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ABOUT
Sebastian Copeland is a photographer and polar explorer. In 2017, Copeland was named one of the world’s top 25 adventurers of the last 25 years. Noted as a photographer “who has produced works that are of outstanding artistic merit and communicates messages of urgent global significance,” Copeland has led numerous record-setting expeditions, documenting the endangered Polar ice while covering more than 10,000 km on skis. Since 2000, he has warned of systemic transformations taking place in the polar regions and their geo-economic consequences. Copeland has addressed audiences at the United Nations, public and private institutions and governments globally about the urgent need for a market transformation towards a sustainable economy. He is a fellow of The Explorers Club, member of the International Glaciology Society, the American Polar Society, and founding member of Artists for Amazonia. His books have sold in over 70 countries, and he was named four times Photographer of the Year. In 2024, Copeland will release his sixth mon ogram titled: The Arctic: A Darker Shade of White (Rizzoli) with a foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall. He was named a Knight twice by the French government: in the National Order of Merit, and in the Order of Arts&Letters.
At the onset of the spring melt, water pools on the surface of the Arctic sea ice, indicating the imminent release of icebergs from the winter grip. These icebergs have calved from nearby glaciers and will soon float out and complete their last voyage to the sea. For a few days on the sea ice, the cold melt water temporarily yields mirror-like reflections. In them is a different representation of the these powerful blocks of ice. These reflections tell a story of an environment that is not entirely different than us: defiant, fragile and fleeting.
In the high Arctic, a dog may not be the best line of defense against a polar bear, but it provides early warning, especially while resting inside a tent. Zephyr suddenly jumped into the frame as I set up a shot of the melting ice and icebergs in the background. I reacted just in time to take just two shots. The first was slightly out of focus; the second was not levelled! The next moment, and he was gone. Carpe diem!
Sebastian Copeland’s work has been featured in National Geographic, Vanity Fair, Outside, The New York Times, Paris Match, Bunte, Stern, Der Spiegel as well on NBC, CBS, NPR, The Weather Channel and CNN’s Larry King Live. An aspirational thought leader, Copeland regularly delivers keynote addresses to top international conferences. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of UCLA (’87), Sebastian studied Earth Sciences and film, Sebastian’s personal commitment for environmental protection and the relentless pursuit of a sustainable future led him to retool his visual skills into Fine Art as a medium for activism and social change. With a passion for glaciology, Sebastian has served 15 years on the Board of Directors of the US arm of President Gorbachev’s Green Cross International. A life-long waterman, climber and mountaineer, Sebastian has specialized his adventure skills to polar exploration and documenting at-risk environments. Since 1999, Copeland has led 27 expeditions to the Polar regions. In 2018, the French Sénat commissioned Sebastian with a solo exhibition around the gates of the Luxembourg gardens. This public exhibit of 80 large panels of Sebastian’s polar photographs reached 4 million visitors over the four months, delivering an urgent climate message.
BOOKS
– The Arctic: A Darker Shade of White (Rizzoli 2024) Foreword by Dr. Jane Goodall
– Polar Explorations: To the Ends of the Earth (Rizzoli 2022) Foreword by Jimmy Chin
– Antarctica: Waking Giant (Rizzoli 2020) Foreword by Leonardo DiCaprio
– Arctica: The Vanishing North (teNeues 2015) Foreword by Sir Richard Branson
– Antarctica: A Call to Action ( Palace Press 2008) Introduction by Orlando Bloom
– Antarctica: The Global Warning (Palace Press Publishing2007) Introduction by President Gorbachev
FILMS
Into the Cold – A Journey of the Soul (2011)
Across the Ice – The Greenland Victory March (2015)
