IMAGINE flying miles above the earth in a wooden airplane with no pressurization and little heat. At 30,000 feet, the outside air temperature is about–35 Fahrenheit. After a few hours, the cabin temperature drops to –20. Now imagine taking aerial photographs of Canada’s Arctic to map the land after World War II and living a life of isolation—in a tent on the permafrost—near the top of the world.

Photographer Ernest Scullion experienced these harsh conditions first-hand when flying in the tail section of the Spartan Mosquito, an airplane used for fighting and photo reconnaissance. Spartan Mosquitos chronicles the events surrounding his time capturing the landscape from the plane’s tail section between 1956 and 1962, when the high Arctic had never been photographed. Most of it had never even been seen by humans. Radios and compasses did not work near the North Pole, so the airplanes flew without any way to get in touch with home base. Spartan Mosquitos is an intimate portrait of the adventures and hazards Scullion endured, from coping with exhaust fumes to full-blown fires, giving readers a window into his historic contribution to proving sovereignty of Canada’s Arctic.

Throughout his photography career, Ernest Scullion continued flying in numerous aircraft until his retirement at age 82. He’s currently writing another book about his adventures, flying all over Canada, the jungles of South America, and the Andes Mountains. Scullion is also the author of a book of short stories entitled, Mystery of the One Arm Prospector and The Supernatural.

Ernest Durwood Scullion lives in Portland, Ontario, a village on the Rideau Canal.