Review: Ragnar Axelsson and Last Days of the Arctic

British Airways boasts over 100 hours of on-demand television programs and movies.  Even so, on this week’s Dubai-London-Atlanta flights there wasn’t much on offer.  In fact the only thing worth watching was a one hour documentary on the people of the Arctic as seen through the work of news photographer Ragnar Axelsson.  

A native Icelander whose interest in photography and the natural world began with a childhood series of summer farm stays,  Rax has served for nearly 30 years as photographer for the newspaper Morgunbladid, and has as well published four books on the vanishing lifestyles of the North. Last Days of the Arctic profiles several of his projects, including isolated farm eccentrics, Inuit polar bear hunters, sheep herders, and  Iceland’s volcanoes and icebergs.  Narrated by Ragnar himself in an unassuming voice, you can fairly feel the photographer’s appreciation for the people and places of the North.  There's nothing in the film about photographic equipment, techniques, or approaches, though Rax does discuss the necessity of gaining the trust of human subjects in order to be able to shoot them honestly.  There's also quite a lot of stunning imagery. Copies can be found at Youtube and several file sharing sites.  Once you’ve finished the film, visit Rax’s online galleries and then say hello on Facebook.

Last Days of the Arctic:   http://video.pbs.org/video/2243415829
Rax online:   http://www.rax.is/
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/RAX-Ragnar-Axelsson/46208378359

#