Abisko National Park, Sweden

Ahhhh, some day I'll make it to Sweden and Finland. I feel that Scandinavia has so much to offer in terms of photographic possibilities. So today I got an email from my friend Vlad, who accompanied me on my recent trip this March to the Lofoten islands in Norway. He's kindly allowed me to publish some of his images here from a recent trip he made to Abisko National Park in Polar Sweden.

Vlad told me:

"Abisko Natonal Park is situated in Polar Sweden, just 100 km north of the town of Kiruna and is all surrounded by mountains with a 70 km long lake that is solid frozen for half of the year!

Being one of the coldest places in Europe, the usual temperature during my visit in February there was between minus 40 and minus 25 degrees during the day... So it's not that comfortable like the coastal Norway, but the chance for clear skies is much better."

I share Vlad's sense of adventure and would, personally, endure minus 40 degrees if I had to, in order to reach my goals.

Vladimir Donkov is an outdoor photographer with a passion for mountain landscapes, environmental shots and vanishing cultures. Throughout the last 3 years he has been working on his project for a book and open-air exhibition called "North." - presenting different places all over the North Polar Circle: protected areas and places under danger of mining and oil drilling - trying to prove the unprotected ones are worth being saved before it's too late. You can see more of his images at

http://verticalshot.com/en/gallery