The light of Svalbard
by Luigi Balzarini
Departure in August 2016
Region: Arctic
Destinations: Svalbard
Ship: m/v Plancius
Highlights: Shore-Based Walking, Polar Bear, Arctic Skua
The light of the Svalbard Svalbard fascinate and kidnap. Sometimes the violence of natural phenomena limits the possibilities for hiking and sightings, but let a bit of sun appear in the sky and at once dramatically intense landscapes open to the gaze. In Svalbard Islands light is a special and determining element, which remains like a mark into the mind. Sometimes it is a strip of fire between dark blue sea and purple cirrus; sometimes it is the glare of the snow on the cover of clouds; sometimes light creates long shadows in the tundra; sometimes it is a sudden ray of sunlight that pierces cumulus and nimbus. More seldom, it is a hot spring in the sky that pushes you to remain in shirt even if the actual temperature does not exceed 5 °C. The light gives unexpected colors (pink, indigo, orange, emerald green) to natural scenarios, highlighting the stratification of the mountains and the thousand shades between green and blue in the water. When the light is missing, unfortunately, the images flatten and lose contrast, but you have to accept it.
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