Frozen North
Photographer Stephen King shares his stunning works from his cruise around Svalbard
In Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Norway’s remote Svalbard archipelago, there’s an unusual law: “No one is allowed a lock on their front door,” explains Hong Kong-based photographer Stephen King. “The reason for that is if a polar bear comes into town, you need to be able to run into the nearest house and hide.” Such proximity to raw nature may be nerveracking, but it’s exactly what Stephen went in search of, and it’s what makes Svalbard the perfect destination for travellers looking to explore one of the planet’s last untouched wildernesses. Here, Stephen shares some of his stunning photographs from his cruise around the Arctic archipelago, and a few valuable tips on travelling in Svalbard—including how to stay safe when a bear is about
Svalbard’s dramatic landscape of sea, ice and craggy peaks (above and left) is awe-inspiring—all the more because it’s so far from civilisation. “If our boat was still, then it was completely silent,” says Stephen. “You’re really, really far from anything—and you feel it. It’s remarkable.” Few people live in this remote, inhospitable archipelago, and the town of Ny-ålesund (opposite page, bottom left) is the northernmost permanent settlement in the world. “It’s all scientists who live there. In winter, fewer than 40 people stay,” says Stephen. These scientists live among a surprising amount of wildlife, including polar bears (opposite page, bottom right). “Polar bears look so cuddly but they’re really dangerous—they can swim faster than you, they can run faster than you,” explains Stephen. “When we got off the boat, we had an armed guard with us at all times. Most of the time we saw bears from the boat—only one time did we see a bear in the distance when we were on land. When we did, we were instructed to slowly walk to our Zodiacs and get back to the boat.” The ship in question was the M/S Stockholm (opposite page, top), which Stephen and 12 other photographers called home for 10 days. “The crew is great and the cook is fantastic,” says Stephen. “Svalbard is a very special place.”