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Dan Cox was terrific! He freely shared his vast knowledge of nature, travel, and portrait photography and enlightened all of us with his very current knowledge of Lightshop 2. Dan took the time to work on technique and photographic skills with each of us on a very personal skills level. Just watching what he took pictures of, where he stood, hearing why he did what he did was all very helpful. And it was quite gratifying and reassuring when, at times, Dan took pictures of the same subjects that we had taken and instructive to see the small but important nuances and tweaks that separated the quality and impact of our photos from his (and from each others’). Our daily group sessions where we compared and critiqued our work were both humbling and inspiring – and it constantly amazed me that each of us had found subjects and views that others had missed. We each often asked, “Did he/she go to the same place I did today?” (even though at times we shot photos only a few feet away from each other). Among the many important lessons I learned from Dan was how light a pro can travel – and HOW a pro CAN travel “light.” A wide angle (10-20) lens and the superb Nikon 16-200 were Dan’s main tools on two Nikon D-300 bodies. Another of Dan’s “tricks” when we were hiking was to carry gear in a vest which he wore almost every day. He used to incredible effectiveness a small wireless flash in conjunction with the pop-up flash on his camera.

Expect to see (and hear) LOTs of sled dogs. Just like the people, we saw many different faces and physical types. Ice structures included great bridges of ice, floating bergs the size of small cities (no wonder the Titanic sunk!), pools of blue stamped into the ice like bat wings, patterned rippled ridges, and vast glaciers so high they seemed to push up the clouds. (Check out http://www.unseenimages.com) Wonderful faces – the Danish mix with the Inuit results in everything from really dark to really light skinned textures.

We started in Kangerlussauq which was the site of a major U.S. airbase, Tule, in the Second World War and where the U.S. still has a small presence. Quite noticeable from a mountain top was a bridge through which the melting glaciers were thrusting water at a raging rate. We then transferred by PolarCirkelBoats (hard bottomed rubber boats) to the FRAM anchored in a fjord, and began our adventure. From there we went to Qequertarsauq (good harbor) and toured Disco Island where Red River and the Valley of the Winds waited. Many of us never left the colorful town (all the houses are painted very bright shades of yellow, red, orange, blue, and green) with friendly people and dogs resting for the summer until waiting for their winter chores. Next was Uummaannaq where we shot many views of houses dwarfed by icebergs in the background. We then went to Ukkusissat, a very small settlement with (yet more) spectacular scenes. The following day, at Ilulissat (a town of over 4,000 people) we went to the ice fjord by helicopter. Even though the day was dreary (where was the ubiquitous bright sun when we really needed it?), the view from the copter (one big double bladed monster) was breathtaking. Even better was the afternoon when the sun came out and we toured the same area from a small boat. This was probably the day when we shot more pictures than any other. What I found particularly amazing was the incredible differences in the spikes and curves - heights and valleys of the glaciers. The following day after touring Sisimiut (a really really big city for Greenland – around 6,000 – the second largest in the country) we went to Assaqutaq, an abandoned village that afforded a view of what life was really like prior to the move by the Danish Government of most of Greenland’s population from sparse settlements to towns and cities. The next day we arrived at the place where the fiord goes on forever, Evighedsfjorden (the eternal fiord). It’s well named. Here, we got up close and personal in our Polar Cirkelboats to the rapidly melting glaciers which rose what appeared to be about 600 feet high. Our final day of photography was back in Copenhagen, a stunning city packed with bicycles and beautiful women – and great architecture and parks.

Steve Leimberg