22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic
Inuit Holding Musk Ox Skull

This Inuit was one of two guides/mushers on a 10-day winter dogsledding expedition on the eastern coast of Greenland, home of the Inuit, the Indiginous people of the high Arctic, in March 2024. I was intrigued with his polar bear pants. He told me, "my wife sewed these for me" and added that they provide him lots of warmth (in a place where winter temperatures can plummet between 0 degrees and -30 degrees Farheinheit). I had my camera in hand when he found this musk ox skull outside an old hunters cabin, that was nothing more than a basic square wooden building with a roof, in Jameson Land where our small group had stayed overnight. Over the next few days, I learned more about the Inuit's and their way of life. I photographed Musk Ox, Arctic Hare, and Ptarmigan and had the opportunity to taste Musk Ox for the first time for dinner. It was delicious. This trip was a most memorable life experience. Once home, I started to think more about the Inuit's way of life, their hundreds of years tradition of dogsledding and hunting to feed and clothe their families, while pondering their access to western goods and clothing in this remote location. I post processed this image as a high-key image since it is among one of my favorite techniques to use in winter photography.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2024
Date Uploaded: 12.2024
Photo Location: not far from Constable Point, Greenland
Camera: ILCE-1
Copyright: © Debbie McCulliss