Jussi Grznar captured this moment in the middle of Pemberton backcountry after a 40-mile snowmobile ride with Andrew Burns and the rest of the crew. This was Andrew’s first descent on this glacier. As he jumped off the 50ft drop the avalanche caught up with him. Even though completely blinded with snow Andrew rode away safely at the bottom. To see more of Grznar’s work click here.

Since 2002, Robert B. Haas has focused exclusively on aerial photography in a quest to capture the grandeur of all Earth’s large landmasses from the air. “Through the Eyes of the Vikings,” released today, is the third book in his collection. Hass, who previously transformed vistas of African and Latin American landscapes and cityscapes, has focused his lens on the regions that transect the Arctic Circle—Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland—which he photographed over a three-year period. This book tells a story about an endangered, raw region whose astonishing beauty is worth preserving for its own sake, and whose precarious fate will impact the entire planet.

Industrial by-products form a swirling palette at a waste-treatment facility on Langøya Island south of Oslo in Norway.

Dark clouds encroach upon the sweeping ice and snow in western Iceland.

A moose and its calf provide intersecting tracks along nearly pristine snow cover south of Inuvik in the Mackenzie River Delta, Canada.

Bay of Bothnia, Sweden. Recycling pools beside a lumber facility near the port city of Karlsborg pock the landscape like shots through tempered glass.

Snowmobile tracks crisscross the surface of a melting pond in Kiruna, Sweden.

A clam digger pokes away in search of supper along Cook Inlet in Clam Gulch, Alaska.

In Alaska, sunlight sparkles along the Neacola River’s banks and its tidal flats.

© All photographs by Yassine Ouhilal

Yassine Ouhilal captures surfer Cheyne Cottrell riding an icy wave amidst the snow-capped mountains of Norway’s Arctic. This shot was taken around 11 PM due to the high latitude and prevailing midnight sun.

Photographer Yassine Ouhilal, known as “Yazzy,” recently traveled to Norway’s Arctic Circle for a surfing expedition feature with Outside magazine. In Norway, Yazzy was also able to shoot for Eddie Bauer, who sponsored the trip. He produced a documentary while traveling that is posted on YouTube, and which has been seen in 200 countries.

Following a custom in surfing culture, Pat Millin named this “spot” Whitmills after he became the first surfer to ride a wave at this location.

Aurora Borealis in Northern Norway.

This memorial for Canadian Folk Artist, Maud Lewis, is made of stainless steel sheets with lights shining from within.

Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajokull, Iceland, photographed from the air.

The dark rocks and vegetation of Iceland’s interior absorb heat, unlike ice and snow, which would normally reflect it back to the atmosphere. This is a contributing factor in the increased global temperatures.

The glacier’s last dance: giant icebergs flow into the lagoon and go out to sea where the action of waves, saltwater, and sun ultimately play the final note.

A bus full of glacier tourists drives off of the Athabasca Glacier, near Jasper, Alberta.

A hiking guide leads a group of tourists on a glacial walk.

Mark Ruddy poses for a portrait on the Athabasca Glacier, near Jasper, Alberta.

Yeseok Seo poses for a portrait on the Athabasca Glacier near Jasper, Alberta.

Ruben Werczberger poses for a portrait on the Athabasca Glacier, near Jasper, Alberta.

Below the images, Makarenko and PDN’s Darren Ching discuss working with miniatures and the inspiration for this project.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ADAM MAKARENKO

Darren Ching: Tell me about your Northern Highways & Rockcuts project. The narrative seems quite grim with a political forthrightness to it.
Adam Makarenko: When I go back to Northern Ontario, Canada, I get the sense that the wilderness is taking over, and that human presence is disappearing. Since mining and logging has dwindled over the past twenty years, animals appear to be coming back in large numbers. In my hometown of Atikokan, the local garbage dump has a healthy population of bald eagles, a large number of ravens, and an abundance of rogue feral cats. It feels like nature is encroaching on the human population more so than ever before. This could be true due to the fact that industry has slowed it’s pace, allowing the animals to come back. This slowly of industry, and the economy is very relevant to what is going on worldwide.

Atikokan has always had a feeling of eeriness for me. The woods have always been thick, dark, and ominous. It feels void of human presence, but alive with nature. I find this frightening, and fascinating at the same time. I feel tied to the land, and akin to it—for better or for worse. I decided to explore this feeling of Northern Ontario in miniature form. I wanted to evoke these feelings of the lack of human presence in an extreme environment with sharp jagged rock cuts, and wild animals. I wanted to explore the idea of industries like forestry, and mining coming to a halt—standing alone in the solitude, and fog.

Descent on Carcass is a miniature set I made in November 2008, where ravens descend on the carcass of an animal. On my way home in December 2008, while driving down the lonely stretch of highway I came upon that exact same scene. It was like some sort of epiphany unfolding before me. I immediately pulled over, and of course the ravens scattered. The scene was before me like the miniature I had created.

DC: Where is that particular stretch of highway, and what significance does it have for you?
AM: The stretch of highway that I recreated in miniature form is Highway 11/17 in Ontario, Canada

DC: What has been the most challenging project you have worked on?
AM: All the miniature work has been challenging for the most part. I have to constantly figure out how to make everything from forested landscapes to birds. I have to frequently invent techniques, because there is no how to book on making the things I make. I work in the smallest scale possible, because I have limited space, which is a challenge in itself. I am always looking at everyday objects as potential items for miniature projects.

The worst thing that happens is that you put a great deal of effort into making a scene only to find that it doesn’t quite work the way you originally intended. This can be upsetting, but sometimes it can also be surprisingly rewarding. You can get terrible results, and you can get favorable results, but you never really know until a great deal of work has already been done. I often like to sketch a scene on paper first, in a pre-visual, which often helps.

DC: How do ideas for new projects surface for you?
AM: My visual ideas are often influenced by philosophy, science and nature. My ideas for new projects may be influenced from films, photographs, paintings, books, or music. Most of the time though, my ideas come to me out of nowhere—I could just be walking down the street, and an idea will pop into my head.

DC: What’s next for you?
AM: I have a few documentary projects that I would like to do in the future. I would like to take my aesthetics found in some of my miniature work, and apply them to some documentary ideas that I have in mind. I do not want to say at this point what the topics are, but they will definitely be interesting.

More images from Northern Highways and Rockcuts and other projects can be seen on Adam Makarenko’s Web site.