The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the opening of its latest exhibition ICE BEAR, a selection of photographs by Ralph Clevenger. The polar bear images in this exhibit were taken on an eight-day trip with Frontiers North Adventures to the shores of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.
“As a photographer of the natural world, there are places and animals, and even plants, that grab my attention for a variety of reasons,” said Clevenger. “Polar bears are in danger of going extinct in much of their range due to a warming arctic. They were the first vertebrate species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as threatened due to predicted climate change. This was a big reason I wanted to see wild polar bears in their natural habitat.”
As temperatures drop and Hudson Bay begins to freeze, increasing numbers of bears move toward the coast and congregate along the shores of the bay, waiting until they can journey onto the ice and begin feeding again.
“There is something so majestic and captivating about these creatures,” said SBMM Collections Manager Lydia Rao. “Ralph’s photographs transport the viewer, providing an intimate glimpse into how these animals live and survive in their natural habitat. Subject to some of the most extreme living conditions, these bears have adapted against all odds.”
There are currently 26,000 polar bears living in the wild. The Churchill area lies near the southern limit of where polar bears can live year-round and has one of the biggest polar bear denning areas in the world. Clevenger was able to visit Churchill in early November.
“We got lucky with the snow and timing,” he said. “A few days after we left the Tundra Lodge, the bay completely froze over and all the bears left.”
ICE BEAR will be on view from Feb. 8 to May 31. Learn more about visiting the museum at sbmm.org or by calling (805) 962-8404.
The exhibition is generously sponsored by George H. and Olive J. Griffiths Charitable Foundation; Mimi Michaelis; The June G. Outhwaite Charitable Trust; and Wood-Claeyssens Foundation.
About the Artist
Ralph Clevenger grew up on the coast of North Africa and began diving in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea at the age of 7 with his father. In the 1960s, Clevenger was strongly influenced by Jacques-Yves Cousteau films on the underwater world and decided early on to become a marine biologist when he grew up. Clevenger eventually went on to study zoology and worked for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego as a diver/aquarist before attending Brooks Institute of Photography. He was a senior faculty member at Brooks Institute for 33 years, teaching courses in natural history and underwater photography, among other professional photo and video courses.
Based in Santa Barbara, Clevenger is now retired from his commercial photography business but still travels extensively sharing images via his website, ralphclevenger.com, and on Instagram at instagram.com/ralphwildshot/. Today, much of his photography is dedicated to supporting environmental and social issues.
Clevenger has traveled throughout the world on assignments including Alaska, Australia, Antarctica, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, and many countries in Africa. His print and digital publication credits include Audubon, Islands, Oceans, Outside, National Geographic, Nature’s Best, National Geographic Traveler, Nature Conservancy, Orion Nature Quarterly, National Geographic Books, Smithsonian Books, Sierra Club Books, and many other national and international publications.
He is the author of the book Photographing Nature, published by Peachpit Press. Clevenger’s photography is exclusively represented by Tandem Stills & Motion.