Waaay North of 60... Mike Goes on an Arctic Adventure.

It's a rare opportunity to travel to one of the most remote locations in Canada, or on Earth for that matter!

This past October I was invited to journey to Nunavut to photograph for a very good client that owns and operates many industrial and commercial facilities in this harsh realm.

Arctic Fox - Resolute, Nunavut

Our ultimate destination was the hamlet of Resolute which is located on Corwallis Island and has a population of around 200 or so permanent residents.  Resolute is also called Qausuittuq, which is spelled ᖃᐅᓱᐃᑦᑐᖅ in the amazing language of Inuktitut spoken by the local Inuit population, but you can wikipedia all this as well as I can.

That's me in this photo... really. - Resolute, Nunavut

The one question everyone has asked upon my return was "Did you see a Polar Bear?!?"  Yes, I did... but just one. We were taken to where we might get a glimpse of these impressive creatures and sure enough our guide spotting one, he was waaaay out on the ice trying to sleep! I used the longest focal length I had with me plus had to zoom into the image about 4000% percent just to see him... kudos to Canon that I was able to get even a glimpse of the undeniably cute, yet potentially viscous and horrifically deadly fellow.  The surprising thing is that we didn't see more.  In fact, at one point the local school closed for the day because there were at least four of them walking through town... like it was no big deal. 

Polar Bear... just chillin' - Resolute, Nunavut

On our way to Resolute we first stopped in Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut which is, I must admit, a much nicer town than I expected.  The population is around 7,000 and is quite the bustling hub of activity, considering that it is on the southern tip of Baffin Island and is only accessible by plane.  (Yes, technically you can get there by boat, dog sled or snowmobile if the ocean is frozen enough, but that would just be silly)

Howling Guard Dog - Iqaluit, Nunavut

I was able to work with and meet many of the fine folks who work and live in Iqaluit.  Many of the residents there are of Inuit decent and speak the fascinating language Inuktitut.  It was really cool to be in Canada and see as many as three languages on signs; English, Inuktitut and French.

Always Fresh - Iqaluit, Nunavut

I really felt at home in Nunavut.  There is a slower pace of life there, sometimes this is because you have no choice but to adapt to the extreme weather but also because the people are very laid back and seem to genuinely be interested in taking time to get to know you.  I'll back someday to spend more time discovering the beauty of this amazing place.