'On The Land' in the High Arctic

from the Ray I. Doan Photographic Collection

Beautiful Places | Wildlife Photography | Home-What's New | Site Map

Roger pulling a sled on Banks Island.

Chapter 5

In the morning I was impressed, because I and Roger left right at 9AM. Roger was pulling two large sleds, with seemingly no effect on his speed. He had taken the front cowlings off the skidoos, so they wouldn't overheat in the balmy spring weather. The windshield is attached to the cowling so the skidoos also didn't have a windshield, and weren't very photogenic in appearance. The day before Roger told me we would travel 50 or 60 miles, to get to the Musk Ox. However, as we were getting ready to leave in the morning, he told me we'd probably have to go further. So, it was the same old story, when you get to the end of the world, the good place is still way off.

The sun was shining, the temperature was -5° C, there was snow on the tundra and there was not much wind. It's was an absolutely gorgeous Arctic day. Roger was pointing out Musk Ox to me, that I couldn't make out to be anything but tiny tiny dots, on the side of the hills many many miles off. At 11AM I actually get a decent look at my first live, wild Musk Ox, a herd of nine about two miles off. Roger said they were traveling rather than grazing, and we wouldn't be able to get near them, before they ran off. The skidooing was easier on Banks Island, than it was around Tuktoyuktuk, because the tundra was not as bumpy and there was more snow.

At about 1PM Roger spotted a small herd of Musk Ox. He thought we could sneak up on them, and get some pictures. Of course I hadn't seen them, because they were probably ten miles off, but Roger was my guide and the expert, so I said, lets go for it. We drove to the bottom of a larger than average hill, and parked at the bottom. Roger contemplated things and said maybe we could drive closer. But he said, there's the chance they might hear us and get scared off. No, No I said, let's walk and not frighten them away, this is my big moment. That was the last time I would say anything like that. I loaded up. I had my tripod, panoramic camera and two 35mm camera bodies with long lens. We started off.

I soon remembered a lesson I'd forgotten. That was, in Antarctica and the Arctic, things are always further away then they seem. That's because the air is so clear it deceives you on distances. It was further to the top of that hill than it looked, the snow was deeper than it looked, and the hill kept getting steeper, the longer I walked up it. After a couple of rest stops, we were almost at the top. Roger said he would walk up the last little steep incline, and check things out. He came back and said, he had seen one Musk Ox, so they were still there. He didn't want to go any further, so he wouldn't spook them.

We made our way around the side of the hill. I had visions of this nice little herd of Musk Ox, just around the corner, waiting to have their picture taken. What I found, to my dismay, was a mile wide valley, with some low hills on the other side. The Musk Ox were on the other side of those hills. Well, I thought to myself, these great Musk Ox pictures will be worth it. We started off across the valley and finally got to the hills on the other side. I got out my camera gear, and set up everything, ready for quick shooting. We had been walking, for what seemed like half the afternoon, and I still haven't seen one of these Musk Ox, but the moment of truth had arrived.

I popped up over the top of a little hill, ready for action. There were the Musk Ox. The nearest was about 200 yards away, and the rest were spread were out over a quarter mile of tundra. All of them were watching me intently. From that distance the pictures were worthless, but I was there with a camera so I took a few shoots. Then I decided I'd see how close I could approach them. I learned immediately, the closest approach distance was not one step closer. When I picked up my tripod, and took the first step, they all broke into a gallop and disappeared over the hill.

As I was packing up my gear, I was thinking about the three or four mile walk, back to our skidoos, and the dumb decision I made about driving closer. When we finally got back I told Roger, enough of that foolishness, we have to find a better way. He said OK, he had an idea. We started off again. Pretty soon, Roger sighted another herd of Musk Ox, on a far away hillside, which again I can't see. Roger told me he thought he could drive the Musk Ox down to me in the valley, instead of trying to sneak up on them. Since it doesn't involve me walking, it sounded good to me.

We drove closer and Roger unhooked both sleds, so he could maneuver better. I was to wait down in the valley, while Roger herded the Musk Ox toward me. Roger headed off and I saw him flying across a hillside, toward the Musk Ox. Unfortunately they heard him coming, and were in full gallop, well before he was in position to effectively herd them. There were eight Musk Ox, and they were running in six different directions. None of the directions were toward me. So, now we knew two ways that would not work for taking pictures of wild Musk Ox.

It was now apparent to me, that part of the problem with Musk Ox photography was, there was absolutely no way to sneak up on them, on the completely open barren tundra. The other half of the problem was, the Eskimos hunt the Musk Ox, so they are understandably extremely wary of people. Over at Tuk Gus told me the Eskimos eat, meaning shoot, all the wildlife on the tundra except mice and lemmings. I learned Arctic wildlife isn't the same as Africa, where many of the animals almost ignore people. In the Arctic the animals first instinct is to flee, rather than pose for photographers.

When Roger got back, he told me there was a lone Musk Ox, down in the valley. He said it hadn't run off, even with all the commotion. He thought maybe with each of us on a skidoo, we might be able to corner him enough to get some pictures. It was obvious I was not going to be able to use my giant 500mm lens on a tripod. I decide to try hand holding the 300mm lens using ASA 400 film. There was only a tiny storage compartment on the skidoo and it was filled with spare parts. So, the only camera equipment I could take was what I could wear around my neck and carry in my pockets. We take off in formation ready to swoop down on our prey. Our prey however was in full gallop before we even got close.

He ran for miles. Roger is on one side and I'm on the other. Luckily it was pretty smooth going and I could drive faster than the Musk Ox, but not a lot faster. I couldn't run rings around him or anything like that. Finally he stopped, looked at us for a moment and then turned around and galloped back the way he'd just came. On the return trip he only ran about a mile until he stopped and reversed course again. We played this game for a while as his galloping stretches got shorter and shorter. He had never stopped long enough for me to get stopped and take his picture.

He finally decided he couldn't outrun us, so he charged Roger. Roger zoomed out of his way, but you could tell this was one thoroughly angry Musk Ox. He pawed the tundra with one hoof, and he dug through the snow with his horns. Once he was stopped, I started taking pictures. I'd take a few shots and then move a little closer. I was always sitting on the skidoo and I'd keep one hand on hand on the throttle, so I could move in a hurry, in case he decided to charge. After I'd shot a roll we moved off and let him gallop away.

Roger told me that a lone Musk Ox is almost always an old bull, that has been kicked out of the herd by younger rivals. He said the lone bulls all seem to have a nasty disposition. We went back and picked up the sleds and started off again. After a ways we spotted two Musk Ox, down in the valley. We decided to try our dual roundup technique again and set off after them. They left together at a gallop but shortly split apart, so we picked one and got it stopped in much less time than our first attempt. I took two rolls of this animal and then told Roger, that was my quota of single Musk Ox. I told him I now needed a group of Musk Ox, that would form up in their defensive circle.

Roger getting ice from a lake to melt for drinking water.

It was late afternoon and Roger said it was time to setup camp. He prepared a dinner of steak, mixed vegetables and rice, all cooked on a Coleman gas stove. After dinner we then set off to explore the territory up ahead of us, it was 8PM. We left one sled at camp and Roger pulled the second one with emergency supplies and gasoline. After about ten miles, we came to a large valley, where we could see Musk Ox scattered all across the entire far end of the valley. I thought to myself, this is where I get my Musk Ox in a circle picture.

Roger would be leaving the sled behind, on our high speed photo run. I would have to carry all the camera equipment I needed with me on the skidoo. I carried a camera around my neck with a 300mm lens and my 80-200mm zoom in one pocket and another pocket full of ASA 400 film. I also wanted to take my big Fuji 6x17 Panorama camera. All skidoos have an open storage rack at the back that is the right size for a five gallon Jerry can of gasoline. Roger removed my spare gas can and strapped in my Fuji Case. It wasn't easy to get at but it was a lot closer than the sled which might be five mile away. My tripod stayed in the sled, so everything I'd be shooting would be hand held.

NEXT - Chapter 6 BACK - Chapter 4

Note Cards | The Art Show Scene | Frequently Asked Questions | Cameras Ray Uses | Educational Use of Photos

This page was last updated: March 15, 2008