National Geographic photographer and biographer Paul Nicklen has been making bold expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic for many years, documenting the lives and habitats of leopard seals, whales, walruses, polar bears, bearded seals and narwhals and how they are threatened by climate change.  Now the world press award winner’s photos can be seen in a stunning new book, Polar Obsession

Here are some of his brilliant photographs

The Cover of Paul Nicklen’s latest Book

A young polar bear leaps between ice floes in the Barents Sea, Norway by Paul Nicklen

A kittiwake soars in front of a large iceberg in Svalbard, Norway by Paul Nicklen

Paul Nicklen on assignment

Looking towards an uncertain future, a huge polar male bear triggers a camera trap, taking his own picture at the Leifdefjorden, Spitsbergen, Norway by Paul Nicklen

A gentoo penguin chick peeks, checking for patrolling leopard seals before tempting fate at Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula by Paul Nicklen

Paul Nicklen on assignment in the icy waters

A large bull walrus returns to the shores of Prins Karl Forland after diving and feeding on clams in Svalbard, Norway by Paul Nicklen

In the Arctic spring, meltwater channels drain towards and down a seal hole, returning to the sea by Paul Nicklen

A leopard seal delivers a penguin to Paul by Paul Nicklen

I have always thought that it must be a wonderful opportunity to work on location and do a wildlife photo shoot but looking at these shots of Paul himself in the icy waters, in the freezing cold makes it seem very much like hard work and well outside our comfort zone at times. This will be a wonderful book I’m sure and you can take a sneak preview of it here.