Life at the top isn’t always easy, especially for those not accustomed to it.

Head north—far north—from Oslo, and you’ll be greeted by conditions that are anything but hospitable. Here, above the Arctic Circle, you are the outsider. 

Each morning, as you head out in your tiny Zodiac, the air hovers near freezing, the dark water barely warmer, and the wind slices cold across your face. In this remote region, life reveals itself sparingly—through scattered villages, the odd fishing boat, and the animals that call this stretch of sea home.

The dorsal fins are unmistakable—jet-black shards of glass that pierce the surface to announce their arrival, some measuring up to six feet tall. Orcas frequent these fjords each winter, following the herring that gather here.

Encounters are fleeting, as pods move constantly in search of fish. It leaves you waiting—shivering in your wetsuit—hoping for the right moment, and a glimpse of the coveted hunt.

Even from inside your wind-whipped inflatable, it's hard not to marvel.

This is an unforgiving but stunning realm.

The backdrop becomes as much a subject in these topside images as the animals themselves. It sculpts the scene you came so far to witness: orcas—not in tanks—but in the wild, with endless space before them.

At the top of the world—as in oceans across our planet—one species reigns supreme.