10 YEARS OF REMEMBERING WILDLIFE: MY AWARD WINNING POLAR BEAR PHOTOGRAPH
I got some thrilling news recently. I learnt that this image “Age of Innocence” was chosen as one of the 20 winners from the 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife competition. The competition received more than 4,500 entries from photographers all over the globe, so this is a huge personal achievement!
Remembering Wildlife
Remembering Wildlife is a photography book series created by British wildlife photographer Margot Raggett dedicated to raising awareness for endangered animals. My winning image, along with the other winners, will feature in the next book—the 10th and biggest one yet—due to launch on 6 October 2025.
Remembering Wildlife founder Margot Raggett commented on the winners: “The standard of entries this year made our judges job almost impossible to narrow it down to just 20 winners. In the end we looked for images that stood out to us for the originality of situation, beauty and something we’d not seen before.”
Polar Bear Cubs
This image is a very special one for primarily those very reasons. I had never seen such polar bear cubs display this type of heartwarming behaviour before. It made me very emotional as you might imagine.
So here is the backstory to this winning image. This was my second time doing a seven day photo expedition to Baffin Island, which is one of the most majestic & pristine environments in the world to see polar bears. The expedition takes place during March & April when the sea ice has frozen, but it also fortuitously coincides with female polar cubs coming out of their den with their coys (Cubs of the year).
The expedition means camping out on the sea ice, traveling around by skidoo, and photographing the bears on foot once they are spotted. It’s a truly unique experience that only 40 people a year get to experience. However, with temperatures between -30 and -40, it is also one of the most challenging to ensure you keep your hands warm to press the shutter!
Polar Bear Mother and Cubs
We had spent most of the morning & part of the afternoon with this mother & her COYS (Cubs of the year) which were likely a week or so out of their den. However, just as they were settled the mother got spooked & she & the cubs ran off towards a nearby iceberg. We set off to see if we could spot them & when we got to this iceberg I couldn’t believe my eyes.
The mother & cubs were huddled together on top of the iceberg. To witness such intimate moments, such as this one, between the cubs whilst their mother rests is something that is once-in- a-lifetime sighting.
As the mother felt so safe on the iceberg, she relaxed & we consequently had almost two hours with the mother & the coys. At times, all the family were sleeping & then one of the cubs would wake up & want to play with its sibling. Then, as the sun was setting, the mother led her cubs off the iceberg & we watched as they moved off into the distance. It was one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had in the wild.
Remembering Bears
However, this is not the first time I’ve had a winning image in one of the Remembering Wildlife books. In 2022, I was one of the winners in Remembering Bears with another Polar Bear image- ‘Lay Me Down to Sleep”.
This award-winning image was taken in Kaktovik, which is a small Inupiat village on the Northern slope of Alaska. Here you can photograph polar bears from small boats in the lagoon, which in the Summer months is open for fishing.
Their residence here over the summer months is partly due to man. Kaktovik’s Native Iñupiat population is permitted to kill three bowhead whales a year—having done this, they then flense their huge carcasses on the edge of town. Before distributing the meat equally among the community, what remains, dragged to nearby sandbars, belongs to the bears.
These free meals have attracted polar bears in numbers for generations. With food abundant, the bears are quite relaxed with both photographers on boats & with other bears.
Shooting from a small boat in choppy waters with a heavy lens can be very challenging, especially in freezing temperatures, but with patience you can also get some stunning rewards such as this.
My award-winning image is a portrait of a female polar bear as she sleeps peacefully on an ice pillow. Polar bears are one of the most fearsome carnivores on the planet, but I think this captures a more serene & peaceful side to polar bears, though her large paw leaves you in no doubt to her power.
I hope my love for polar bears comes across in all these images. I have travelled for over 10 years across the Arctic from Svarlbard, Alaska & the Canadian Arctic to photograph these animals that I find so captivating & am willing to withstand freezing temperatures to do so!
It’s also why I enter competitions like this. They help fund research & conservation projects & through the sale of these Limited edition prints, I also support Polar Bears International, which is the only conservation organisation dedicated to wild polar bears. To know more about their goals & mission, check out the charities I support (link to page).
The launch for 10 Years of Remembering Wildlife is in early October 2025.
NEWS COVERAGE OF 10 YEARS OF REMEMBERING WILDLIFE
USEFUL LInKS
National Geographic Kaktovik Article
My recommendation as one of the best expedition travel companies covering the Canadian Arctic. They have been exceptional on all my expeditions to Baffin Island. Best team & best guides!
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