Close to deadline...

First an update...

The past two months have been hard work trying to finish my latest project on wildlife and conservation in India. It has been a lot of late nights working hard at the computer and now I am finally near deadline. But will this mean some much needed vacation? No, not for now - This summer has turned out to become very busy indeed...

Greenland and Finland
Unfortunatlythe deadline of my India project mean that I had to cancel a trip to Iceland but shortly after my deadline i will be going to Greenland. I have'nt been to Greenland since march last year and i thorougly miss it. I am still working on my Arctic Fox Project and I have decided to visit a spot in Greenland which I know is rich in foxes. 
This place is way out of reach of the cellular network and i will spend 7 days there alone in a tent with my camera, coocking gear and a sattelite phone to keep in touch with my family.
Hopefully the foxes will be collaborative and the weather will be good. I will have good light almost 24 hours a day so I foresee quite a lot of working hours and very little sleep. But just photographing in Greenalnd again will feel like a vacation after all.

After that I will be going back home to celebrate the birthday of my oldest daughter and then it is off to Finland where I will be leading a tourgroup to see the wild brown bears near the Russian border. Here we will be spending 5 nights in hides looking for these cuddly brown teddies.

So July looks to be all set and after spending almost two months in front of the computer I really look forward to getting some time back in the wild.

I will be posting some more articles to this blog as soon as I have news from the trips and some photos to show.

I wish you all the very best summer.

Back to the Arctic

Hello everybody,

Sorry about the waiting time, i guess i will have to pick up on my blogging skills ;o)

I am now finishing up my project on conservation in India and what an exiting project that has been. Especially my last trip to Kaziranga was incredible and i got some amazing shots of Rhino and Elephant. I am now planning my last trip to get some more and i will be writing some more about that later on...

Being in India has been an incredible experience and the fact that i actually saw and photographed wildlife each day has been a nice change after many years spent tracking down elusive animals in the cold. The warm weather, the good food and the colors has given me a creative kick but also made me realize that i miss the far north. The loneliness, the cold breeze and all the gearing up before an expedition into the wild has been drawing in me all the time. The Arctic bug has bitten me and i will have to admit to some kind of addiction with the place, the people, the wildlife and the really wild nature. OK - Call me crazy but the Arctic is where i feel at home, what can i do about that?

So here is some news that have just got out today. I have just been named Official Photographer for The Arctic Fox Center in Sudavik in Iceland. The AFC and I has made an agreement on a new project for 2010 and 2011 which means that i will be spending A LOT of time in the north photographing and documenting the life of the Arctic Fox. You can read more about the news here: http://melrakki.is/news/An_official_photographer_of_the_Arctic_Fox_Centre/

So back to the Arctic (Subarctic really) it is. I can not wait to start the project and i am all ready checking up on my winter gear. I even picked up my daughter from kindergarten on my telemark skis and dragged her all the way home on her plastic sledge to get some practice. What an expedition that was :o) and now i can only sit in my chair writing on my laptop because of my sore legs. Surely i will have to work on my physical condition and burn away some of that good indian food, before venturing back into the cold.

I will keep you posted as soon as there is news.