Polar Apex

16 Arctic images that have shaped my career as a wildlife and nature photographer. A 16 piece genesis by Chase Teron. The images will have editions from 1 of 1's to up to 10. The release and dropping of the NFTs will happen each Friday from February 18th to April 1st until all 16 are available. These images each have compelling stories that I invite you to read about. The utility of this collection will not only provide each collector with a limited edition NFT but some offer a limited edition carbon neutral fine art print and for the 1/1's you'll unlock the Artica Exploration utility - see the 1/1's to find out more specifics. Read the descriptions to see what utility you will get with your desired NFT. You are investing in a conservation photographer who is taking charge to protect our planet through visual advocacy and strategic partnerships with the world's best non-for-profits and eco-friendly brands.

A floating castle of ice drifts on by during the midnight summer sun in Disko Bay off the Western shores of Arctic Greenland. There are no words to describe the beauty of this moment. Complete silence. No movement.  The way the lighting and the sky's pastel colours came together with this magnificent iceberg, was the perfect Arctic dreamscape. To this day, it is one of my own personal favourite experiences and one of my favourite images where I was in complete awe of the moment. I took just a handful of photos and then just embraced the scene through my own eyes. The scale of this iceberg is difficult to comprehend from just a still image, but calling it 'Tower' should provide the necessary context. The elements had created this iceberg to perfectly resemble a castle with a large tower. Our group was the only group to ever experience this iceberg in this exact moment with this exact castle-like structure. We sailed for days on end around Disko Bay to photograph these Arctic seascapes and the investment in the preparation, gear, equipment and travel was so substantial but worth every penny. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 10 collectors will receive a 24”x16” limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

Tower

Swimming with wild Orcas is a life changing experience. Imagine the apex predator of the sea swimming in large pods and mega pods (50+) and then it's just you. You have your drysuit, snorkel, fins and a camera and a heart beat that is off the charts. There's absolutely no barrier between you and one of the most intelligent mammals on the planet. They have the second biggest brain amongst ocean mammals. What intrigues me the most about these stats is that humans think that we are the smartest based on our own definition of intelligence. I would argue that Orcas have a way greater sense of intelligence and specifically emotional intelligence. To communicate telepathically and to communicate with sight, with touch, with sound with their own language and unique dialects. To fully understand how special, how intelligent an animal or mammal is depends on their brain size and based on our assumptions, perceptions based on observation alone. There are no tests or tasks to truly understand how special Orcas (& all wildlife are). This image is titled 'The Matriarch' is to praise the significance of the Orca female. What's interesting is that the most intimidating Orcas at first are the bulls with their >5ft dorsal fins and their size but the females (the cows) are the ones who are the hunting experts. The coordination of the pod and the hunting techniques are passed down through the matriarch. "The matriarchs support the survival of the pod by acting as repositories for ecological knowledge,' guiding their groups to salmon, herring foraging grounds, and that their knowledge is especially important during years when salmon and herring returns are low." Not only is the matriarch, the hunter and gatherer but she protects the young. Orcas are extremely spiritual to me and I hope that this image also inspires you to care a little more about preserving our oceans and to raise your level of awareness and understanding of their fragility. In order to capture this image I travelled to the most northern tip of Norway in the middle of winter in negative temperatures on a boat with Arctic winds chilling every bone in my body. I gave a piece of myself to create this shot, like I do with most of my Arctic work. I will suffer to tell the stories of the voiceless in order to raise our levels of compassion to all wildlife  above and below the surface and big and small. All wildlife are important and essential to their respective ecosystems, their value is not based on human's utility. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 10 collectors will receive a 24”x16” limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

The Matriarch

Greenland is one of those places that intrigued me the most when I was younger. It was this place of the unknown. A land mass, 90% covered by an ice sheet. What more could you ask for? Remote and wild locations have always inspired me and Greenland possesses both of these characteristics. This was one of the first locations I went to when starting out my photography journey and have been back every single year and even multiple times per year because of how incredibly diverse this region is. The ever changing landscapes and seascapes of Greenland are anthropomorphic. The ice has these human like features. The sounds of the waves crashing up against the icebergs represent the rhythmic breath, the cracking and popping of the ice is the voice. The glaciers and icebergs of Greenland are alive. They have hidden stories thousands of years old being release into the air and to the sea with each physical change, melting and calving. This aerial iceberg photograph was achieved by months of a planning with a Russian crew to hash out the plans for this adventures and the coordination required to meet up in a remote region of Greenland. We first travelled from Canada to Iceland then from Iceland to Greenland via plane to then take multiple taxis, hitch-hiking trips to the local taxi boats to finally reach out Russian crew and the small yacht. From here we sailed for more than two weeks exploring the complex, intricate fjord systems. We found this iceberg that had bottomed out on a glacial moraine. There was this magnificent arch that you could see from miles away. As we got closer, we noticed how this iceberg was constantly calving. Little by little the iceberg was starting to collapse so the aerial perspective here showcased the little pieces that looked like a beautiful pattern of stars and this is how I came up with the name 'Interstellar' - occurring or situated between stars. I found it so fitting both with the anthropomorphism human like yet otherworldly characteristics and with the aerial perspective stars. Hours after this image, this iceberg had split and crumbled into smaller fragments into the sea. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 10 collectors will receive a 24”x16” limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore. 

Interstellar

This image of a sow and her two cubs was taken in the high Arctic in a fjord on the northern tip of Svalbard. During the summer months, the Polar Bears that remain on land are the ones who are in energy preservation mode. Full on scavenging is absolutely required in order to survive. The pack ice or sea ice retreats in the spring and therefore so does the Polar Bears prime hunting territory. The rate at which the pack ice retreats varies each year but what is concerning is the amount of multi-year pack ice. Multi-year pack ice has almost completely disappeared and what is left is single year pack ice which moves faster with the currents and disappears each season.  The prey of choice for Polar Bears is seal. Without the ability to wait at the seal breathing holes on the fjord fast ice or the Arctic's sea / pack ice hunting becomes a challenging endeavour for all bears left on land. Polar Bears like the ones in this image then rely on whatever washes up on shore from the tides and currents as well as rummaging through bird nests. We spotted this sow walking briskly along the shoreline on a mission with her two cubs attempting to keep up. The Polar Bear's keen sense of smell allows them to smell food sources from 20 to 40 miles away. This is the inspiration behind the title 'Wander' as it was the perfect juxtaposition. The sow walked so briskly, so intently we could sense her desperation to provide to her two hungry cubs as well as herself. When they finally got to the source of the smell, she discovered a massive whale carcass in the shallows that she could drag to shore. We watched the family devour as much of the whale remnants as they could in the shortest time in order to avoid the potential of male predation. After they finished, vitality and optimistic energy radiated through the family. They casually wandered away into the intense summer Arctic sun. The contrasting nature of the events from when we first saw the bears, to then after their meal was so positive and so profound. You could see and feel the sense of urgency, selflessness and care that the sow possessed. It was a tender moment that I'll never forget. The image was photographed directly into the sunlight with a purposeful technique of underexposing the scene to enhance the rim lighting effect. This image is one of my most iconic images in my entire career and I hope the viewers and collectors enjoy it. I hope you enjoy 'Wander' as much as I did when I captured this tender family moment. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 10 collectors will receive a 24”x16” limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

Wander

Imagine traveling to the Arctic regions of Norway in the winter to jump in the frigid waters to swim with wild Orcas. No cages, no protection, just you in your drysuit coming face to face with the apex predator of the sea. But why would someone risk their life for this experience? I swim with wild Orcas each year in November to better understand these special creatures by witnessing their natural behaviours in their natural habitats. Often, our perception of wildlife becomes our reality and our truth. However, our perception and understanding wildlife and sea life is shaped by main stream media, Hollywood or from someone else's interpretation. My goal is to break this pattern and to shape my own beliefs so that I can be a voice for the Orcas and all things wild. Wildlife do not need us to exist so it's imperative that we understand how we can limit our human impacts on their habitats. There's no better way to learn about wildlife and sea life than to see them in the wild first hand. To be an inquisitive and compassionate spectator. This image is entitled 'Only' as I shared this  blissful moment of solitude with a singular orca that came directly to me just to peacefully introduce itself and to say hi. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 3 collectors will receive a 36"x24" limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore. 

Only

The intensity of the Arctic summer sun is unparalleled. In the high Arctic in Svalbard, the late fall to early spring are extremely dark with short windows of daylight each day and during the winter complete darkness. So when it's summer time, the sun needs to compensate. When the sun does come out and begins to hover near the horizon you get the warm golden light with the surrounding blue toned landscape. This tonal contrast provides us with this fire and ice visual that really showcases the diversity of the Arctic habitats. The mountain ranges in Svalbard can be extremely jagged and stark, to tall but  flat or round and mineral rich like this one in 'Spitsbergen Sun'. The iron content in the mountains is really prominent when the sun's intensity. This landscape here made me feel like I was in another planet, like something from my childhood playing Halo. My admiration for otherworldly landscapes can be seen in this single still image here. I hope that you enjoy this alien Arctic landscape as much as I do and that it inspires you to explore. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 3 collectors will receive a 36"x24" limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

Spitsbergen Sun

Welcome to the high Arctic of Svalbard. An archipelago of islands located more than 77 degrees North. Home of the almighty Polar Bear, Walrus, Arctic Fox, Reindeer, Blue Whales and plentiful Seals. One of Svalbard's islands called Spitsbergen, is extremely mountainous with breathtaking fjord systems and glaciers and it's without question my favourite region of the Arctic. This land is seemingly inhabitable to the naked eye. But if you look close and exude patience you can witness some of the most diverse, concentrated wildlife and birding populations on the planet. This image 'Azure' was taken during the beginning of a May snowstorm. I found the conditions so unique as we had wind hollowing at our faces on the icebreaker ship, yet the waters were completely still and the glacier was inactive. The direction of the wind was from behind the glacier so the storm blew it without disturbing the serene conditions of the mineral rich ocean waters. The emerging storm combined with the peaceful, serene waters depicts Svalbard perfectly as an extremely polarizing place and location. Remember this location. Svalbard is where I spend months each year to capture my Polar Bear images and I have some that are apart of this Polar Apex Genesis collection. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 3 collectors will receive a 36"x24" limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

Azure

After 7 days of non-stop travel, I arrived at the edge of the earth near Disko Island near Ilulissat, Greenland. I had travelled by air, bus, taxi, foot and sail boat to get to the Greenlandic Arctic. I didn't have a specific or iconic location in mind. My desire was just to explore. I wanted to explore by going into the unknown. All I could do is plan and prepare and the rest was up to me to adapt, to be resourceful, to be resilient and to embrace the adventurous, unpredictable Arctic pursuit. While sailing during the midnight summer sun, this breathtaking iceberg had just calved and flipped right before my eyes. The deafening cracking sound that immediately followed the dramatic visual display. The sound echoed off of the still ocean waters. Although the scale may be difficult to comprehend, this iceberg is the size of a large building and the trailing ice pieces that look like little specks of dust, are the size of small to large vehicles. The way that the iceberg changed immediately in-front of me emphasized the ever-changing beauty and impermanence of the Arctic. No one ever will capture this same iceberg from this aerial perspective with the trailing patterned pieces being carried out by the current. Aerial iceberg photography was the start of my Arctic obsession. All of the iconic locations where I had once dreamt of visiting no longer mattered. This was unique. Mother Nature, the artist, created this visual piece just for me to appreciate it in this exact moment and in this exact form. For the first time I gave myself permission to truly be present in the moment and to focus on the present rather than always thinking of what's next. I actually found it difficult to concentrate when photographing this iceberg as I was so memorized with the immediate metamorphosis of this seemingly indestructible iceberg. My typical work, prior to going to the Arctic, was with the Canadian Rockies where the only thing that changed in the landscape was the weather. The Greenlandic Arctic was so very different. The icebergs that float on through Disko Bay are produced by the Ilulissat Icefjord which is the second fastest moving glacier in the planet. These icebergs float into the bay and get taken by currents and by weather patterns and the backdrops constantly change and therefore you're continuously inspired. What you get to experience is always unique. I hope you enjoy 'Drift' as much as I did when I captured this metamorphosis moment. To bring this digital still to life, like it was for me, each of the 3 collectors will receive a 36"x24" limited edition print with a signed certificate of authenticity and a matching hologram with the edition number. Thank you for supporting my vision to continue to tell stories of habitat preservation and wildlife conservation. I always donate a minimum of 10% of my artistic proceeds to conversation organizations where I work and explore.

Drift

Wild Gold taps into the inner wild of artist Jeremy Collins through his signature line-work paired with a rich gold-leaf finish. Through animal spirit totems we are reminded the wild is not just a place to go, but also a thing to be. (PRINTS WILL BE SHIPPED TO BUYERS AFTER ALL 10 EDITIONS SELL FOR EACH MINT. BUYER RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING ARTIST WITH CONTACT INFO.)

WILD GOLD

Known for agility, cunning and endurance, the wolf is the epitome of the wildness inside us. Kin to the domesticated dog, the wolf chooses the path of freedom. The spirit of the wolf brings us wise curiosity and a keen playfulness. Above all, the wolf is loyal to the pack. It’s the deep bond of the family that unites their shared purpose and gives them strength which grounds them in space and time.