In the Fall of 2012 I had the incredible opportunity to make photographs on an expedition to the Arctic aboard the Russian Research Vessel Academic Sergei Vavilov. Many explorers have been to this part of the world, so it does not feel like a frontier, but more like an area where it is so difficult to survive you wonder why anyone would choose to live there. The tour visited three islands in the North Atlantic: Spitsbergen, Greenland, and Iceland. I was surprised how different the three places were. Although relatively close to each other they are worlds apart. The gulfstream, formally called the North Atlantic Drift, brings warmth and moisture to Iceland and Spitsbergen while avoiding Greenland.