Longyearbyen is the largest settlement in Svalbard, the Arctic.
It has a rich history of coal mining and whaling.
Currently, tourism is its biggest source of income. A funny thing to see in the village is the many pipes that lie above the ground, this is due to permafrost (soil that cannot be worked by sand, gravel, earth and ice).
Also nice to know is that just outside the village, a mountain houses the world seed bank of food crops.
Due to the presence of Polar Bears, the free area around the village is limited to a few km, about 2 km towards the airport and about 4 km the other way towards a radar station, on both sides there is then also no road so you have to walk or continue by snowmobile, but with a guide who carries a weapon. Many expedition and small cruise ships call at Longyearbyen for a few days or one flies to Longyearbyen and then transfers to a ship that make trips of several days north through the pack ice in search of polar bears.
I have been there twice around the month of May-June and then it also stays light for almost 24 hours, which takes some getting used to.
In the picture, a reindeer on an open plain against Adventfjord.
When you have been photographing for more than 50 years, you can talk about a passion.
I grew up in the analogue era and grew into the digital age.
I travelled the world as a photographer and made many photography trips. My preference lies with Nature and Landscape Photography, but..
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