'Dawn Panorama' Magdalenefjorden, Spitsbergen: High Arctic

I travelled to Svalbard, White Bear Country, a small Norwegian archipelago in the far north. After a few days exploring Longyearbyen, the most northern city in the world, my fellow explorers and I travelled north until we could sail no further. Our tiny expedition ship, the MS Nordstarden, sailed up to the 80th Parallel and to within 600 miles of the North Pole where we were halted by the polar pack ice; from there on was ice until the North Pole, spell-binding.

This image captures the what I saw with my eyes, but also what I felt with my heart looking deep into this Fjorden and just feeling out into the ether; a very genuine spiritual experience. The peace, the majesty, energy and pure tranquillity found at the top of our world despite the harsh conditions experienced

on the way and the utter wildness. was quite overwhelming; but I felt at one with our earth. The panorama gives homage to the sheer size of the Fjorden; the

water, the reflections, the muted colours ooze calm and peace, welcoming you into the depths of the true mother earth.