If I Were Going...: February 2026

Last month, we briefly dipped our toes into Greenland’s icy waters as part of our January winterscapes. This month, we are jumping all the way in.

I explained earlier that, with trips to Alaska, Iceland and Greenland, we photographed lots and lots (and LOTS) of ice. On these February pages, many of those shots are on display. And, there were so, so many more that we didn’t use.

Before we get into it, let me explain a little bit about the February pages. As the shortest month, February always has more empty squares to fill on the calendar page. Soooo, it is pretty much guaranteed that the topic featured this month is the one that we had the most photos for. Sometimes it also matches the season; sometimes it doesn’t. This year, it does.

Main Page

The shot that anchors the main page was taken at one of the most beautiful places we visited in Greenland: Immikkeertikajik in Scoresby Sund. The iceberg featured was huge (perhaps 100-150 feet tall) and beautiful. It was somewhat grounded in the shallow bay where we stopped, but it did give us a tiny show when it shifted a bit. We thought it might flip or beak free, but it just wobbled. Eventually, of course, it would have worked its way fee and drifted out to sea, where it would melt.

The left is the photo we used; on the right are six we didn’t. Left, middle and bottom: Scott Stevens

Scoresby Sund (AKA Scoresby Sound or, in Greenlandic, Kangertittivaq) is the largest fjord system on the eastern coast of that gorgeous country and is also one of the largest in the world. The main body is approximately 68 miles long and It branches in a tree-like pattern covering an area of about 14,700 square miles. The longest fjord in the system extends 220 miles inland from the coast. Scoresby is 1,300-2000 feet deep in the main basin, but reaches as deep as 4,760 feet deep in parts.

The Sund is named for English explorer William Scoresby, who in 1822 mapped the fjord area in detail.

An amazing place (we did not use this iceberg photo); Map: Google Maps

The land surrounding the fjords is mostly mountainous, with steep rising edges. The mouth is 18 miles wide. The southern part is edged by a 3,300-6,600-foot tall wall of basalt; the northern side is lower and more rounded.

The fauna of the region is unusually rich for Greenland because of the open water in the mouth, protection from the winds by the high relief and relatively fertile land. Animals include muskox, Arctic Fox, Stoat, Mountain Hare and Lemming.

One of many Muskox photos that got cut (and, obviously isn't ice!)

Reindeer and Arctic Wolf used to live in the area, but disappeared around the early 20th century. There are allegedly lots of types of birds, but we saw few and photographed less (so we didn’t even have photos to not use).

I wish I could direct you to my blog about our September 2025 trip to Greenland, which should be full of lots of information. But, I haven’t written it yet. Maybe by the time Iceland and Greenland become important to the calendar next fall and winter.

The town (can we call this tiny burg a town?) of Ittoqqortoormiit is at the mouth of Scoresby Sund; You’ll see more in December; Photo: Scott Stevens

That main iceberg photo is ringed with other favorite shots from our many icy adventures. That includes these from Greenland:

Warming Island; Left: Scott Stevens

Maria Island

Alpefjord

Near Ittoqqortoormiit; Photo: Scott Stevens

Bear Islands; Photos: Scott Stevens

More Bear Islands (yes, it is stunning!); Left: Scott Stevens

Near Immikkeertikajik; the lower left photo wasn’t used in the calendar but gives a closer view
of the iceberg featured in the long horizontal shot

And, Borgvig

Greenland dominates because that’s where we saw the giant icebergs. How giant, you ask?

Well, that’s our ship to the right of a medium-sized iceberg in this unused photo

How many?

Lots! And, these are bigger than the ones in the previous shot; (Unused) photo: Scott Stevens

But, Iceland also had its share of glaciers, icebergs and bergie bits.

Left, middle right and lower right: Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon and “diamond beach;” Upper right: Svínafellsjökull; Middle right photo: Scott Stevens

I think I got the locations right, but I could be wrong on a few. I am fairly fastidious about keeping track of specifically where I took photos; Scott tends to be more general.

For example, my file (top) will say “Immikkeertikajik” and his (bottom) will say “Greenland;” We did not use these shots

To make it worse, the dates on our cameras don’t jibe, so on some I had to guess. With icebergs, I guess it doesn’t really matter. I mean that they won’t be there if you try to go and find them.

That’s it for the main page in February …

Calendar Page

Now, let’s look at the calendar page.

I told you that I use February for popular topics because it has more empty scares to fill. But, ironically, I then filled up the page with larger crops that took up multiple slots. Not according to tradition, but I think it looked good.

The photos we used were taken in a lot of the same places as the main page …

Jökulsárlón, Iceland; Photos: Scott Stevens

Warming Island, Greenland; We used the one on the left and didn't use the one on the right; Photos: Scott Stevens

Bear Islands, Greenland; Photo: Scott Stevens

More Bear Islands; Left: Scott Stevens

Jökulsárlón shows up quite a bit, because this glacial lagoon that births icebergs and spits them out to sea only for them to strand themselves on the black sand beach across the road. I have witten about Jökulsárlón before.

As I said, there were many, many we did not use.

Here are some …

Alpefjord; Bottom photos: Scott Stevens

Bear Islands; Photo: Scott Stevens

Near Immikkeertikajik; Top: Scott Stevens

We also took many photos is an area called Borgvig in Greenland. Unlike the other glorious days on our trip, this day was cold, windy, overcast and intermittedly snowing or sleeting. We were are the edge of a glacier and the water was filled with bergs, bergie bits and lots of brash (small chucks of ice). It was beautiful -- especially since the overcast makes the turquoise of some of the ice really pop. But, the photos just didn't do it justice. So, many were in the queue, but didn't get used ...

Bergie bits and rash

Icebergs; Photos: Scott Stevens

See the turquoise? Photos: Scott Stevens

Glacier and brash; Left: Scott Stevens

Whenever you encounter scenery with magnificent scale, you end of taking many photos of people interacting with the environment. Although they didn't make it into the calendar, we did capture quite a few ...

Our ship

Bear Islands; Photo: Scott Stevens

Zodiac tours in Borgvig; Photos: Scott Stevens

Ship and Zodiac, Warming Island; Photo: Scott Stevens

Of course, we had more photos of Jökulsárlón than you can imagine.

The place is beautiful and, in the midst of some bad weather, we had some excellent light

We got the lagoon; Photo: Scott Stevens

The glacier; Bottom: Scott Stevens

The bridge; Photo: Scott Stevens

And, a lot of places in between; Photo: Scott Stevens

Picking the photos we used was tough, here are a few more from the Jökulsárlón lagoons (there are actually two), that we didn't use ...

Wide angle of the main lagoon

Glacier front; Photo: Scott Stevens

Main lagoon; Photo: Scott Stevens

Icebergs (and some birds); Left photos: Scott Stevens

Main lagoon; Photo: Scott Stevens

Another main lagoon; Photo: Scott Stevens

Right across the highway from Jökulsárlón's main lagoon is Breiðamerkursandur, called "Diamond Beach" by tourists and tour operator. The black sand beach on either side of the outlet from the lagoon habitually grounds icebergs that have escaped the lagoon. Since the outlet is much more shallow than the main pool, icebergs often stack up at the mouth of the lagoon until arising tide floats them out. Some float out, others ground and languish until they melt enough for the wave to take them. Meanwhile, the sparkling ice -- clear, white, turquoise and black -- is a majpr photo target in Iceland. We had lots to choose from and, in the end, used fe photos of the beach because we have featured it before. Here are some rejects ...