Elite Traveler Spring 2020

of something else. Even though the singular purpose of a camera is to freeze time in an increment, you can’t,” says Copeland. “Also, when I think of time, I think about humanity. In a time scale, we have barely even existed as humans, and there is a likelihood that we will be gone in a few more seconds, because that is the nature of things. There has not been any species that has survived the cycle of time. These are the thoughts that go through my mind when I am alone on the ice.” Having spent the past 20 years as an award-winning photographer and adventurer, Copeland insists that he is a man built on three pillars. “The pillars of my house are three things: I live on advocacy, exploration and photography. That’s what defines me,

and all of them fulfill a common goal, which is to define me as an individual, or maybe the other way around: me as an individual, and I am there at the service of those three causes.” However, spend an hour in quiet conversation with Copeland and you realize that he is, at heart, an instrument of change. “Activism is not a label, it’s a moral contract that is within all of us. We can all be agents of change in the actions we take, the products we purchase and the communication that we orchestrate. What was present in the North Pole when Admiral Peary visited 100 years ago was different when I visited a few years ago, and most likely won’t even exist 100 years from now.”

sebastiancopeland.com

Photos Sebastian Copeland