Uncategorized

SILVERSHOTZ 2011 PORTFOLIO AWARD PRESS RELEASE

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

I am very pleased to announce the release the official Silvershotz 2011 Portfolio Award Press Release. I received notification a few weeks ago that my photography had been selected to be included in the prestiguous 2011 Folio Annual as one of 31 sucessful photographers from 12 countries around the world. I am extremely honoured to have been selected by the panel of international judges for inclusion in the 2011 Silvershotz annual. Silvershotz distributes 10,000 folio journals to 1400 bookstores in 17 countries. A further 2000 journals are mailed free of charge to leading galleries and institutions in 19 countries. A copy of the official Press Release can be downloaded HERE. Limited copies of the 2011 Annual can be purchased online at www.silvershotz.com for the next ten days.

INVERSION – SVARTIFOSS WATERFALL ICELAND

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

Svartifoss waterfall is located in the Skaftafell National Park in Iceland. It is one of the smaller popular waterfalls and only a short walk from the nearby car park and not far from the main Highway one ring road. The falls themselves are quite unusual with inverted hexagonal basalt columns in a semi circular ring over which the falls cascade onto toppled columns before flowing down stream. Its a beautiful, tranquil and peaceful location when the sun is out and the wind is calm.

I only spent a couple of hours at Svartifoss early in the day and was fortunate to strike relatively overcast conditions that enabled me to slow my shutter speed down to get just the right amount of water blur without the need for ND filters. I used Canon’s 17mm F4L Tilt Shift lens for; which enabled me to get in nice and tight, yet keep the subject in frame. I am looking forward to going back to Svartifoss on my Iceland trip next year.

F11 MAGAZINE – ‘FROM DAWN TILL DUSK’ FEATURE ON TABLETS

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

The current issue #4 of F11 Magazine “for Photographers and Aficionados” featuring one of my photographs from Selfoss waterfall in Iceland on its cover and a feature article/interview and portfolio has been included over at Photo tuts as one of the new breed of tablet friendly magazines. If you have not yet checked out F11 Magazine, be sure to do so – its FREE and is available online at www.f11magazine.com You just might recognise the photograph on their current homepage (also from Iceland).

The Ultimate Photography Glove – A Sailing Glove?

Antarctica, Arctic, Equipment, Iceland, New Zealand, News and Updates, Reviews, Scotland, South America, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

I have written before quite extensively on the subject of outdoor photography gloves for cold weather and as of my last ‘glove find post‘ I thought I had finally found the best option out there – the Seal Skinz. I still believe the Seal Skinz are an excellent glove for outdoor photography in cold weather. However, I discovered another glove today that ticks all the boxes for cold weather photography by outdoor clothing company Helly Hansen. As is often the case with these things, I was not actually shopping for yet another pair of gloves; I was just picking up a few last minute thermals for Antarctica in a months time and spied these gloves on the rack. What immediately caught my eye is that these gloves (Sailing Gloves) are fingerless on only two fingers per hand – the thumb and forefinger (a very clever design). The very two fingers that are required for almost all of the fine manual dexterity when operating a camera’s controls. This makes them absolutely ideal for photography. In fact, the genius of this design strikes you the moment you slip a pair on and pick up your camera.

According to to the information on the website – These durable gloves provide extra protection for handling abrasive equipment. Made of Amaro leather with adjustable wrist and reinforcements in areas of maximum wear.

What I immediately noticed upon trying a pair on is how they felt like a second skin more than a glove. Most gloves are too thick for easy camera control and are a hindrance to operating the camera quickly and efficiently. These sailing gloves are exceptionally soft and malleable against the skin and are designed to provide warmth, protection yet still give sailors a high degree of fine dexterity control for operating rigging  – just perfect for photography. And of course, being designed for use at sea these gloves are water resistant. Note they are not waterproof like the Seal Skinz; merely water resistant. I immediately purchased a pair and will be taking them to Antarctica with me along with my Seal Skinz.

B&W + COLOR MAGAZINE SPECIAL ISSUE PORTFOLIO AWARD 2011

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

The Special Issue No. #86 of B&W + Color magazine announcing the 2011 Portfolio contests winners is now on the newsstands in Australia, the USA and Europe. Over 8000+ photographs were submitted to the magazine for entry into the competition and I am very excited to announce that my work has been selected for a full Portfolio Spotlight Award and will be featured in the October B&W + Color Special Edition magazine to be released in a few days (I believe it may already be available in the USA).

B&W + Color magazine  is published in over fifty countries and is a prestigious photographic journal featuring fine art photography from international artists. Issue #84 announcing the 2011 Portfolio contest winners can be purchased at all major book sellers and newsstands as well as online via B&W + Color magazine’s website. This issue has the full list of Spotlight Portfolio winners and Merit Award winners. It also includes one of my photographs from Landmannalaugar in Iceland; which was selected as a sample to head the winners list. The B&W + Color Special Edition including my full Spotlight Portfolio; which contains a series of photographs from Iceland, and article should be available to purchase in the next week or so depending on availability in your location. 

SUMATRAN TIGER – WILDLIFE PORTRAITS PROJECT

Australia, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs

It has been a long time since I have last posted a wildlife photograph but I had a good opportunity / excuse a couple of weeks ago to test out my new Canon 1D MKIV at the Melbourne Zoo (I guess that makes it ‘quasi-wild’). This was simply an opportunity to machine gun through a few hundred frames to make sure the camera was performing properly before taking it to Antarctica. Unfortunately for me, I made the mistake of journeying to the zoo during school holidays when it was literally swarming with kids. As a result most animals had retreated to the farthest corners of their enclosures in search of a little peace and quiet (can’t say I blame them!). Nevertheless I was able to come away with a few photographs I was quite pleased with. This photograph of the Sumatran Tiger being my pick of the bunch for the soft light and classical pose. I don’t often process black and white; but in this instance I felt it helped to give the image a somewhat timeless feel and complimented the Tigers classic pose.

‘Dawn till Dusk’ – f11 Magazine Cover Photograph and Feature Article

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

Over recent years traditional paper magazines have been adding more and more online content to their websites in an effort to keep their readers interested, engaged and to maintain their relevance in a world increasingly enamoured with (must have it now) online content. These magazines walk a somewhat tenuous line between satisfying their traditional readership base who purchases the magazine at a news stand and those who just visit the website for the highlights or selected (usually free) online content. They have a foot in both camps as it were in an effort to both placate and satisfy readers from both technological demographics; whilst offending neither. Some magazines walk this balance beam very successfully; others less so.

Another magazine offering – the “Online magazine” is becoming more prevalent every day and offers some significant advantages to both the publisher and viewer (provided the viewer has access to online content of course). One of the those that is gaining significant readership and traction in the professional photography world is ‘f11 For Photographers and Aficionados‘. f11 is a FREE online magazine presented in a page flip format as a PDF and is aimed at professional and enthusiast photographers, designers and creative people working with images, as well as buyers and collectors of photography.

Now in its fourth issue, I am very pleased to announce that one of my photographs from Iceland has been chosen to grace the cover of the current October issue of f11.  The magazine also includes a recent interview article and features more of my photography from Iceland all in an online PDF magazine format that is iPad compatible.

If you have an interest in photography and have not yet checked out f11 Magazine then I would encourage you to to do so – You can subscribe online for updates via email as issues go live and best of all its FREE. Let me know if you enjoyed my interview article!

DOWNSTREAM OF GODAFOSS – THE WATERFALL OF THE GODS

Iceland, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized

I have previously posted a couple of photographs from Godafoss in Iceland and blogged about the time I spent there; where I experienced some of the best light I have ever been fortunate enough to photograph under. This photograph was taken during the same visit and just prior to those previously posted. It was one of my first frames in the area and was taken as I made my way slowly up stream to to the top of the falls where I subsequently made the other photographs. I recall being exhausted as I stumbled up the path to Godafoss on my last visit; I was sleep deprived and operating on auto pilot and my memories are a little foggy – but I will never forget that light. A higher resolution version of this photograph can be seen at my portfolio website at www.jholko.com