Polar bears wander the far north and wait for the ice to come in. This mother and cub picked a great area to wait on the ice to come in with dramatic mountains in the distance. They ended up getting in the water and swimming across to an island.

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Polar bears survive by hunting on the ice in the winter. Once the ice melts, they don’t eat much and slow down their metabolism so they don’t lose too much weight. Once the season changes from fall to winter, polar bears get antsy and can’t wait for the ice to show up. A little ice had started to form as this large polar bear looked out over the water.

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Catching polar bears against the setting sun was above what I hoped for when I took this trip. It is cloudy a majority of the time where I was, and any light would have been great. I saw these polar bears at a distance and hoped they would keep walking on the same path and come closer. They did, and they went to the ridge of the sand back and the pink light hitting the clouds made for a special moment!

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Polar bears are by far the largest bear. Seeing a large male in person made me feel so small. And when it came close, it really showed just how large this male was.

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Getting light in the arctic is not easy. It is often overcast and very grey. After spending all of our time with this bear in grey light, the sun shown through the clouds for just a few seconds to bring the landscape to life.

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On our trip I expected to have mostly overcast days and not much light while photographing polar bears. In the late evening, when the sun popped through a hole in the clouds, it turned everything golden and brought the landscape to life.

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Polar bears love ice. They thrive on the ice hunting, and depend on it for survival. As soon as the ice made it to shore, this polar bear left land and won't return for months.

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In nature I spend most of my time waiting on those perfect moments when the light and animal all cooperate. It rarely happens, but it drives me to wait on those special moments. The water was so calm and the light just right, so when the young polar bear stepped into the water I had to calm myself down and capture the serenity of the moment.

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From a distance I saw these bears resting on a little island that barely rose above the water. I hoped so badly they would still be there when we got closer. They were curious of us as we approached, but they just sat and looked at us in the perfect light.

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When everyone thinks it is cold outside, polar bears wish it would be colder. Once the first ice of the winter comes, it excites them for the hunting season ahead out on the large packs of ice. This polar bear had missed the ice, and began to roll around on it in excitement.

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Photographing a family of any species is so difficult. When you have more than one animal, to get all the animals to line up and follow each other or all look the same way can seem impossible. As this family walked in front of the mountains, I prayed they would get close to each other and all look up at the same time. It only happened for a brief moment, but that’s all it took to create the shot I was looking for!

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Being an only cub, this cub wanted to play and it wanted to play with mom. Sometimes moms play along, and sometimes they don’t. This mom was very patient and they played a long time. The cub was really interested in its moms face and mouth and they both had a great time playing.

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Seeing polar bears in a snow storm can be difficult. This bear slowly came closer and it was still hard to see him because it was a white out. When he got close, he picked his head up and enjoyed the snow hitting his face.

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In the arctic it can often be cloudy and hard to get good light. I wasn’t expecting any evening light on this night, when all of a sudden the clouds came to life. I was fortunate to already be photographing this polar bear when the light got real good in the sky. I was more than thrilled when it went to the ridge and had the ignited sky behind him!

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As winter was approaching, polar bears began to congregate along the coast. There was snow on the ground, but the wind had blown it off the trees. When I first saw this polar bear I honestly just thought it was snow, until I looked harder and saw its eyes between the trees.

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Polar bears hang out along the arctic ocean once the sea ice melts in the summer. They long for the ice to return so they can go out on the ice to hunt for their prey. It was a dramatic scene as this family walked a sand bank right in front of the raging arctic ocean near sunset.

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This polar bear family was one of my favorite families to watch. The cubs were so pretty and they likes to play. The cub sitting up would get a stick, bob its head around with it, and then throw it in the water. After throwing it, it would look at it in the water and almost look sad it was gone. It was so much fun to watch!

Watch a video of the cub playing with a stick on YouTube.

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Finding any polar bear is exciting. Finding a large male polar bear is even more exciting to me. Polar bears are the largest of the bear family, and seeing one of the largest of those bears was neat to really see its impressive size!

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Cubs of all bears are playful with their siblings. It’s just so much fun watching cubs as you never know what they will do next. As mother was trying to rest, these cubs were done resting and started to play fight with each other gently.

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Being out early in the morning is one of the best times to see wildlife. It’s exciting to me because I never know if an animal has moved off in the night and no longer able to be found. This bear was not in the exact spot as the day before, but in the general area, and I was happy to find it first thing as the sun was just lighting up the grass and the bear!

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As polar bears wait for the ice, they can get restless. Mother bears know how to conserve their energy and just rest. Cubs can rest for a while, but eventually get restless. This cub put on quite the show and seemed to have the best time rolling around!

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In the early morning and early evening polar bears move around more, and in the middle of the day take long naps. We were the first ones out and saw this bear walking around and sniffing the air. When it decided to walk right toward us it was a thrill!

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Being able to watch a large polar bear close up in it natural environment is a great experience. Once he determined we were a little to close, it let us know by showing us his teeth.

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Polar bears survival depends on ice, as that is where they are the best hunters. The temperature was dropping and snow had fallen, but there still wasn’t ice. It looked as if this polar bear was looking out to see if there was any ice on the horizon.

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This was the first polar bear I got to see in the wild. The thrill and excitement of getting to track it and be with it for an hour was incredible. At one point it went on a little ridge to look over the snow covered tundra.

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This cub was so funny. Its sibling and mother were resting, but it was restless and kept wandering up and down the beach. It couldn’t stay still and kept looking out over the water. Once it did finally sit down, it heard a splash and turned around to see what it was that made the splash.

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In the late fall polar bears tend to walk the northern coast because they are waiting for the ice to come in so they can go out and hunt. The ice had not come in yet as this mom and cub polar bear were walking a sand ridge as a large wave from the arctic ocean was crashing behind them in the last light of the day.

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After watching this mother polar bear and cub for a while , I was excited when they started to move toward this log. I know brown bear cubs love to play on logs, and I figured polar bear cubs would too. Sure enough, as soon as the cub got to the log it climbed on and began investigating and playing on the log.

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On a snowy, blowy morning I was confident I wouldn’t see any polar bears. It was tough to see any distance because of the conditions. All of a sudden I caught some movement and realized this polar bear was not far away. Without its dark eyes it would have been very hard to see.

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As polar bears wait on the ice to come in, a patch of ice and snow gets a polar bear excited! After giving itself a good cleaning, it began rolling around on the ice. It stopped and spread out on the ice and relaxed for a moment before getting up and walking away.

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The morning light in the far north in late fall is beautiful. The sun doesn’t rise very fast and the nice morning light can last a while. It set a beautiful scene as the light reflected off the water and the cub played on the point.

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Polar bears are great swimmers and can swim for miles and miles without needing to take a break. After not finding any food on the land it was on, this polar bear decided to swim somewhere else as the sun was shining its last light on the water.

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Finding a white bear in a white environment is hard enough. Finding and tracking a polar bear in a white out is about impossible. I really like how well this photo shows just how hard it is to find and see a polar bear in these conditions.

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While mom was resting, this cub and its sibling were very active. They played some together and explored some on their own. After being apart for a while, this cub decided to sneak up on its sibling who was just over the hill.

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We watched this family as they slept, and polar bears can sleep a long time. When they do get up, they often go the way you don’t want them to go. To my great surprise, they wandered down the shore and right to us. Capturing three polar bears reflected in the arctic ocean was incredible!

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This large stick made for a great toy for this polar bear cub. It would pull on the stick, and then push it away. It did this for a long time and enjoyed playing with the large stick as its mother slept.

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This polar bear was resting, but not fully resting. It kept finding little sticks and rocks to play with. As we were watching it, it raised its paw as almost to say hi to us!

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Polar bears are such a large bear. The closer this bear got, the larger it got. Seeing its paws and just how large they were up close was insane. He was on a mission and just kept going until I couldn’t see him anymore.

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As winter was coming, the polar bears started to get more active and excited. But since there wasn’t ice yet, this polar bear family had to swim from land to other land instead of walking over ice.

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In the far north, the tundra is a wide open area that stretches for as far as the eye can see. A large polar bear stands out on the tundra as the sun sets.

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Once the temperature gets cold and ice starts to form, polar bears head to the coast in anticipation of the freeze up coming and them being able to go out on the ice to hunt. This bay already was thick with ice and this polar bear was walking on the ice looking to see if it could find some food.

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Polar bears are very territorial, particularly when they are hungry. After months of living off not much, and winter was approaching, this polar bear was out looking for food. It’s stance looks as if it is saying that this is my area and don’t come any closer.

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When I think of polar bears, I think of solitary animals that want nothing to do with other polar bears. On this day I couldn’t believe my eyes when three different polar bear families were so close to each other and didn’t care that the other families were so close.

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Polar bears are the largest of the bear family, and it’s not even close. Each polar bear seems big, but then I saw this bear. It’s size was just unbelievable and really showed off the power these bears can have.

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Polar bears like when it is cold outside, not warm during the summer. They don't hibernate during the summer, but are lethargic and hardly move around. Once the snow and freezing temperatures come, they start to get excited about the ice coming back. Before the ice comes, polar bears will roam near the shoreline looking for food.

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Polar bear cubs never pass up anything that could be used as a toy. The cub with the stick was rolling around with it having a great time. The other cub wanted to have fun too, so it began rolling around as well and mimicking its sibling.

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One thing polar bears do well other than love cold weather, is swim. They don’t care how cold the water is because of how thick their fur is and how well it insulates it. This polar bear cub didn’t have to swim as it moved through the shallow water, but the light and calm water made for a great moment.

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As winter begins to arrive in the far north, the arctic ocean begins to freeze. It doesn’t snow much because of how cold it gets, but the polar bears get real excited when ice begins to form. This polar bear was pacing the shore waiting on the ice to thicken.

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Polar bears are only found in the far north. It is always an adventure to get to where these special animals are. They live in such remote areas and don’t want to be seen for the most part. This family was on the move one evening trying to pick up a scent of anything they could to find and eat.

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Polar bears are not afraid to swim. They are actually really good swimmers and can swim up to a couple hundred miles if they had to. Thankfully, this polar bear just had to go for a short swim, and came quite close to us when it got in the water.

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As the ice begins to move into the bay, polar bears get excited that winter is coming. At first this bear was slowly moving around on the ice and rolling around. It eventually decided to head back to shore and began jumping from berg to berg.

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Polar bears are very active early in the morning, as that is when it is usually the coldest of the day. After a long swim, this polar bear was on the move looking for food. Winter was on its way and this polar bear was ready to leave and find food.

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In the area I went to photograph polar bears, the land strips the polar bears liked to hang out on were not much higher than the water. As the temperature dropped, it didn’t take much for ice to form on the land. This polar bear was happy to be walking on ice and not rocks.

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When a polar bear senses something under the ice, it will lift the front of its body off the ground and then smash the ice. Polar bears way a lot, and are very strong, and use this to their advantage to break the ice. It can take a few times of punching the ice to break, but they are a determined animals and always seem to be hungry.

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Bear cubs of all types are playful and have tons of energy. As its mother and sibling rested in the dirt, this cub wandered away and found a patch of ice. Once it got to the ice it began rolling around and I could tell loved that it was ice and not dirt.

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Polar bear are very curious animals. We were quietly minding our business, when this polar bear family became interested in us. It wasn’t scary or intimidating, but amazing as we got to watch them up close and see the personality of these bears from a close range.

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As soon as the snow falls, polar bears get excited because that means winter is coming. All summer and fall they have fasted, and winter is when they get to fatten up. This polar bear went to the sea edge to see if the ice was in yet, but it wasn't unfortunately.

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I was following a mom and her cubs along a rocky beach, when they came to a snowy part. Instantly, you could see in this cubs eyes that it was excited to see snow. Almost immediately it laid down and began to roll around. It had so much fun in the snow!

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One of the best places for a polar bear to look out over the sea and look for ice is a high spot. This polar bear had gone to the top of these rocks and seemed to enjoy his view.

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As winter starts, the tundra and small ponds freeze. With this pond ice just thick enough for this polar bear to walk on, it crosses it with the ice giving off a reflection.

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Polar bears cannot survive with no ice. It was the time of year when ice should have been in the bay, however, there wasn't even snow yet.

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I don't even know how long I looked at these rocks and didn't see a bear. When a polar bear isn't moving and is in a white dotted landscape, they are so hard to find. This young bear was just resting and waiting for the ice to come.

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