Apex

2024

Image Story

"No animal on the planet holds the same fascination as polar bears, and none are as difficult to photograph."

Polar bears are the only species I know of that will actively hunt humans. While there are occasional accounts of rogue lions or tigers, they’re outliers - individuals behaving unusually. Polar bears, on the other hand, are different. They will pursue us.

Photographing them in the Arctic meant abandoning my usual approach of getting low and close. It simply isn’t an option here. The safety protocols are strict, and rightly so.

I was working from a zodiac - a small inflatable boat - on water that felt as cold as the air above it, temperatures well below zero. I’d already reached for a longer lens than I typically would. And then, this bear looked straight at us. It wasn’t curiosity in its eyes. It was calculation. It genuinely felt as though it was assessing our chances - its chances - of making a move.

I’ve never felt that before. Not with lions. Not with leopards. This was the first time I’ve looked through a lens and wondered if the subject on the other end was assessing a potential hunting opportunity.

That feeling stayed with me. It’s why I chose to keep the image in colour, rather than revert to my usual black and white. The cold comes through more honestly this way. You feel the steel in the air, the tension on the water. You step into the moment and, just for a second, you feel what it’s like to be seen not as an observer, but as prey.