plane from Reykjavik, Iceland – after two days of equipment and weather delays – to the very rugged Nerlerit Inaat Airport at Constable Point, about 24 miles from Ittoqqortoormiit, then walked for about 20 minutes to the shoreline, where we boarded the sailing vessel Rembrandt van Rijn via Zodiac. From there we sailed for about 8 days in the mostly-calm waters of Scoresby Sund, then had a very rough two days’ sail across the Greenland Sea to Akuyreyri in Iceland to head home.

Icebergs

Our trip was all about the icebergs, from the ship, from Zodiacs, and occasionally from land. We saw a lot of icebergs, small ones, big ones, and enormous ones, sometimes with blue skies, but mostly with weather.

On our first morning, we had an incredible sunrise, colorful with dramatic clouds. The striking mountains and skies made a great backdrop for our first sizable icebergs. We didn’t realize that this would be the only colorful sunrise we’d get, but it was worth it.

Most of our days looked more like this – it was often difficult to tell what time it was, or where, exactly, the sun was. Luckily, our captain was not navigating by the stars! The moody skies made for dramatic images of the giant icebergs. We weren’t ready for how big the bergs were – often many hundreds of feet in length and much taller than the masts of our ship.

The icebergs come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes from canoe to aircraft carrier. The captain has to be constantly aware of the nearby bergs, as they can flip over almost at random, causing large waves that could potentially capsize the ship (which would be bad.)

We had plenty of gear to stay mostly warm and dry, even when it rained and snowed, and the crew of the Rembrandt always made sure that there were hot drinks and snacks available if you wanted to duck inside to warm up and dry off. The captain was always willing to sail around the bergs to get a different view; since all 16 of the passengers were crazy photographers, no one minded spending the time going around in circles.

Toward the end of our trip, we passed this incredibly large, nearly square iceberg. At about 1,000 feet long on each side, and nearly 500 feet tall, it’s hard to imagine that this is a single block of ice – especially when 90% of it is invisible under water. We stayed well clear due to the dangers of falling ice.

Abstract & Minimal

Photographers who like abstract compositions or who want to focus on lines, shapes, and contrasts, will also find plenty to shoot among the icebergs.

Occasionally were were able to land on shore and hike up some of the hills. Shooting closeups of icebergs from above gave some unique compositions.

Visiting Greenland and witnessing its breathtaking icebergs is an experience that will leave anyone in awe. The variety, scale, and beauty of the environment are truly remarkable, and it is difficult not to feel lucky to have been able to witness it firsthand. The glaciers and icebergs in Greenland are a reminder of the awe-inspiring power of nature – although we may have captured some of the beauty of this amazing place through our photography, there is still so much more to explore and discover.