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Introduction
I
spent seven long years of my life commuting between Sweden
and America. I frequently passed through Copenhagen, and during
one layover at this ultra-modern airport, I spotted an old,
haggard jet on a deserted patch of runway, far away from the
glamor and comfort of my terminal. It was the Air Greenland
flagship.
At this moment, the idea of a Greenland trip was born.
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About
to land in Ilullissat.
I experimented with shutter times. At 1/8000 the propeller
appeared to stand still. Nikon D70, Sigma 15mm fisheye
f/2.8. ISO 800.
Picture was "defisheyed" using panorama tools. |
I
began to daydream that instead of sitting alongside angry
Swedish businessmen on the wrong side of the curtain in an
SAS breadbox, I was instead on my way to serious adventure
in the cargo hold of the Air Greenland plane. I'd be seated
alongside crates full of whale blubber, being served vodka
by Inuit cabin crew dressed in sealskin jackets.
By
2004, I had put in enough miles on SAS to earn a trip from
Copenhagen to Kangerlussaq,
Greenland for myself and a companion. I called my friend Per
Ringsäter and offered him a free trip to Greenland - with
just one catch: he would be responsible for the trip from
Stockholm to Copenhagen. He accepted and Greenland was officially
on.
Our adventure began on the 18th of August when I met a terribly
sick Per at Stockholm Central Station. We had overnight seats
on the train, which would have been uncomfortable enough even
if Per had not been ill. Arriving poorly rested and out of
sorts in Copenhagen the next morning, we were somehow disappointed
to find a large, modern jet waiting to take us to Greenland.
No whale steaks, just chicken or pasta on this flight.
My
camera bag consisted of a Nikon D70 body, 15mm f/2.8 Sigma
fisheye lens, Nikkor AF Micro 105mm f/2.8 and 2 x 1 GB SanDisk
Extreme II compact flash. I used Kodak photo cleaning papers
with B&D Alcohol Swabs for lens cleaning. The actual bag
was a Lowepro Nova 1 AW.
We
arrived uneventfully in Rödebay (a village with about 40 people
and 80 sled dogs) and hired two thermoplastic kayaks. Being
kayak snobs, used to carbon fiber competition kayaks, we were
not overly thrilled – these kayaks reminded us of gas station
rentals. But we kept our complaints to ourselves and set out.
Meanwhile, Per's condition had worsened, but luckily he felt
well enough to set out into Disco Bay without delay.
The
first massive iceberg we encountered. We were mighty impressed.
Nikon D70, Sigma 15mm fisheye. 1/8000 sec f/2.8. Picture de-fisheyed
using Panorama tools.
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