During easter my parents were given the book "100 places to remember before they disappear". As place number 17 is listed Zackenberg in Northeast Greenland - the place I work for more than three months a year and consider my second home. I noticed this already in 2009 when the book came out. It is illustrated by a photo (#4 at the URL linked to above) by the renowned and prize winning Canadian nature photographer Paul Nicklen. I was quite surprised as Paul Nicklen to my knowledge never had visited Zackenberg. Not during the summer months at least as we keep good records on that. I know he has been to Sand Island (Sandøen) photographing walrus about 30km from Zackenberg and I saw him briefly in the airport at Constable Point.
I remembered seeing the image recently in the Getty Image library where it clearly says it is from Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada...
I am not blaming Nicklen. As a photographer you have very limited control on the use of your photos. The image reminds me of a similar one I made in ZACKENBERG in 2009 ;) ...
Nikon D300, 70-200/2.8, TC-17EII, 340mm, f/7.1, 1/2500 s, ISO 400
The lighting is not that great and it is a bit fuzzy (but so is Nicklen's - I was using the 70-200/2.8 with the TC-17EII a combination I cannot recommend). I have taken hundreds of photos of musk oxen since but have not had them in this exact same defensive formation again. Perhaps I will get a chance this season where I am supposed to spend 3.5 month amongst them and we will actually try to catch 14 to provide them with GPS collars.
Here is a panorama with a stich of images taken with Nikon D700 and a 50/1.4
