FROZEN LATITUDES
A Photographic Tribute to the Beauty of the High Arctic
Expeditions into FROZEN LATITUDES
North-south crossing of West Greenland’s Nuugssuaq peninsula | Trekking along East Greenland’s Sermilik Fjord | Ski and sledgedog expedition through Northeast Greenland’s Liverpool Land | Ship expedition through Russia’s Franz Josef Land | Witnessing the record low sea ice covered Arctic Ocean | The Cryosphere – facts about the ecosystem of snow and ice
Expeditionen in GEFRORENE BREITENGRADE
Nord-Süd Querung von Westgrönlands Nuugssuaq-Halbinsel | Trekking entlang Ostgrönlands Sermilik-Fjord | Auf Skiern und mit Schlittenhunden durch Nordostgrönlands Liverpool Land | Schiffsexpedition durch Russlands Franz Josef Land | Eistiefststand im Arktischen Ozean | Die Kryosphäre – Fakten zur Sphäre von Eis und Schnee
Stories from the Northernmost Edge of the Inhabitable World and Beyond
“What an extraordinary book! Beautifully captures the raw majesty of the landscape I love. It is a book I will recommend to friends who have interests in such places. Stunning.”
William Glassley – USA, author of “A Wilder Time” (Bellevue Literary Press) – “Eine wildere Zeit” (Kunstmann Verlag)
Glacier ice wall on Champ Island, Franz Josef Land, High Russian Arctic
Dogsledge expedition, Liverpool Land, Northeast Greenland
The fine art photo book in English and German published at Seltmann und Söhne (Berlin) presents the beauty of pristine High Arctic landscapes which become un-frozen due to global warming. It is portraying some of the remotest places at the northernmost edge of the inhabitable world in Greenland, Franz Josef Land and beyond in the Arctic Ocean.
The bilingual texts tell stories about my first-hand experiences when ranging through the Arctic in search for Pure Landscapes – opening also the spirtual dimension of pristine and antouched nature. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schöner, the internationally renown Austrian glaciologist, climate scientist and director of the Austrian Polar Research Institute (APRI), provides in a descriptive way the scientific background of the snow and ice world – the cryosphere – and how it is responding to and enforcing global warming. A conscious use of the resources of this world is pending!
Das Fine Art Fotobuch auf Deutsch und Englisch ist im Verlag Seltmann und Söhne (Berlin) erschienen und ist eine Hymne and die Schönheit unberührter Hocharktischer Landschaften, welche durch die globale Erderwärmung zu tauen beginnen. Das Buch zeigt die Ästhetik von Eislandschaften entlegenster Landstriche am nördlichsten Rand der bewohnbaren Welt in Grönland, Franz Josef Land und darüber hinaus vom Arktischen Ozean.
Die zweisprachigen Texte erzählen von meinen Expeditionserfahrungen in der Arktis auf der Suche nach unberührten Landschaften – Pure Landscapes – deren wilde Natur auch eine spirituelle Dimension dem Leser eröffnen. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schöner, der international anerkannte österreichische Gletscher- und Klimaforscher, ist Direktor des Austrian Polar Research Institute (APRI) und beschreibt anschaulich den wissenschaftlichen Hintergrund der Schnee- und Eiswelten – die Kryosphäre – und wie diese durch die globale Erwärmung auf diese zurück wirkt. Ein bewusster Umgang mit den Ressourcen dieser Welt steht an!
FROZEN LATITUDES presents the beauty of the High Arctic in large scale panoramic photos and tells ambitious first-hand stories from the northernmost edge of the inhabitable world and beyond. Arctic landscapes are solely formed by natural forces such as wind, water and ice. They are perceived as existing since the very early times of the Earth’s Genesis. Animals and artifacts often appear unexpectedly in these landscapes and set accents that emphasize the vastness of the nature with its inherent impression of permanence. It is my photographic challenge to capture the everlasting natural changes which are hard to recognize by human scales.
Click here to view the Kickstarter funding campaign awarded as “Project we love”.
“Our inner goal, which gave direction to the outer goal in search for possible routes, was strongly influenced by the desire for pristine landscapes, untouched by humans. The aesthetics of the Arctic landscape, with its sparse nature, reduced to its essence should find room in the depths of our souls. Virtually, we sought for the permanent behind the transitory form or for the imperishable in the transient. Comparable with the desert experiences of the ancient Christian hermit monks hundreds of years ago, our image of Frozen Latitudes became complemented with a spiritual dimension: how will each of us deal with the experience of loneliness and absolute self-reliance?”
Cryogenesis describes the physical processes of repeated freezing and thawing of Earth’ materials. Influenced by climate, earth-atmosphere interactions and the properties of the soils, it shapes the morphology of the landscape affected by permafrost which creates an unexpected variety of Frozen Morphs.
My photographic approach results from the compound words in Cryogenesis: photos of the cryosphere’s landscape paint a picture of the earth’s Genesis where landscape is exclusively created and moulded by natural forces. These Frozen Morphs show the striking aspects of High Arctic landscapes and reveal the eternal in the transient. My photos highlight the incredibly beautiful landscape consisting of simple, naturally shaped forms which have been created over millennia giving the impression of a never changing existence.
Human impact causes changes at a much faster pace than the natural, slow processes, imposing unpredictable transformations on active natural forces as well as human life at these northernmost edges of the inhabitable world. Due to global warming changes have accelerated at an unprecedented pace over the past decades which has lead to a continuous evolution of pristine Genesis-landscape into cultivated land.
“A truly brilliant work”
Oliver Seltmann – Germany
“Wahrscheinlich geht es mir ein Stück weit ähnlich beim Erleben in deinem grossartigen Werk: es mischen sich eigene Erfahrungen, aber auch Sehnsüchte und meine Ernüchterung über das, was ich alles noch nicht erlebt habe, da hinein.”
Fridolin Walcher, WalcherBild – CH
“Congrats, Christoph!”
Paolo Solari Bozzi – Swizzerland
“Unsere kleine Eisbibliothek ist um einen großen Schatz reicher!”
B&B Wegener – Germany
“The pictures are beautiful and I want prints of some of them.”
Chandler Hubbard – CA, USA
“Thank you for a wonderful read and set of photographs. Thoroughly enjoyed the book.”
Michael Canepa – Gibraltar
“What an extraordinary book! Beautifully captures the raw majesty of the landscape I love. It is a book I will recommend to friends who have interests in such places. Stunning.”
William Glassley – USA, author of “A Wilder Time” (Bellevue Literary Press) – “Eine wildere Zeit” (Kunstmann Verlag)
“The photographs are simply stunning!”
Geoff Cowen – UK
“We looked through it, and everyone here was so impressed!”
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center – Norway
“The book of the year!”
Markus Trienke – Germany
“Ich bin sehr beeindruckt von den Bildern und den authentischen Schilderungen und finde mich besonders beim sehr schön geschilderten Erleben des Jetzt wieder.”
Peter Gröll – Austria