Dark dive

By the light of the moon

Audun knew exactly when in autumn the brown trout congregate to spawn in this Arctic river. Struggling with the ice forming on his equipment and his skin, he used flashes beneath the surface and his camera positioned just above to capture this fish hanging in shallow water, bathed in moonlight and the northern lights. After years at sea, this brown trout will have returned to the same river it hatched in order to spawn. Gathering in the shallows in late summer, the trout create nests in the gravel to release their sperm and eggs. They spawn at night, to avoid predators such as eagles, which gather along the river bank at this time.
Dark dive

Raised in a fishing community in northern Norway, Audun has always been fascinated by the Arctic coast’s wildlife. In 2009, he started taking pictures, such as this humpback whale, in the region of Tromsø, where he now lives. As a professor of biology at the University of Tromsø, he brings his fieldwork experience to his photography. He is a recognised wildlife photographer in Norway. In winter, humpbacks linger in the fjords of Norway. As the giant mammals dive, they sometimes, albeit briefly, reveal the unique fingerprint pattern on the underside of their tail. To scientists such as Audun, these patterns of pigmentation and scars are like a name-badge, used to identify individual whales.
The last rays

The low-lying Sun strikes the waves, bursting through as though along a faultline. This light show was accompanied by a symphony of killer whale whistles and songs as one of the pod surfaced for a breath. The day after Audun took this, the polar winter began, and the Sun disappeared altogether for more than two months. Killer whales work co-operatively to hunt herring. They force the fish into tight groups by circling them, flashing their white bellies and emitting a cacophony of clicks and whistles. One whale will then surge into the shoal, performing underwater tail slaps, stunning the herring motionless to be snapped up by the pod.
Splash-time with Buddy

Audun developed a firm friendship with this young male walrus, nicknamed Buddy, who spent several months hanging around the beach outside Tromsø. Audun would often join it in the water to play. ‘I could tell whether it was having fun, teasing me, splashing water at my face and talking to me, or whether it was grumpy,’ he says. Despite their thick, bristly appearance, a walrus’s whiskers are incredibly sensitive. They use them to search for their main prey of clams on the sea floor. After clearing the soft substrate away with their flippers, they suck the clams out of their shells, sometimes consuming thousands in a single sitting.
Deep sleeper

A call from a friend’s son told Audun of a creature bobbing around in a fjord outside Tromsø. Investigating by boat, he found this bearded seal snoozing at the surface, its distinctive whiskers dried into curls in the midnight sunshine. It seemed surprisingly trusting, taking one brief peek at him before nodding off again. Bearded seals commonly sleep head up in the water, floating vertically, a practice known as bottling. Further north this is thought to be a tactic to avoid predation by polar bears. When hauled out on the ice they tend to be wary and remain near the edge, head facing the water ready to escape.
Sea eagle snatch

Having spent many summers as a youngster helping to ring white-tailed eagles, Audun had long wondered how their deadly aerial strikes appear to their prey. To find out, he attached a camera to the sea floor and tethered a floating fish nearby as bait. After three years refining this set-up, Audun finally captured this millisecond moment. When hunting, white-tailed eagles swoop low over the water looking for fish, hovering just for an instant before snatching their find in their talons. Small spikes, called spicules, on the underside of their feet give added grip on the slippery prey.

Photograph Details

Winner 2015

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio Award

Audun Rikardsen, Norway

Technical specification

Image 1: Canon EOS-1D X + Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens; 35 sec at f22 and at f5.6; ISO 640; x2 Canon 600 strobes; home-made underwater housing.
Image 2: Canon EOS-1D X + Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 lens at 70mm; 1/250 sec at f3.5; ISO 2000; x2 Canon 600 flashes; 3200 lumen LED torch.
Image 3: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 16-35 mm f2.8 lens + ND 0.6 graduated filter; 1/200 sec at f6.3, ISO 2000; Aquatech housing.
Image 4: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 8-15mm f4 lens at 15mm; 1/160 sec at f10; ISO 2500; Canon 600 flash; Aquatech housing.
Image 5: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 8-15mm f4 lens; 1/160 sec at f10; ISO 1000; Canon 600 flash; Aquatech housing.
Image 6: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 8-15mm f4 lens at 15mm; 1/2500 sec at f8; ISO 2000; underwater housing + specially designed remote control.

Tromsø, Norway

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Audun Rikardsen, Norway

Audun grew up in northern Norway and has always been fascinated by the Arctic coast. He works full-time as a professor of biology at the University of Tromsø. As a part-time photographer he integrates photography into his fieldwork and uses his images to inspire his students and make his scientific results public.