Drone Art at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge: A Bird’s Eye View of the Arctic

4 min read

There's no shortage of opportunities to experience incredible marine and land flora and fauna in the area around Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge from different perspectives. And now, seasoned wildlife photographer and Arctic Watch guide Nansen Weber has given the world an entirely new perspective, thanks to new drone technology.

His video Drone Art: Arctic Wildlife & Landscapes, featured by National Geographic as its “Video of the Week,” provides a bird's eye view of the picturesque Cunningham Inlet area of Somerset Island and its surrounding waters.

Using a drone-mounted camera over a period of four months, Weber captured stunning video of the area and its wildlife, including 100s of beluga whales frolicking in the Cunningham Delta, and a polar bear skirting icebergs on a deep water swim.

This is a trip that will stay with me for the rest of my life. There's something spiritual about the Arctic; something that makes you feel you were meant to have that experience in your lifetime. It's a sense of peace, and you know that all is great with the world. I just wish that everyone on the planet would have a chance to experience that.” - Jeanne Beker, media personality and author

The video guides viewers down the path of a river, mere meters above the water and in the shade of towering, jagged cliffs, before propelling the vantage point sharply upward to see the rolling hills of the tundra above. Massive waterfalls streaming over steep rock walls are captured from bottom to top, thanks to the drone's unique ability to travel vertically.

Weber explained to National Geographic his motivation for creating the piece: "As Canadians, the Arctic is our backyard - one that so few know about; a hidden gem. I believe all Canadians should know more about this unique environment."

A CBC article about the video was shared over 7,000 times in social channels.

Stunning Arctic Wildlife and Landscapes at the Top of the World

"In my fast-paced, ever-changing world, stumbling across an artifact so old would be almost impossible, save for in the glass case of a museum (and even then very rare). The idea that those bones had rested untouched in that exact position for so long was a sharp reminder of how isolated this place was; of how connected it is with the past. Time seems to pass slower in the Arctic, where there are fewer people hurrying it along." - Katie Palmer, in My Arctic Awakening on Somerset Island

Our Arctic Watch partners and founders the Weber family (Nansen, his brother Tessum, and parents Josée Auclair and Order of Canada recipient Richard Weber) welcome guests on an arctic safari above the Arctic Circle to observe musk ox, beluga whales, arctic fox and even the odd migratory polar bear in their natural habitat.

Want to learn more about planning your own adventure at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge?