Fjällräven Polar is the adventure of a lifetime, giving ‘ordinary’ people the chance to discover how amazing outdoor life is in the winter. It aims to demonstrate that anyone can experience the Arctic on an expedition, as long as they have the right knowledge and equipment. It is an approximately 300km-long winter adventure across the arctic tundra. And this year’s OPOTY overall winner will be heading to the Arctic on assignment to photograph the expedition!
As the participants steer their dog sleds all the way from Signaldalen, Norway, to the forests around Jukkasjärvi, Swedish Lapland, through some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery in the world, the OPOTY winner will be right there capturing the drama and emotion of the journey.
Fjällräven Polar will take place in April 2017, and the overall winner of Outdoor Photographer of the Year will be going on the journey to photograph – and film if they wish to – the whole event. With exclusive logistics support and travelling by snowmobile as part of the Polar media team, the winner will be able to get themselves into the right position at the right time to capture all the action over the five days.
Conditions can be very challenging at times, even if the weather is usually quite stable in April north of the Arctic Circle. Survival expert Johan Skullman and dog sledding supremo Kenth Fjellborg will be on the expedition to share their knowledge with the participants. Almost all the clothing, food and equipment needed for the expedition are included (you really can travel to Norway with just hand luggage and your camera gear!).
If all goes to plan and the assignment is a success, there will be some very exciting outcomes for the images the overall winner produces during the expedition, and more details of that will be revealed soon. Suffice to say, it will be a significant boost for any photographer’s profile, whether amateur or professional.
Enter now at www.opoty.co.uk
All images © Steve Watkins
Polar video footage courtesy of and copyright of Fjällräven
The competition is now closed