Polar Photographer Shares His View Of A Ferocious But Fragile Ecosystem

"Conservation photographer Paul Nicklen has spent more than two decades documenting the ice and wildlife in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth — the Arctic and the Antarctic."

"It's a risky business: Nicklen often finds himself immersed in frigid waters, just a camera's length away from deadly predators. Once, in Antarctica, he came face-to-face with a 1,000-pound leopard seal: 'She opened up her mouth and her head is twice as big as a grizzly bear, and I am starring down her throat,' he says."

"Nicklen adds that his utmost concern is for the well-being of the animals he encounters. 'I want to get close, but I also never want to harass an animal,' he says. 'What you learn about these animals is how communicative they are, how intelligent they are, how social they are, how forgiving they are.'"