Last September my wife and I travelled from Kugluktuk, located at the mouth of the Coppermine River in the western part of the Canadian Arctic, through the famed, and for many centuries sought after, Northwest Passage. Once through, we crossed Baffin Bay to Greenland and followed its western coast south to the town of Kangerlussuaq, where we caught a charter back to Canada.
Over 2 1/2 weeks we travelled 5,000 kms, through three time zones. We traced the journeys of the many explorers who attempted to find their way through this inhospitable land, until in 1906 a Norwegian Roald Amundsen finally made the passage. Our own journey allowed us to sense the conditions these men faced. We encountered the local fungi, flora and fauna and the weather and wildlife. We met the Inuit and ate their food and heard their stories. And we saw the ice and felt the wind and waves and imagined the tales.
My Spark exhibit this year presents some of the images I feel capture this land: the enormity and austere nature of it, and the people, and the creatures and conditions they face.
Through the Canadian Northwest Passage to Greenland, index:
- Brunch. Coningham Bay, Prince of Wales Is
- Wing span. Near Store glacier
- Coming or going? Uummannaq Bay
- Reflection. Lancaster Sound
- Rugged hike. Uummannaq town
- Baffin berg. Baffin Bay
- Iceberg alley. Melville Bay
- Hieroglyphics in ice. Ilulissat
- Sentinel. Uummannaq Bay
- Frozen blue. Disko Fjord
- Mystical north. Queen Maude Gulf
- Reflections among the berger bits. Store Glacier Fjord
- Mountain town. Uummannaq town
- Harbour ice. Sisimut
- Cliffs of Bellot. Bellot Strait
- Desolate posting, Hudson’s Bay Co. Fort Ross
- Lichen on stromatolite. Port Epworth
- Cellophane ice. Kap York
- 1845 graves, Franklin expedition. Beechey Island
- RIP. Goa Haven
- Bad hair day. Upernavik
- Grave site. Qeqertarsuaq
- Picking Arctic Willow. Upernavik
- Shoppers. Gjoa Haven
For a blog on the trip my wife and I took through the Northwest Passage see: https://powellponderings.com/category/personal/
outstanding photos Ken . You have captured the beauty of this rugged part of our world .thanks for sharing it with us .
Beautiful, and wonderful to see. Congratulations Ken!
Amazing photography of a very interesting area an area unknown to most of us. Very well done thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing Ken. Loved the exhibition and really enjoy seeing the images again on your blog. Congrats on a successful exhibition and another successful Spark Festival
Beautiful pictures of our unique northern frontier
Ken
Wonderful photos as usual!
Thanks
Rub
Sorry I won’t get to see your originals Ken. So different than your past shows where chasing the light was your key, regardless of the subject. You did great!
a Stunning photo collection,Ken ,,,my favourites, Reflections (4)and (7)Melville bay , Iceberg Alley ! Bev Macdougall
Lovely pictures Ken. I especially liked the “shoppers” at the end.
Spectacular photos – ( as always ! ) – Thanks so much-
Lynda
Ken, you have a wonderful collection of photos. Having been both north & south, I love the ice images showing the layers contours & blue colour. That is a journey I wish we had taken but never got to it. you should try the south as well.
Enjoyed your photos Ken! You seem to see what many of us missed. Skill beats mundane every time. Bill
Beautiful! One could just look at some of them for a long time….#4, #6, #9…. 11..13…19…
What an experience that must have been.
Really enjoyed your photos, Ken. You are an excellent photographer!
Interesting to see the similarities between the Arctic and the Antarctica landscapes which we saw in March.
Ken, I have heard your descriptions & now we actually get to see glimpses of this spectacular area with these truly incredible photos. Thx for sharing, Pete & Chick MacLoghlin
Outstanding photography Ken
Recognize some of the names from a fishing trip John Martin and I
took up there.
You certainly captured our Northern Frontier much better than our photos
Outstanding photos Ken. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into this wild and untouched part of the world. Ann and Cal
The photos are fantastic, thanks for sharing,
Donna and Henry
Gee thanks Powell. You’ve done it again – your shots just make me want to throw my camera away !
I must get in to the Public Library and view the exhibit properly – meantime …
#3 “Coming or Going” – Perfect title – how long did you freeze your “unmentionables” to get this shot ?
#6 “Baffin Berg” Shades of the Titanic Disaster – “not even God could sink the Titanic !”
Ditto #7-#10.
#19 Graves of the Franklin Expedition – how to comprehend ?
#22 Queqertarsuag – precision and reverence here reminds me of the major “Commonwealth War Graves Commission” work in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Holland also still has significant relationships Commonwealth Veterans.
#24 Mamma carrying her alert, curious little one. Love – Love – It !
already posted
Thank you, Ken ,for sharing your adventure with us.
Excellent! Thanks Ken. Anne and I need to stop talking about this trip and actually go.
Ken, These are wonderful pictures and I hope to get to the library to see them as well. I love the icebergs especially. Thanks for sharing. Ann
Staggeringly beautiful photos of a landscape that is changing faster than we can anticipate. Great work, Ken. Here’s to a wider distribution!
You definitely have an artists eye Ken. Photos are beautiful.