Back online after a few weeks off the grid in Greenland and Icelandic highlands. Before I left for this trip, I teamed up @inspiredbyiceland for their #kranavatn project. Collectively we are raising awareness about Iceland’s incredible tap water, known here as Kranavatn. By opting to fill up your own bottle with Icelandic tap water instead of buying water at the store, you are helping us to minimise the usage of single use plastic bottles in Iceland, which has surged with the rapid growth in tourism. The water that comes from our taps is some of the purest on earth, sourced through both glacial and ground water that naturally filters down through lava rock over many years before eventually arriving in your bottle. One of the best feelings about getting home is filling up my water bottle, and I encourage you to do the same while you’re here 💧 Skál! #iceland
A local onlooker at the edge of the fast ice in Svalbard. Always an incredible experience to be in the presence of a Polar bear and quietly observe as they roam the Arctic landscape. @visitsvalbard
While approaching an outlet glacier on our zodiac in SW Svalbard, this Walrus appeared from behind an iceberg in the distance. They’re such interesting creatures, diving down to the depths of the fjords to suck up thousands of mussels from the seabed every day. Captured at 500mm & f4.0. #svalbard ↠ #walrus
Waking up to a dark and cloudy day over Greenland’s icefjord will be a disappointing sight for most folks in town. For me, the diffused light that falls through the clouds will produce the absolute best conditions for photography, leading to the most vivid blue ice conditions one could find. Excited to head back to Greenland in a few days, this time to sail around the South. #greenland
Stoked to announce that I’ve launched an Iceland road guide for all of the students in my online photography workshop. To celebrate, @alexstrohl and I are offering the whole course at 45% off and we’ve reopened access to our community forum for all new students for the next five days. For those who haven’t checked out my workshop before, it’s a 5 hour educational video series about finding your own style and aesthetic in the photography industry. Throughout the series, you’ll join me and Alex on six shooting assignments, showing you what gear I use most and heading deep into the post-processing phase to break down my editing techniques. It’s been amazing to hear such positive feedback from our hundreds of students who’ve already taken the course, thanks to all of you! Head to the link in my bio for all the info and to enroll in the course 🤙🏼 #HardmanXStrohl
East Greenland ↠ Sailing Expedition.⁣ There are just two seats remaining on my upcoming Arctic photography workshop with @fursty and @hannes_becker this August. ⁣ Over the course of seven days and living on board a wooden sailing vessel, we’ll be exploring the worlds longest fjord, Scorsbysund in the East of Greenland. We’ll spend our days surrounded by icebergs, towering granite mountains and the resilient Arctic wildlife that live around the fjord.⁣ ⁣ Head to the link in my bio if you’d like to check out the details on how to join us 🤙🏼 #greenland
A glacial pool emerges from the volcanic ash covered surface of Kötlujökull. Exposed sections of ice reveal what lies beneath, a vast outlet glacier that exists in a relentless battle against our changing climate and the giant volcano known as Katla. #iceland
Late winter in the high Arctic. After two days of intense wind and blizzard whiteouts, these Greenland sled dogs in the small settlement of Uummannaq finally woke to calmer weather. With a well deserved feed for the dogs in hand, the sled mushers made their way down to the ice. The dogs quickly picked up on the action and their howls echoed across the fjord, making their presence known to all. #greenland
Approaching cloud level with @localguide high up on a Nunatak, a ridge between two outlet glaciers. Documenting this rarely traversed area with my friend @snorrisv, we reached a small plateau just under the clouds and discovered a huge crack in the mountain, a potential cause for concern in the future. He turned to me at one point and made note that we may have been the first people to ever stand there. That was a pretty special moment. #iceland
Planet perspectives. After my recent project with @bbcearth to showcase otherworldly images from my archives for their new series The Planets, I’m feeling really inspired to continue this theme into the summer months. Living in such a young volcanic country, less than 20 million years old, the landscape of Iceland is filled with scenes that truly make you feel like you’re standing on another planet. Here’s one I captured a few days ago, it’s an aerial view of a volcanic crater row in the Fjallabak region. #iceland
Glacial Layers. Join us this August for a remote sailing expedition and workshop in the East of Greenland. Hosted by @fursty, @hannes_becker and myself, we’ll be exploring one of the worlds largest fjord systems, Scorsbysund. Whilst sailing through the fjord in search of unique Arctic imagery, we’ll be mentoring our five guests on board with our combined knowledge on photographic techniques and how to build your personal brand in the industry. Head to the link in my bio for all of the info and the application page. Stoked for this one 🤘🏼
The Svalbard reindeer. This one appeared from above the snow line, glancing over while digging down to the ground beneath. I captured this one at 300mm, using an aperture of f/2.8 to create some depth where the snow meets the reindeer. It can be quite tricky to shoot in these whiteout situations, though I must admit I’m a huge fan of minimal scenes 🤘🏼 @visitsvalbard
An unforgettable moment at the edge of the fast ice. Two Polar bears had been playing together at the waters edge, a mating couple we soon learned. Leading up to this image, the female had fallen into the water as the ice cracked beneath her, the male soon followed. They were diving down to fetch some kelp from the seabed beneath, and bringing it up to investigate. Soon after, the female bear took an interest in our zodiac, swimming towards us as I captured the scene at 500mm. We swiftly gained some distance, and left them to continue their ways. @visitsvalbard
Standing on the summit of Iceland. Earlier this week alongside @summitexplorers, I climbed to the highest point in Iceland, Hvannadalshnúkur at 2,110m. Whilst our mountains are relatively small in comparison to other countries, getting to the summit requires a 25km round trip climb from just above sea level, navigating around the outlet glaciers that run down to the valley floor. The view from the top is just incredible, giving a visual over the whole of Vatnajökull, the biggest glacier in Europe. We had super nice weather for the climb with clear skies and no wind the whole way to the top. Then right as I started to shoot on the summit, a wall of cloud rolled in, creating a nice dynamic atmosphere in the background. So stoked to have finally made it up there 🤘🏼 #hvannadalshnúkur
East Greenland Workshop ↡ Stoked to announce that this August alongside @fursty and @hannes_becker, we’ll be hosting a seven day sailing expedition to explore the Eastern side of Greenland. Along with five of you, we will be living on board a wooden schooner named Hildur, while spending our days sailing and shooting within Scorsbysund, one of the worlds biggest fjord systems. Really excited for this one as it will a first for most of us to visit this side of Greenland, and I’m delighted to invite you to join us for it. Head to the link in my bio or swipe up in my story for all of the info 🤘🏼
A moment in between. I’ve always found drifting clouds to be a peaceful thing to watch, especially as they interact with the landscape in the high mountains. Looking up at these frozen peaks in Svalbard, I tracked the clouds as they drifted past, waiting for that swift moment where a wall of cloud sat right above the summit. It almost lined up in the end! #svalbard
Midnight light over the mountains of Bellsund. On the first night of my expedition around the archipelago, I spent the evening adjusting to the endless daylight. I couldn’t sleep, so I layered up and spent a few hours just sitting out on the deck of our ship as we drifted through this incredibly still water. @visitsvalbard #svalbard
Days out at sea, a battle against gloomy ocean swells persisted as we pushed towards the East, ice charts in hand. Reaching the fast ice, we were met with a view I remember vividly as a vast and empty abyss of white. No wildlife in sight, it seemed the locals had already ventured North. With our crews morale at its lowest, I couldn’t have imagined what we’d soon experience, for what was coming would be my most profound encounter with a Polar Bear in Svalbard.
Home from the Arctic. Spending time aboard an expedition ship earlier this month, I set out with an amazing team to capture images along the remote coastline of Svalbard. The expedition opened my eyes to the diverse range of resilient wildlife that call this archipelago home, and the threats they face amidst our changing climate. Diving into the post processing phase this week, I’m feeling inspired from what I’ve seen and the shots I’ve created, though quite shocked from the facts I’ve learned along the way. There are so many insights and images to share with you all, but to begin let’s start with a landscape. One day I woke up to see this interesting mountain peak passing by the window in the South West. It’s shaped like this only from one angle, so later in the trip we returned and took some time to stop the ship at this position and appreciate its form and textures up close. #Svalbard | #Arctic
Stoked to be back in Svalbard ❄️ Currently I’m aboard a ship helping to co-guide an expedition around the archipelago. We’ll be following the spring season sea ice and wildlife heading North. I’ll be back online soon with updates!  For now, here’s an Arctic Fox portrait that I captured in Pyramiden last year. #Svalbard | #Arcticfox