Dip of the iceberg! Divers defy -27C temperatures to capture breath-taking pictures beneath Greenland’s enormous floating chunks of ice
- Anna von Boetticher, 49, and Tobias Friedrich, 39, took on the challenge in Tasiilaq, East-Greenland
- The working time for the pair was only limited especially since Anna was only wearing 6mm neopren suit
- They were only able to make it back to the surface through the holes that they cut in the ice
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Divers defied freezing temperatures to capture breath-taking images beneath Greenland’s enormous floating chunks of ice.
Free diver Anna von Boetticher, 49, and underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich, 39, took on the challenge in Tasiilaq, East-Greenland.
The pair said that swimming under the icebergs was a once in a lifetime opportunity but was not without its challenges.
Divers defied freezing temperatures to capture breath-taking images beneath Greenland’s enormous floating chunks of ice. Pictured: Anna von Boetticher sitting on a piece of ice
Free diver Anna von Boetticher, 49, and underwater photographer Tobias Friedrich, 39, (pictured) took on the challenge in Tasiilaq, East-Greenland
The pair said that swimming under the icebergs was a once in a lifetime opportunity but not without its challenges. Pictured: One of the pair alongside a lion’s mane jellyfish
Tobias said: ‘It was definitely impressive to see these large structures and forms of icebergs from a view where you usually don’t see them at all.
‘The water was minus two degrees Celsius, which made the working time very short of course. Especially for Anna as she was only wearing a 6mm neopren suit, while I had a full dry suit.’
Anna added: ‘It was very challenging because we had to spend a long time out on the ice, waiting in very cold conditions with temperatures as low as -27C with the wind chill factor but I loved it immediately.
Anna said: ‘The first time I dived through the small hole and saw the landscape under the ice I felt like I had gone through a door into another universe’
The working time for the pair beneath the ice was only very short especially since Anna was wearing just a 6mm-thin neopren suit (pictured)
Diving under the ice was not without risk because the only possible way back to the surface for Tobias and Anna was through the holes that they had cut in the ice
Usually the pair carry out their dives using a rope to ensure they can find the exit at all times but this was not possible as it could have got snagged on the icebergs
‘The first time I dived through the small hole and saw the landscape under the ice I felt like I had gone through a door into another universe.
‘It was a bizarre world of black and white, light and shadows, it simply blew me away. I felt exposed and tiny.
‘To dive under ice is challenging and not without risk because the way to the surface is only possible through the holes we cut.
Anna (pictured preparing for the freedive) said: ‘The first time I dived through the small hole and saw the landscape under the ice I felt like I had gone through a door into another universe’
The pair said that beneath the icebergs was a bizarre world of ‘black and white, light and shadows’ which blew them away and made them feel ‘tiny’
Tobias said: ‘It was definitely impressive to see these large structures and forms of icebergs from a view where you usually don’t see them at all’
‘Normally, we always dive with a rope to make sure to be able to find the exit again at all times.
‘However, it wasn’t possible for me to swim around the icebergs with a rope, I might have got caught, a risk in itself.’
The limited fine art photo series available to buy from selected images of this work @-below-surface- @freediveanna