Sun Exposure

Passengers on a tour of the Northwest Passage boarded Zodiacs near Beechey Island, Canada, after hearing of a possible polar bear sighting—the first of the trip. “Our drivers maneuvered us [into] perfect positions to take pictures of the bear without stressing the animal,” writes Nina Stavlund. “You could feel the excitement, but everyone was very quiet.” With flowing adrenaline and a pounding heart—”This was, after all, my first polar bear in the wild”—Stavlund was shaking so much that she had to take a few deep breaths. “I made sure my shutter was fast and that I had a good exposure [so as] not to wash out the beautiful white coat. [When] the bear turned its head toward the sun, I saw a catch light in the eye and pressed the shutter until my buffer was full.”