Svalbard – Light, Ice and Arctic Silence
From Longyearbyen, Barentsburg and Ny-Ålesund to Magdalenefjorden, Lilliehöökbreen and Tempelfjorden, this Svalbard gallery follows Arctic fjords, glacier ice, quiet settlements and winter light. The images move between summer voyages and late-winter scenes, shaped by still water, sea ice and the sense of scale that makes Svalbard so distinctive.
Snow-covered ridges at 80 degrees north stretch across the horizon beneath a layered northern sky.
Open water and drifting sea ice meet beneath vast Arctic skies at 80 degrees north.
At 80 degrees north, light falls across a distant mountain wall above dark polar water.
Turquoise water and scattered ice drift past the ship in Magdalenefjorden under a low Arctic sky.
Dark peaks and glacier ice frame the still waters of Magdalenefjorden beneath a pale Arctic sun.
The expedition ship lies still beside glacier ice in Magdalenefjorden, mirrored in calm water.
Glacier ice and steep rock walls enclose a still lagoon, where mountain shapes are repeated in the water.
A Zodiac returns to shore in Magdalenefjorden, with guides, glacier water and the expedition ship backed by sharp Arctic peaks.
The vast front of Lilliehöökbreen stretches across still water, its pale blue ice meeting dark peaks under a heavy sky.
The expedition ship moves through broken ice near Lilliehöökbreen, dwarfed by the scale of the fjord.
A luminous blue iceberg floats in still water, sculpted into sharp ridges and deep frozen hollows.
A fractured blue iceberg floats in still Arctic water, its carved openings and sharp edges shaped by wind, waves and time.
Warm light catches a sharply folded mountainside in Svalbard, highlighting bare rock, colour and texture beneath the Arctic sky.
A simple hut and sea kayaks stand by the shore in Krossfjorden, facing calm water and snow-dusted mountains.
The Lenin statue in Barentsburg remains one of the clearest visual traces of the settlement’s Soviet legacy.
An old mining train in Ny-Ålesund recalls the industrial history behind this remote Arctic outpost.
The small post office in Ny-Ålesund is one of the most recognisable details in this isolated northern settlement.
Old cableway towers above Longyearbyen trace the industrial lines that still shape the landscape.
Longyearbyen spreads across the valley floor beneath broad mountains, showing how small the settlement remains in the High Arctic.
Bright wooden houses in Longyearbyen add warmth and colour to the steep mountain setting.
A Svalbard reindeer moves quietly through Longyearbyen, perfectly adapted to life in the High Arctic.
Winter light over Longyearbyen turns the settlement and surrounding mountains into a calm, luminous Arctic landscape.
Open water meets snow-covered land beneath cloud-veiled mountains in a quiet Arctic winter scene.
Layered cliffs in Tempelfjorden rise above a frozen fjord, their dark bands standing out against the snow.
A snowmobile rests on the frozen fjord in Tempelfjorden, with tracks leading into the wide Arctic silence.
A line of snowmobiles crosses Adventdalen under cold light and a vast Svalbard sky.
The schooner Noorderlicht lies frozen into the ice, a striking reminder of travel and endurance in Svalbard winter.
Photographer Svein Magne Tunli stands on a frozen fjord before a glacier wall during a winter stop in Svalbard.