Paul Nicklen is where it all began for me (my interest in professional nature photography, that is). I saw a nature documentary on the ever so beautiful sailfish, so I had to look for pictures afterward. I stumbled upon his sailfish photographs on National Geographic and looked him up. What I found was a collection of stunning arctic and antarctic photos. I now own a (signed!) copy of his gorgeous book, Polar Obsession. Find it and his other book Seasons of the Arctic at your local library!
Chinstrap Penguins, Anvers Island, Antarctica by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Arctic Fox, Churchill, Canada by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Hornsund, Spitsburgen by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Elephant Seal, South Georgia Island, by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Polar Bear tracks, Svalbard by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Polar Bear, Svalbard by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Elephant Seals and King Penguins, South Georgia by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
Kermode Bear (or Spirit Bear), British Columbia by Paul Nicklen (National Geographic)
I saw his work on display in a photography exhibit. One of the most memorable stories shared in the exhibit (they had videos of interviews) was of his encounter with leopard seals. If you follow this link, you can see a gallery of Nicklen's leopard seal encounters. Leopard seals have a reputation for ferocity and violence (they're also huge). A scientist was even killed and eaten by one. Nicklen went to photograph leopard seals. He watched one, a female, tear apart penguins. When he gets in the water she approaches, coming at him with her mouth open wide, but she doesn't attack. She only puts on a display. Once she relaxes, she starts circling back with penguins. He realizes that she's offering him food. Isn't that incredible? Hear that story and others in the below TED talk:
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