We are happy to share that our story about arctic foxes in Iceland has been published in the January issue of BBC Wildlife Magazine!
http://www.discoverwildlife.com/issue/january-2012
Later on we will place a pdf of the whole article here:
http://www.haarbergphoto.com/projects/articles_and_book/1

First of all, we wish you a happy 2012!
We wanted to make a memorable start to the New Year, so we packed our sledges on 28 December, walked up on skis to the Dovrefjell mountains, and stayed in our tent until 1 January. Of course we were in the tent only during the nights (which happened to be quite long – 14-15 hours daily), and we spent the days photographing muskoxen or just shiver in the chilly wind sweeping over the mountain tops. We were freezing specially this time, because I packed in a hurry, and our warm bubble jackets were left home in the wardrobe… Huge mistake!
I usually do not catch cold in the field, but this time I got a tickle in my throat already during the first night. Anyway, I had to hold out, because I did not want to let Erlend down, who was really looking forward to this trip. My cold got worse with the days, and by the fourth night, it was difficult to take a breath (what an unforgettable New Year's Eve in the tent, with an outside temperature of -16-18 degrees...)
However, the muskoxen did not disappoint us. A large herd of approx. 40 individuals were grazing just a few hundred meters from our tent, so we did not have to climb much to approach them during the first days. Later they moved to higher elevation, which was just as great, because we warmed up a little while following them. The wind became strong for periods, carrying snow and thus creating a tough wintry atmosphere.
The last day started with snowing and sudden squalls, which soon turned into a quiet day, with low-lying clouds rolling over the majestic mountains. We walked around, but could not spot the animals in the thick fog, so we took down the tent, and came home to “recover” before we would set out for a long trip in the unique winter Norway!

Nature’s Best Photography Awards is one of the largest international nature photography competitions in the world, and this year three of my photographs were selected as Highly Honoured images in this contest (more than 21.000 pictures were sent in, of which 126 were awarded). From Scandinavia, our friend Lars Andreas Dybvik, and fellow photographers Arnfinn Johansen, Kjetil Schjoelberg and Hans Strand won Highly Honoured awards in the same competition. Congratulations to all three of them! :-)))
Orsolya HaarbergA handful of grapes (air-bubbles frozen under ice) - Highly Honoured in the category "Art in nature"
Fighting arctic foxes - Highly Honoured in the category "Wildlife"
Hverfjall, Iceland - Highly Honoured in the category "Landscapes"