Polar Regions

Because the Arctic and Antarctic are cold, dark, and remote, we often think these two places are nearly the same. However, they are quite different. One notable difference is that polar bears live only in the Arctic, and penguins live only in the Antarctic.

 Amazing set of cold snaps by award-winning Arctic photographer

An emperor penguin chick is captured in perfect clarity as it jumps off an ice block... or perhaps it was pushed by its cheeky little friends.
This is just one of a set of stunning images from the life's work of award-winning wildlife photographer Sue Flood.
She has spent more than 20 year pursuing of the best wildlife shots - but says the polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctic remain her most special places.
And perhaps the fact that her husband, fellow freelance wildlife photographer Doug Allan, proposed while they were adrift on an Arctic ice floe has also added to the memories. 

Taking the plunge: An emperor penguin chicks jump off an ice block in Cape Washington, Ross Sea, Antarctica

Inspirational: Sue Flood says she is drawn to the polar regions by the isolation and the toughness of the people and animals.  Adelie penguins at Cape Adare, Antarctica

Life in a cold climate: A hunter from Greenland in traditional animal skin clothing, including polar bear trousers; right, an emperor penguin viewed through a hole in an iceberg at Snow Hill Island rookery, Antarctic

The pair travel the world for their wildlife work and Flood has worked on top BBC Nature programmes including Planet Earth and Blue Planet.
She has now put together some of her favourite images in a book.
Miss Flood said  'There are times when I question why I'm so drawn to the Poles - for instance, when camping in -40 degree temperatures, enduring the hardships of macho ice-breaker life or when my eyes won't open because my eyelashes have frozen together.
'But there is something magical about the light, the isolation and the stillness, and something inspirational about how resolute animals and people have to be to survive there.
'Yes, the Poles are cold places but they also warm the heart, as I hope my book and images show.'

Top of the world: The North Pole sign sits in melting ice and meltwater

 

Franz Josef Land, the Russian Arctic Good things come to those who wait: A polar bear waits near a seal hole at the foot of a glacier in

Miss Flood said the book, Cold Places, was  'a record of some of the most spectacular places and memorable animals of the polar regions'.



'I fell in love with the Canadian Arctic on my first BBC filming trip there in 1998 and have since enjoyed more than 30 trips to the polar regions – working on documentaries and feature films, guiding private individuals and on expedition ships voyaging to the North Pole and south to the Antarctic Peninsula, Ross and Weddell Seas and sub-Antarctic islands.'
I’ve had some great adventures in the polar regions, including camping on the floe edge with Inuit hunters in the Canadian high-Arctic, watching polar bears hunting, diving with leopard seals in the Antarctic, working on Russian icebreakers and sailing across the Drake Passage on a very small yacht.
'I’m passionate about what I do, and I hope that this comes across in my images so that people will be inspired to want to protect the wildlife and ecosystems I’ve been fortunate enough to photograph.'

Sight seeing: A tourist watches Crabeater seals, Weddell Sea, Antarctica