National Geographic Photographer, Paul Nicklen

January 4th, 2017

Interview starts at :27

Paul Nicklen uses his camera to reveal the nature of a world melting away under human-induced global warming. Now more than ever we need to focus on the environment. With no time to lose, Paul gives us one simple tip that we can all do right now to help save our planet, its oceans and its animals.

“I call myself an interpreter and a translator,” says Nicklen. “I translate what the scientists are telling me. If we lose ice, we stand to lose an entire eco-system. I hope we can realize through my photography how inter-connected these species are to ice. It just takes one image to get someone’s attention.”

A photographer on assignment with a leopard seal.

Blending in with the surroundings during a whiteout.

Photographer Paul Nicklen sitting on the edge of an ice floe.

Dead Polar Bear

A kermode bear, a black bear born with white fur, perches on a rock.

An elephant seal pup plays in a freshwater stream.

Atlantic walruses migrating from Russia.

Its image mirrored in icy water, a polar bear swims submerged.

A ringed seal looks for polar bears while surfacing from its hole.

Going go sea, gentoo penguins, line up and quickly dive in together.

Leopard Seal (Huge Female), 12 feet plus in length and must be well over a thousand pounds, killed a chick and then donated it to the camera. This is the first day that many of the chicks are heading to sea for the first time and it is easy picking for the leopard seals.

A young male polar bear leaping onto drifting pack ice.

Paul has indeed managed to get people’s attention. Whether he is ice diving among leopard seals in Antarctica, covering hundreds of miles of terrain in -40F temperatures, or mastering aerial shots from his ultralight plane, Paul Nicklen has specialized in photographing polar regions since 1995. A unique childhood among the Inuit in Canada’s Arctic and a professional background as a biologist in the Northwest Territories enable him to take on the most inhospitable places on our planet. His images reflect a reverence for the creatures inhabiting these isolated and endangered environments.

Paul has published ten stories for National Geographic Magazine, including 2011’s August cover story on the elusive Spirit Bear. His latest book, Polar Obsession, was published by National Geographic in November 2009 and was in its third printing within months of publication. He has received more than twenty international awards, including five awards with World Press Photo (including Nature: First Prize Story 2010), three with Pictures of the Year International, and ten with BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. In addition to his TED2011 talk, appearances on television shows such as Jeopardy and in youtube videos receiving millions of hits have recently thrust him into the popular culture spotlight.

Paul lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

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