Category Archives: Arctic

Photo of the Month – March: Arctic Lava

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We call this image “Arctic Lava”. It was early May few years back, and the midnight sun was hovering above a 5000 yr old lava flow in western Iceland, less than one hundred miles from the Arctic Circle. We were in the region working in partnership with Iceland Tourism, exploring opportunities for backcountry skiing and adventure tourism, while investigating the development of a future national park on the Hornstrandir Peninsula – a place that could some day become Iceland and Europe’s largest protected wild area.

Camera Info: Canon 5D, 200mm, ISO 160, 1/125, f5.6

If you are interested in a print of the image above or any images within our growing selection of fine-art photography, please contact us or take a look at our Print Pricing page, for more info. Thanks!

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SKI’s 2011 Best Photos of the Year

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One of our images – captured while skiing along Iceland’s southern coast and in view of the mighty Vatnajokull glacier – was recently selected as one of SKI Magazine’s 2011 Best Photos of the Year. You can take a peek at the image online here and below. What a sweet day of skiing that was above the wild north Atlantic!

If you are interested in a print of the image(s) within this post or within our growing selection of fine-art photography, please contact us or take a look at our Print Gallery or Print Pricing pages, for more ideas and info. Thanks!

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Our Photo, "Ski to Sea", Wins an Award

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We were honored last week to receive the grand-prize Juror’s Choice Award for the submission of our image, “Ski to Sea“, to the latest juried photography exhibit at the Vermont Photo Space in Essex Junction, VT. Jurors Corey Rich and Justin Gural also selected two other images of ours (see below) for display at the exhibit, which will be open through Nov. 4, 2011. Also, check out this post about the exhibit on VentureThere.com – a site that Justin edits.

We captured “Ski to Sea” a few years ago during a month-long, self-guided backcountry skiing adventure through the wilds of western Iceland. We were immersed in Iceland’s Westfjords region, skiing from the heights of the remote Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, and en route to our floating basecamp, Aurora, on the ocean waters below. The skier is our friend, Ken Lucas, from Hood River, Oregon. The Aurora is a 60′ sloop that is owned and operated by our friends Siggi and Runar of Iceland’s Borea Adventures. Their boat is available throughout the spring and summer as a wind-powered basecamp for skiers, hikers, paddlers and nature lovers interested in exploring Iceland’s Westfjords, East Greenland and beyond. We spent several days sailing and skiing with them before continuing on to explore Iceland’s abundance of unskied mountains – on assignment for several outdoor and skiing publications and working in partnership with Iceland’s Westfjords Tourism office. It was our fourth trip to the region.

The Vermont Photo Space is a relatively new exhibit space for the greater Burlington, VT area, and owner Ken Signorello is pouring some great energy into a monthly rotation of exhibits showcasing an impressive variety of photography from Vermont and beyond. The current exhibit featuring our images, Natural Playground, will be open through Friday, Nov. 4, 2011. Viewers can cast votes for a People’s Choice award either at the gallery or online HERE.

**Most of our images are available as fine-art photographic prints in a variety of sizes and formats. Please contact us or take a look at our Print Pricing page, for more info. We greatly appreciate your interest in our work. Thanks for checking out our blog, too! – Brian and Emily
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“Midnight Ski Camp”

“Iceland Fissure”

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NEW Blog Feature: Photo of the Month – Pedal Powered Skiing

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It was just a year ago this month that we were deep into a month-long, pedal-powered backcountry skiing adventure through Arctic Norway. (You can check out one of our published stories about the trip here, or a few posts on our skiing website, here.)

We captured this image around 10:30pm in the middle of May, during what was supposed to be a rest day – just as the sun was beginning its 3-4 hour journey across the horizon. At 9pm, just before crawling into our tents for the “night”, a change in the weather inspired us to pack up camp and pedal out to the end of a mountainous peninsula where we would have unobstructed views of the midnight sun to the north for several days. By 12:30am, we were high above our seashore camp, enjoying our first of several runs under the beautiful light of the midnight sun. It wasn’t until shortly after 5am that we skied back to camp. So much for a rest day!

Thanks again to friends David Alpin Skirnisson & family, Per Arneberg, Jimmy Halvardsson, Kaj Sønnichsen, Forrest Twombly, Tom Hite, Alf & Gunnar, Asbjorn, Ulf, Tore & Anna and many others who helped to make this adventure such a unforgettable experience.

Camera Info: Canon 5d, 17mm, ISO 320, 1/200, f7.1

Our Slideshow Series Wraps Up w/ March 31 Show

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Our last scheduled slideshow of the season is coming up this Thursday, March 31 at 7pm at the historic Inn at Long Trail along Rt. 4 b/w Killington and Pico, Vermont. At the end of this show, we will do a final drawing on the four pairs of skis for which tickets have been drawn throughout the season. We will announce winners at the show, and ship the skis to any winners not present.

Thanks to everyone who has supported and turned out to our slideshows this winter season. What a winter it has been!
-Brian and Emily

Cover/Feature Story in WEND Magazine

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In the latest winter issue, WEND Magazine has just published a feature story about our pedal-powered skiing adventures in Arctic Norway last spring. WEND also chose one of our images for the cover and ran another image as a 2-page spread and opener to the issue. Look out for WEND Magazine at larger bookstores, some outdoor stores, especially in the western US. You can take a sneak peek at the story HERE. Check back soon for a downloadable PDF version of the story here, too.

Thanks! – Brian

As the Snow Flies…Our Slideshow Season Kicks Off!

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Our annual Wild People, Wild Places Slideshow Series kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 4 at The Mountain Goat in Hanover, NH (home of Dartmouth College), with our latest show: 2 Wheels, 2 Planks: Pedal-Powered Skiing in Arctic Norway. The show features our adventures in Arctic Norway this past spring, 2010, which were reported on through a series of posts on AdventureSkier, here.

The schedule for the season is coming together now, and will feature at least 10 shows throughout the northeast. Once again, we’ve got some great raffle prizes this year, including 2 pairs of BD skis, a TripleMajor Ski Pass (Mad River Glen, Bolton, Jay Peak), apparel from OR, gear from Garmont and Life Link, and much more… See poster below, and more info/press release below that… Pass it on. And feel free to contact us if you’d like to host a show in your area. Thanks!
– Brian and Emily

Wild People, Wild Places 2010-11
SHOW# 1: 2 WHEELS, 2 PLANKS – Pedal Powered Skiing in Arctic Norway
A multi-media show by Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson
WHEN: Thursday, Nov 4, 2010 @ 7pm
WHERE: The Mountain Goat (outdoor store) – Main St in Hanover, NH
COST: $5 Admission (On sale now at the Mountain Goat) Includes RAFFLE Ticket
INFO: info(at)emberphoto.com

Hanover, NH – On Thurs,Nov. 4 at 7pm, Vermont-based photographers and adventurers Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson will bring their latest show, “Two Wheels, Two Planks – Pedal Powered Skiing in Arctic Norway” to The Mountain Goat on Main St. in Hanover, NH. The show features the couple’s recent bike-powered skiing exploration of Norway’s Arctic Alps, and will benefit Girls Move Mountains. It is part of the duo’s ongoing Wild People, Wild Place Slideshow Series, which features ten shows throughout the upcoming winter season.

“We dreamt of a bike-powered skiing adventure for many years, “ says Johnson, who along with her husband, Mohr, and two close friends, headed to Norway this past spring on assignment for WEND and Adventure Cyclist magazines. “And it was a dream come true. The combination of cycling, camping and backcountry skiing gave us great freedom to explore.”

The show will feature a mix of photos and video, run approximately one hour and be followed by big raffle of outdoor gear – proceeds from which will benefit the VT-based organization, Girls Move Mountains, which nurtures girls’ innate capacity for confidence, courage, and leadership through adventure-based experiential education.. Admission is $5 and includes one raffle ticket. Mohr and Johnson co-own Ember Photography (www.EmberPhoto.com) and are regular contributors to Backcountry Magazine, Patagonia, Vermont Life and many others. Much of their work focuses on the enjoyment and protection of wild lands in the northeast, the Arctic and in the southern Andes.

ABOUT: The Wild People, Wild Places project is an ongoing series of exhibits and slideshows designed to inspire the public to enjoy and protect the very places featured. Through their shows, Brian Mohr and Emily Johnson share stories and images from their backcountry skiing, paddling, backpacking and adventure cycling throughout the Northeast, the Arctic, the southern Andes, Europe and North America. Mohr and Johnson photograph for a wide variety of editorial, fine art, wedding and commercial clients. Their work is widely published. For more information, please contact the photographers by phone or email, or visit their websites: www.emberphoto.com and www.adventureskier.com
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Back from Norway – Seeing the Stars Again

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5/27 UPDATE: See a sneak peek at our images from Norway at our skiing website, AdventureSkier.com, HERE.

We are just back from a very successful month-long, pedal-powered backcountry skiing adventure through northern Norway’s Arctic Alps – a region well above the Arctic Circle, at approx 70 degrees north latitude. The photo here features one of the four “ski bikes” pedalled by our very fortunate crew of four – Emily and I, and our Vermont friends Forrest Twombly and Thomas Hite. Stay tuned for some photos from the trip soon, and if you haven’t been following our updates from the trip on our skiing website, www.AdventureSkier.com, check them out here.

We enjoyed a tremendous variety of weather and snow conditions in Norway, with blizzard conditions early in the trip giving way to 20 days of dry, sunny weather. The mountains were strikingly beautiful, presenting us with unlimited daily opportunities to explore their many treasures before ultimately skiing back to our seashore camps below. Best of all, the Norwegians welcomed us with open hearts and warm generosity – curious about and inspired by our human-powered approach to adventure in their local mountains.

Having spent the last month living outside under the 24 hour daylight of the Arctic sun, it was a true gift to see the skies filled with stars again upon returning to Vermont last night. And then to wake to a lush and colorful Vermont springing to life under the warm morning sun… What a world!

Stay tuned for a peek at our photos from Norway. And have a great weekend.

-Brian

Pedal-Powered Skiing: Norway Bound

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(In the shed: Prepping the skis and bikes)

We’re making preparations for a month-long adventure, starting April 22, through Norway’s Arctic Alps. We’ll be working on assignment for WEND Magazine, Adventure Cyclist and others, and partnering with a long list of folks in the skiing and cycling worlds to document and share this adventure with others – through the outdoor media and our own Wild People, Wild Places Slideshow Series. Please look for our posts about the adventure at our skiing website, AdventureSkier.com.

Stay tuned for more!

-Brian and Emily