Svalbard. 78°N. June 2026.
Polar bears. Blue light. Frozen fjords. Ten guests. The ship I've called home for thirteen years.
The first time I stepped off the plane in Longyearbyen it felt like walking into a movie. Something about the light, the silence, the scale of it. That feeling never left. I have been hosting trips up here since 2013, only missing 2020 for Covid, and I get as much satisfaction, peace of mind, and as many extraordinary experiences and images now as I did that very first time. Svalbard does that. It doesn't get ordinary. The small boat isn't just a photography platform. It's total immersion into one of the wildest and most remote places on earth. Ten guests. No crowds. Just the ice, the light, and whatever the Arctic decides to show up with that day.
See How It Went, Join Me in 2027
See the Journey on Wild Eye
How the Wild Eye Expedition Unfolded
The trip is done. I shared live updates using my Garmin inReach Mini 3 Plus, the same setup I used for Greenland, from 14 to 26 June, and the map below shows our full route. Click any icon for updates and images from the field.
This is what following along looked like. Every icon is a real update from the ice.
I am going back in 2027. If you want to be on the ice with me, let's talk.
Light. Ice. Wildlife.
Arctic summer light. 24 hours of it. What this place demands from you as a photographer and what it gives back.
And this is barely scratching the surface of what's photographically possible up here. Check the map above for a full idea of the experience, and both Andrew and I will be sharing more images from this white wonderland soon.
Why I Keep Coming Back
It's way more than polar bears. More than wildlife. More even than the remarkable people this place seems to attract. Svalbard does something to you that's harder to name. You stand on the deck and watch the icy world slide past and something in you goes quiet. Internal. Most of my guests feel it. I always feel it. A kind of perspective that doesn't come easily anywhere else.
The photography runs 24 hours a day because the sun never sets. You can photograph at 2am and the light is extraordinary. But that's almost a bonus. What got me from day one was the history, the ecosystem, the wildlife, the sheer fragility of this white world at the top of the earth. It got into me and would not let go. It just felt right. Like I was supposed to be there. That pull is part of what eventually led me to cross the Greenland ice cap. It started here.
Every time I come back, which has been every year since 2013, it still feels like the first time. If you want more than a standard photographic safari, if you want to come back changed rather than just with a full hard drive, this is the trip. The 2027 expedition is taking shape now and enquiries are open.
The M/S Stockholm
Built in 1953. Twelve passengers. Brass fittings, wooden decks, a Swedish crew who know these waters better than anyone alive. I've been aboard her thirteen times. She feels like home, and that's not marketing. It's just true.
The moment you step on board, you know there's something real about this vessel. It's in the walls, in the woodwork, in the way sound and light move through her. You feel how special she is almost immediately. Christian, Beau and I have been hosting expeditions on the Stockholm together as a team for the last seven to eight years, and walking onto her still feels like coming home. Sharing this incredible ship with Andrew and our guests on this trip was every bit as special as I hoped it would be.
Full ship details at PolarQuest
Meet Your Photographic Expedition Leaders
Gerry van der Walt
Photographic Expedition LeaderSpecialist Photography Guide
Performance Coach
Gerry van der Walt is a performance coach, keynote speaker, expedition leader, and wildlife photographer who has spent 25 years working in some of the world's most demanding environments. He co-founded Wild Eye, completed an unsupported crossing of the Greenland Ice Sheet in May 2026, and has hosted expeditions in the Arctic for over a decade. He doesn't separate the hard things he does from the work he teaches. The ice, the bush, and the coaching room are all the same conversation.
Andrew Beck
Photographic Expedition LeaderSpecialist Photography Guide
Co-founder and MD of Wild Eye
Andrew is one of the founding members of Wild Eye, holds an MSc in Environment, Ecology and Conservation, and has spent close to two decades leading expeditions across South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, the Congo, and the Arctic. He works at the intersection of field guiding, conservation, and wildlife photography, and the depth he brings to each goes well beyond what most photographers ever encounter in the field. He doesn't just teach you how to take better images. He changes how you see the world you're standing in.
From the Field
Here are a few blog posts and videos you might find of value or interesting.
Read more photography and travel content on the Wild Eye blog
Join Us in 2027
2 to 13 May 2027. Ten guests. The same ship. Early May is Svalbard at its most wintry, with deep snow, sea ice still locked in, and that flat, endless Arctic light that photographers dream about. I'll be hosting this one alongside a very good friend, an exceptional photographer and guide, Johan van Zyl. It's shaping up to be a special trip, one for the books. If Svalbard is on your list, this is how I'd suggest doing it.
Full booking and pricing handled through Wild Eye
I am going back to Svalbard in 2027. If you want to be on the ice with me, get in touch.