A seven year old boy, laying on the family room carpet, watching a PBS Nature documentary on Arctic Foxes, dreaming about photographing them one day. That’s when it all began.

Fast forward over 25 years and there I found myself, on a fishing boat in the middle of the Bering Sea, sailing over choppy waters, nearing my decades-long goal. The excitement was so palpable, I could nearly reach out and grab it!

After hours of rolling, gray waves, my destination was finally in sight. Stepping off the boat, I headed inland and was immediately surrounded by yellow and purple flowers, and the sounds of sea birds calling all around me. It was already late, but darkness was still hours off. I was in the land of the midnight sun. I spent the night photographing the many sea birds, constantly on the lookout for the Arctic Foxes I had dreamt about photographing for so long. When it finally came time to retire that night, foxes were on my mind. Decades down, maybe just one more sleep to go!

Darkness doesn’t last long in the land of the midnight sun. Just a few hours later and I was already setting out, backpack, camera and tripod in tow. Fog rolled over the landscape as I wove my way through the terrain, senses alert for signs of these little canids. I had waited over 25 years for this moment and all of a sudden, I felt that I couldn’t wait any longer. Luckily, I think the very rocks, flowers and even the earth around me could feel my urgency and excitement, nature was my ally that morning.

In the distance, there they were, blue and white shapes leaping and playing in the fog! A huge smile appeared on my face, becoming a permanent fixture over the coming days. Emotions flooded into me; gratitude, pure joy and so much more. Taking a moment, I offered up a prayer of thanksgiving before lifting the camera’s viewfinder to my eye. Permanent smile affixed, Arctic Foxes in front of my lens, I was literally living my dream!