As the sea ice extent declines each year, the fabled Northwest Passage across the Canadian Arctic becomes more navigable to passenger ships. Traveling on a specialized ice-class vessel, the National Geographic Resolution, we made an exceptionally early transit. First-year sea ice crumbled away beneath our bow. Polar bears living on the drifting ice made decisions about remaining ice-bound or swimming to other floes in search of seals. Although I initially brought along my infrared camera on a last-minute whim, it was invaluable in creating a document of a warming Arctic Ocean. The Arctic is a place I love and spend much of my life in. Seeing it through infrared transformed my understanding of the enormous transformation of this place.