When Plans go Belly-up

The wind howled. Long and impatient. Icy cold.

The snow hurled itself across the earth and air.

The tiny little fox, snow frozen on it's face, it's brown body standing out in a sea of white, put it's head down but unbowed, walked straight into the snowstorm.

That was a sample of the scenes I had in mind when I finalized my plans to go to Hornstrandir.

The reality was another story.

As our boat made the last turn from where we could see our landing point, we looked at each other dismally. What lay in front of us was not a sea of pristine white, but a staggering expanse of brown, with an odd patch of snow thrown in. Instead of the dull, grey skies we were hoping for, the house we would be staying in, sat bathed in splendid sunshine.

It was ironical, and a bit cruel that, in a year when most of the world was reeling under a cold wave, the likes of which hadn’t been seen for years, Iceland was going through a warm phase.

Our planning had been impeccable. We had planned to go when the season opens up, when there are enough hours of daylight to make it worth the while. The reports from December indicated that the winter was at full strength. Our timing was perfect.

The season typically continues for almost three more months and its possible that at the tail end of the season, the harshness of the winter could ease up considerably.

But, ease up right at the start ? Really ?

To make things bleaker, the forecast wasn’t encouraging either.

There were no snowstorms forecast.

Forget snowstorms, there was hardly any forecast for snowfall.

Forget snowfall, the skies were blue and the days were mostly bright and sunny.

The house we were staying in had loads of photobooks, many on the Arctic foxes of Hornstrandir. We would turn page after page of images filled with flying snow and the doughty little fox. That definitely wasn't something designed to improve our mood ! Worse, you read a caption that went something like – we had a rare sighting of fox with no snow frozen on its face.

Ouch.

Of course, in wildlife photography this is to be expected. Sometimes your subject simply doesn’t turn up. Sometimes the weather plays truant. We know it.

However, knowing it and accepting it are two different things.  

A trip to Iceland and specifically to Hornstrandir isn’t an easy one to plan. It's expensive. It needs proper preparation for the extreme cold. We had been planning and dreaming about it for years and it might not be easy to plan a return soon.

One could mope. One could whine. One could snarl at everything and everyone around us.

Or.

The very first afternoon, after we had lugged the bags into our respective rooms, a couple of us went for a walk behind the house.

Every step seemed like a step into gloom. There was not a single snow covered patch on our hill. The sun was out and shining. This was far away from what we had dreamt of all these years.

As we walked up the slopes with the knowledge sinking in that our dreams had been shot, I noticed my feet were sinking in on a bed of shrubs, in a luxurious manner the kind I have never felt before. I paused for a moment and looked around me.

Calf length golden hued grass waved behind me. Small snowballs lay like mothballs in the grass around me. Snow covered slopes with large rocky patches lay watchful around us. Behind us, the waters of the fjord shimmered and twinkled at us. Clear blue skies looked down at us. Eider ducks called out in the sea and occasionally, the cry of a fox could be heard.

This might not have been the trip that we had dreamt about but there is a strange, quiet happiness in the knowledge that we are the only humans for miles. We were in such a remote place that even the telecom networks have chosen to ignore the place. We were staying at a 120 year old house with so much character that you pause to try and listen to the stories the walls and the floors had to say. We were at a place, where, snowfall or not, we were getting to observe the Arctic fox in a unique environment displaying unique behaviour.

Moping about what we know is an occupational risk seemed rather silly and wasteful.

We got down to doing what could be done.

We sat at the beach and tried to get the bokeh of the sun’s reflection when the ducks get comfortable to come closer. Spectacular failures mostly, but trying them was good fun.

When the foxes came down to the coast, which they must to feed on what the sea has left behind, we focused on getting rim lit, back lit and side lit images.

On the rare occasion that a fox would step onto a small snowy patch, the goal would be to try a composition in such a manner that it might feel that its only a snow storm that was missing !

On top of everything, this trip’s again with a group of friends with whom I have been traveling many times each year for the last few years. The bonhomie, the cheesy and bawdy leg pulling, the sharing of dreams of future trips are all aspects of companionship that will stay long in our memories.

As someone wise had said long back…a good photo is a bonus.

It wasn’t easy.

But things are rarely meant to be.

Sometimes we have to make do.

Some of the images I made, are below...read the captions too. They tell the story of this fantastic character, the Arctic fox.

Meet the Coastal Arctic Fox.

These guys live in this protected area where hunting is banned. Unlike most other Arctic foxes, they don't hunt much. Instead they come down to the coast when the tide is low and search for what the sea has left for them - dead fish, dead birds...what that means is that every single day, they have to come down to the coast for food. Regardless of the weather.

And do they get busy when the tide is low ! They are furiously rummaging in between the seaweeds and the rocks, searching for any titbit that has been left behind. As a result of this, these foxes dont need to turn into their white winter coat that typically all other Arctic foxes have. There could be the odd white fox out here, but they are uncommon.

They have a few hours before the tide rolls back in. And in that window of opportunity they need to find whatever food they can.

If that means crossing a narrow channel of water, so be it.

We scarcely get much of a glance as we park ourselves out of their normal route.

But, early in the season they are still a little wary.

Mostly they don't want to lose time and are constantly scurrying in between the rocks and the seaweed searching, searching, always searching.

We kept ourselves busy trying to get rim lit images... ( In peak winter !!! )

These guys are quite nimble, jumping over rocks, not hesitating to get a little wet as they search the coast end to end for whatever food is available.

Gotcha !!!

And once they get something, if it's tiny they will indulge in a quick mid work snack but otherwise they will scamper to bury it somewhere safe, as this chap is intending to do with the fish it has found.

The slopes around us had a lot of snow and we were desperately wishing for a fox or two to be on those slopes to get some minimalist shots. We got rewarded just once and were we excited as we tried to keep track of this tiny figure zigzagging between all the rocks.

We found out that this was an usual route for the fox. Perfect for a silhouette against the snow.

But you need to figure out when the fox is on that route and be at the right spot during those few important seconds. I got it right once. Pure dumb luck :)

The foxes do come closer. Apparently, as the season progresses they become more comfortable.

Right now... a little cautious, for sure.

Finally. There was a snow covered slope just next to us and somewhere towards the end of our trip, we caught sight of one guy who willingly posed for us.

This female was the first one to be bold enough to approach us without any fear.

Visualize this pose, this expression with snow flying all around...that was what we had come here for

Well...if we don't get the foxes, we play with the ducks. Slow shutter experiments

And how about a little bokeh magic ?

Someone had defined happiness as having a scratch for every itch...

we left with our itch a tad untouched,

but, all things considered, it was a memorable opportunity to observe these doughty characters in such a raw and remote place.

Hope you enjoyed knowing more about the Arctic foxes of Hornstrandir.

I had gone on this trip that was planned and organized by Kipekee Journeys ( https://kipekeejourneys.com ) with Rahul Sachdev as the mentor. Phil Garcia ( https://www.explographe.com ) was the Arctic fox expert who took care of all things at Iceland.

And, I have another bit of happy news on the personal side to share. One of my images, that of a hornbill taken in Tamil Nadu, got an Honorable Mention at Asferico, an European photo competition that I have long admired.

The link is here : https://www.asfericocontest.it

The Beacon.

Highly Commended in the Birds Category at Asferico

Cheers !

Ashok