HEADING NORTH
Discovery of the Arctic Circle
First time in the Arctic Circle
In November 2022 , I said goodbye to Iggy & Dante a second time and left again, this time heading towards the Norwegian Arctic, to the fjords of Nesseby (Finnmark).
My goal: To learn mushing (dog sledding) from David Godin, a French expatriate living alone with his 30 dogs.
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First wintering
And in October 2024, the three of us set off for Swedish Lapland, again to work with a musher , before crossing Sweden on foot with the arrival of spring.
This adventure will be developed in the Across Sweden section.
One year later
It was in November 2023 that I returned to David's place in the Far North, still with the aim of learning mushing and exploring.
Having come with better equipment this time, I also wanted to continue filming my movie and take more beautiful pictures of the Northern Lights.
FIRST STEPS
2022
My first stay in the Arctic lasted three weeks, during which I worked with sled dogs, explored the fjords and discovered the polar lands.
Dans un besoin de frugalité, je vivais dans ce qu'il restait d'un ancien chalet, sans électricité ni eau courante.
DEPARTURE FOR THE NORTH
My first real trip
Having never had the opportunity to see anything other than my family in Tunisia or Provence, I headed straight to the Far North, taking my first solo flight.
Having arrived at Kirkenes airport in the Norwegian Arctic, I arrived at David's place after a 3-hour bus ride and a 2-hour walk.
This time there was no expedition, simply a discovery, a learning experience. David gave me a roof over my head and initiated me into his discipline in exchange for my labor.
I spent three weeks in the attic of a cottage near the 30 dogs I was going to take care of, heating my home with wood and fetching my water from the river.
My cabin, by the way, I shared it with Bernard. Having set off by bike at 71 years old from Nîmes towards the North Cape, he was wintering at David's place while waiting for his return.
Every day before going to sleep, my daily ritual was to keep a journal. Besides the idea of noting the facts, I primarily wanted to capture my emotions as they unfolded.
LIFE IN THE KENNEL
30 sled dogs
These 29 sled dogs, at the end of the polar autumn, would soon don their winter coats to prepare for the arrival of winter and its harsh conditions.
Picking up dog droppings, preparing meals, and clearing the surrounding area—a little routine was settling in. My goal behind this apprenticeship is to learn more about mushing so that one day I can lead a polar expedition.
The ice and snow, still new to me, were just a taste of what a real winter in the polar environment would be like.
In the morning, I would collect the droppings and immediately go and cut up the meat for David's dogs' two daily meals.
Too little ice for sledding training, I focused on learning the basics and wanted to explore the fjord.
As soon as the dogs were fed and the kennel was clean, I would take my bag and go explore the surroundings, curious to see what this world had to offer.
ON THE FJORD
Wanderings on Nesseby
Always on the lookout for any free time to explore the surroundings, my bag and camera were constantly ready to go and discover these fjords, shores that form the veins of the Scandinavian coasts.
As I approached the fjord, the first thing that caught my eye was the church of Nesseby, isolated on its small peninsula.
Walking along the shore towards it, the church of Nesseby seemed to come straight out of a fairy tale, so sublime was the atmosphere.
Still open to the public before the arrival of winter, its entirely wooden construction and colours testified to a curious mixture of Christianity and Scandinavian folklore.
Upon arriving in this fjord, I never expected to find a sei whale skull or see a solitary male orca in the distance.
Winter was taking its time freezing the coast, so we alternated between mild sunshine at 2°C and temperatures approaching -10°C.
Despite the solitude reigning over the fjord, I had made friends in the port of Nesseby. In particular, Joachim, a fisherman my age, who took me on a boat trip in search of cetaceans.
Born in the desert and raised by the sea, I first explored the maritime side of Nesseby before venturing into its hinterland, where the lakes were freezing a little more each day.
Not a day went by without this atmosphere captivating me with its magic, and I was not yet at my first dawns.
FIRST NORTHERN LIGHTS
Nighttime gusts
Having named the documentary project Nordlys, which means Northern Lights in Norwegian, I was eagerly awaiting the chance to see this phenomenon that I had heard so much about.
Still under-equipped and inexperienced in night photography, this was an opportunity for me to learn by doing.
Although the first things I was told about were the lights and the color of this phenomenon, it was its movement that seduced and hypnotized me.
And this movement, this boreal dance, was what made it most difficult to photograph this nocturnal phenomenon, requiring a long, static exposure photograph.
Faced with a veritable fireworks display of auroras that appeared on the last day of this expedition, I promised myself I would return to recapture images of this boreal dance.
UN AN PLUS TARD
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2023
I wanted to feel that cold again, to look at that ice, to see those auroras dance, to glide down those fjords on a sled.
A year later, my equipment had completely changed, as had the rest of the Nesseby lands where I planned to return.
BACK TO NESSEBY
Time and material gap
In November 2023 , I returned to David's to continue my learning, this time with much better equipment for photographing and filming these Arctic lands.
While I thought I would see the same landscapes again, a year later in the same month, the entire region had completely changed, now covered with a thick layer of ice.
From the moment the plane landed in Kirkenes, I recognized nothing of what I had seen a year earlier.
Back at the kennel, there were only shades of brilliant white, contrasting with the little sunlight that remained before the Polar Night.
This time truly alone, I was back in this attic which had become my little home for a month.
Fetching my water from the river, chopping my wood to heat my home and preparing the dogs' meals, my routine was back.
Still busy working with the sled dogs, I flew a drone over the area to get an idea of the scale of the change in scenery. But before exploring, the training sessions finally began.
WINTER & DOGS
The start of training
In order to train sled dogs, a layer of ice must form on the ground before another layer of snow covers it to insulate it, while being thick enough once compacted to plant its snow anchor and brake safely.
With winter being particularly cold this year, conditions were ideal for a series of regular training sessions.
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While waiting for a little more snow, we set off in this motorless cart pulled by a dozen dogs.
The daily training sessions provided an opportunity to learn to sled with David, but also to explore the surrounding area.
Each dog had its pre-defined position on the team according to its abilities, such as Tarzan at the front to guide the line (1st photo) and Djam at the rear for his strength (4th photo).
