By
Ben Lybarger
If
sleeping in shifts on the windswept polar ice cap, swaddled in
perpetual daylight and swapping a high-powered rifle with your spouse
every couple hours to fend off bears sounds remarkably unlike your
idea of wedded bliss, then you probably have little in common with
Florian Schulz and his wife, Emil. Having mounted an impressive list
of awards and accolades, this world-renowned German native has carved
out a niche for himself by mixing his passion for photography with
his love for nature and wildlife, a love that takes him anywhere from
the cloud forest of Chiapas to the frozen tundra of the arctic. His
first book, Yellowstone
to Yukon: Freedom to Roam,
mixed his stunning images with essays by biologists and
conservationists, seeking not only to inspire wonder and evoke an
emotional connection to the natural world, but also to educate and
hopefully improve our relationship to the dwindling habitats and
threatened species that our lifestyles impact. For his latest
project, Schulz teamed up with MacGillivray Freeman Films to produce
a beautiful companion book for their IMAX film, TO THE
ARCTIC. Much more than a mere
cinematic memento, however, this book captures a formidable array of
breathtaking photos that offer an intimate glimpse into the harsh
environments of the far north. I was able to sit down with Florian
before his talk at the Great Lakes Science Center prior to a
screening of TO THE ARCTIC
on April 19th.
