Lofoten Iceland and Svalbard – Departing for the Arctic Winter Season

Arctic, Landscape Photographs, Lofoten, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions

The new 2018 year has rolled around all to quickly and very early AM tomorrow I am making my way up north to the Arctic for the winter season. It has been a hot summer here in Melbourne Australia and I am definitely looking forward to some cold weather, snow and ice. It is somewhat surreal to be sitting here in my studio at the moment surrounded by Arctic cold weather clothing whilst the mercury soars outside into the mid thirties celsius.

I am kicking off the season with my second workshop to Lofoten in Norway. I was last in Lofoten in 2016 (Read the 2016 Workshop Trip Report) and have been itching to return to this remarkable part of Norway. The landscapes of Lofoten are really quite something to behold and with a dusting of fresh snow and arctic winter light the entire area is akin to a fairy tail location and subsequently the photographic opportunities can be truly superb.After Lofoten I am travelling the remote Hornstrandir Nature reserve in the north west of Iceland for my annual winter Arctic Fox expedition. This expedition for just five photographers has long been sold out, but I recently announced dates and availability for the 2019 expedition HERE.Arctic Foxes are unfortunately hunted and shot across most of Iceland making them extremely shy and difficult to find (and even more difficult to photograph). In the remote north-west however the Arctic Foxes are protected inside the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and can be more easily approached and photographed. This photography expedition will last for 7 days ( 6 nights). We will be staying in a small remote cabin that is rustic, but functional and clean.

When I finish in Iceland I will travel to Svalbard for the remainder of the winter season where I will be spending time on a personal snow mobile project before I lead my annual expedition north for fantastic snow and ice covered landscapes. I will be opening bookings for the 2019 expedition within the next week.As is traditional for me, I like to post my packing list before an expedition. I am packing for both landscape and wildlife and as such I am taking quite a bit of equipment with me (what else is new…) I am also packing a Really Right Stuff tripod with Satchler FSB-6 fluid head for both the 400mm F2.8L IS MKII and 600mm F4L IS MKII lenses in my checked luggage (yes! I am taking both lenses!). With all of that in mind I settled on the following as my selection for these two expeditions:

Lightroom F-Stop Roller (Carry on Luggage)

– 2 x Canon EOS 1DX MKII bodies

– 1 x Canon 16-35mm F4L Lens

– 1 x Canon 24-70mm F4L IS Lens

– 1 x Canon 70-200mm F2.8L MKII IS Lens

– 1 x Canon 600mm F4L IS MKII Lens

– 1 x Sigma 15mm Fish Eye Lens

– 1 x Canon 1.4 MKIII Teleconverter

– 1 x Leica Ultra-vid 10×42 HD Binoculars

–

Gura Gear Chobe (Carry on Luggage)

– 1 x Apple MacBook Pro 15″ Retina

– 1 x Apple laptop charger

– 2 x USB 3 2TB external portable Sandisk SSD Drives

– 1 x Thunderbolt CFast card reader and CF card Reader

– 1 x Sunglasses and sunglasses case

– 1 x Canon 400mm F2.8L IS MKII Lens (yes, this really does fit in the Chobe with the lens hood reversed)

Etcetera Case #1 (Inside Chobe)

– 1 x Canon 1-Series camera charger

– 2 x Power Adapters for on board ship

– 2 x Canon 1DX spare Batteries

–

Etcetera Case #2 (Inside North Face Duffle)

– 1 x Arctic Butterfly Sensor Cleaner

– 1 x Filter Wrench

– 1 x Zeiss Cleaning Fluid and Lens Cleaning Tissue

– 1 x Micro Fibre Lens Cloth

– 1 x Rocket Blower with Hepa-Filter

–

In addition to all of the above, I am also taking a set of pocket wizards for remotely triggering a camera for Arctic Foxes in Iceland. Those of you who follow my packing lists closely will notice I am taking the new 400mm F2.8L IS MKII as well as the 600mm F4L IS MKII. This was a bit of a tough decision for me as its a lot of equipment to schlep around the world. My reasoning is based on having spent some time recently analysing my photographs from both Iceland and Svalbard. For the Arctic Foxes I found I mostly prefer the images I have shot with my 200-400mm F4L Lens (used mostly at 400mm) and in Svalbard I found I needed the extra reach of the 600mm. See you in Lofoten!

Photo of the Month February 2018 : On Golden Snow

Arctic, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions

The photograph of the month for February 2018 is of a blue morph Arctic Fox stalking across a snow bank with the late afternoon sun gently painting the snow in gold light. This was my favourite photograph from my 2017 expedition to photograph Arctic Fox in the north of Iceland (Read the Trip Report). This photograph works for me on several different levels. The fox is in classic stalking pose and is beautifully positioned on the snow bank in wonderful golden light. The blowing snow really adds drama to the photograph and we have a wonderful sense of the space and environment in which the fox lives. When I framed this in camera I was extremely careful not to clip the fox’s shadow; which would have resulted in the eye being led out of the frame. It is a photograph that gives us just enough sense of the environment to leave us wanting more that is one of the keys to any successful photograph.The 2018 expedition to photograph Arctic Fox is long sold out, but bookings are now open for the 2019 Expedition. More information is available on the workshops page of my website at www.jholko.com or you can drop me an email to register your interest.

Arctic Fox Photography Expedition 2019 Announcement

Iceland, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions

In just a few weeks I will be heading up to the Arctic to begin the winter season. It is a very exciting time for me as winter in the Arctic is without doubt my favourite place in the world to photograph. One of the expeditions I will be leading is to the very north of Iceland and the remote Hornstrandir Nature reserve to photograph wild Arctic Fox. This expedition for just five photographers has long been sold out, but I am today announcing dates and availability for the 2019 expedition.By way of a little background, I have been travelling to the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve (Hornstrandir is Iceland’s northernmost peninsula, covering 580 km² at the northern end of the Westfjords, to the north of the Jökulfirðir and to the northwest of Drangajökull) in Iceland during the winter months for six years now specifically to photograph Arctic Fox in winter. You can read the trip report from last years expedition here: Read the 2017 Expedition Report. In 2016 I released a new limited edition book on the Arctic Fox (Melrakki) which was the culmination of three years of winter photography. The limited edition is long sold out, but the soft cover is open edition and available for sale HERE.The 2019 expedition is also limited to just five photographers and will run from the 22nd – 28th of February 2019.

This is a unique and special opportunity for a small group of just five photographers to photograph wild Arctic Foxes in the remote north-west of Iceland during winter. We will be photographing what is perhaps Nature’s greatest survivor – The Arctic Fox.Arctic Foxes are unfortunately hunted and shot across most of Iceland making them extremely shy and difficult to find (and even more difficult to photograph). In the remote north-west however the Arctic Foxes are protected inside the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve and can be more easily approached and photographed.

This photography expedition will last for 7 days ( 6 nights). We will be staying in a small remote cabin that is rustic, but functional and clean. During our stay in the cabin we will have a dedicated staff member to clean and prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for us (all included). However, this expedition is all about photography and we will be putting in long hours in the field in order to ensure we give ourselves the best possible opportunities to photograph the Arctic Fox. We may take food and drink with us into the field to ensure we are in position and ready to photograph when the foxes are active. We will have up to 10 hours of good light during the day with which to photograph the Arctic foxes. With luck, we may also see and photograph the spectacular Northern lights.The cost for the expedition is $7,650 US Dollars. This is an all-inclusive price, but excluding your airfare to and from Isafjord in Iceland. If you have special dietary requirement you will be accommodated – please just be sure to let us know when you make your booking.

Our accommodation for the expedition is a cozy but rugged haven for photographers to enjoy a great atmosphere after a day out in the cold photographing Arctic Foxes. The house was originally built in 1921. In 1948 (just 27 years later), the last inhabitants left this isolated arctic peninsula in search of a better life. The cabin was abandoned for many years and has only recently begun to be restored.Although no one lives here permanently, the cabin is a great getaway and the perfect place to accommodate us whilst we search for and photograph wild Arctic Foxes. Curious Arctic Foxes frequently stop past the cabin to investigate visitors and it is possible to even photograph them from right outside the cabin on occasion.

The cabin includes:

– Bathroom, toilet and hot shower.

– Bunk-bed accommodation with duvets provided

– Full kitchen (chef to prepare meals and clean)

– Hydronic and log fire heating

– Power for laptops and battery charging (generator provided)

– Outdoor Sauna

If you are interested in photographing wild Arctic Fox now is the time register your interest. Places on the expedition are extremely limited and once spoken for thats it. You can download a complete PDF on the expedition HERE and register your interest by dropping me an email to info@jholko.com

PIK Wizard – Fourteen of the World’s Top Photographers

Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs

PIK Wizard has posted a collection of fourteen of their favourite Nature Photographs. Included amongst the photographs is my own image of the back-lit Polar Bear from my winter expedition to Svalbard a couple of years ago. Its a great collection with some lovely photography – From their website:

Nature is inspiring. Plain and simple. There’s nothing better to instil a sense of the greater good, than seeing a breath-taking landscape.

This can happen in many ways, whether it’s a simple walk in the park or trekking halfway up a mountain, there is plenty of opportunities that produce awe inspiring moments. Sometimes when you’re not even looking for them and least expect it.

Perhaps it’s a red summer sky, or a crisp frosty morning in winter. Scraping the ice off your car isn’t so bad when it’s the first snow fall of the year and the snow is still fresh.

We wanted to create a post that allows our readers to sit back and truly be wowed by the power of nature, as capture in an image. We decided the best way to do this would be to contact some of the world’s top photographers and ask them to share their favourite nature images. Boy did they deliver.

In this post you’ll find some of the most awe inspiring images that truly capture natures beauty. Some of which took hours, even days of sitting and waiting to capture, others were taken when the perfect opportunity just happened to arise and the photographer scrambled to get their camera’s out in time to frame it, but they did.

Canon Australia Feature Best Pro Photographs of 2017

Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs

Canon Australia has recently published a series of images ‘Best Pro Photographs of 2017’ on their website HERE. I was pleased to be invited to participate again this year and included one of my favourite images from winter in Svalbard. This photograph also won a Silver with Distinction at the 2017 AIPP APPA Awards.

Its a great collection of images Canon have put together across a very diverse range of genres. In particular Peter Sharp’s capture of a Black-Bird (I am not sure the species) is extraordinary and was my favourite pick from the collection.

Future Film Projects after Ghosts of the Arctic

Antarctica, Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Video

The feedback I have received over the last few months since the release of Ghosts of the Arctic has been nothing short of amazing. Thank you very much to all of you who took the time to write to me with your thoughts on the short film. To date it has been screened or is scheduled to be screened at multiple film festivals across the globe, has been featured on multiple news sites including National Geographic, Daily Mail, Peta-Pixel and many, many more (I was even interviewed by the Today show on Channel 9 about the experience of making the film) and has been seen on both You Tube and Vimeo millions of times. One of the common and recurring questions I have received since the release of Ghosts was would I do any future films and if so what? Well…The answer is ‘maybe‘. The truth is these short films are extremely time consuming and very expensive to produce. Ghosts of the Arctic was more than two years in the planning and when I look back at all of the work and effort (and cost) that went into the planning and production from all who helped its difficult to quickly make the mental leap into the next project. I do have several future projects in mind, but it is honestly a matter of getting time, man power, love and money to all align in perfect harmony (not an easy thing!). I also want to push more into documenting the radical climate change we are experiencing in the polar regions through both the Arctic Arts Project and Penguin World vehicles in which I am involved. Any future film project will likely be focused in this area and most likely involve the full team involved in each project. At the moment though my focus is on finishing my new hardcover fine-art book on Antarctica, which I hope will be published late in 2018 (more details to come).

Getting the Best from Ice and Snow with Canon’s Highlight Tone Priority

Antarctica, Equipment, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs

You never stop learning in the photographic industry and every now and again I learn something that I wish I had known a little earlier. And this is exactly what occurred on my recent Antarctica White Nature expedition (full trip report coming soon). I should have tested this a long time ago, but never did and I think thats because I had mentally written off this setting (Highlight Tone Priority) as just a camera gimmick. If memory serves me correctly I may have even read a test on this feature some years ago on a review site that had more or less written off the feature as being superfluous. The reality is though that Highlight Tone Priority offers some significant advantages for photographers working with ice and snow and that engaging this setting can net you a better file with increased texture and tone in your ice and snow than you might have otherwise have been able to achieve.

Those who have travelled and photographed with me before know I am constantly harping on about the importance of having both texture and tone in ice and snow (I have written on my blog about this before as well as produced a short video on how to process images with ice and snow). Without texture and tone in your ice and snow you have nothing but flat white areas that are devoid of any depth or life. In fact, short of a major technical error there isn’t much else that will ruin a photograph of ice and snow than a lack of definition (texture and tone) in the snow. So the key to a great file with ice and snow is that you have to have both texture and tone. Well, as it turns out Canon cameras with the Highlight Tone Priority setting have an advantage in this regard.

On my recent Antarctica expedition I was going through the menu system of my Canon EOS 1DX MKII cameras looking for an adjustment for auto focus when I came across the Highlight Tone Priority setting. We were heading out to photograph icebergs on a zodiac cruise in just a few minutes so I decided to actually turn it on and test it. The opportunity was perfect with lots of wonderful icebergs in soft overcast light and I wanted to see if engaging the setting actually had any real effect on the visible texture and tone in the ice and snow. As it turned out, I ended up testing this feature extensively over a period of three weeks.

The Highlight Tone Priority setting is located in the jpeg menu area of the Canon EOS 1DX MKII so you would be forgiven for thinking that perhaps this setting only applied to jpegs and not RAW files. However, Highlight Tone Priority does indeed benefit RAW files and in the case of ice and snow by a not insignificant amount.

From the research I have done and from what I understand Highlight Tone Priority works by trying to optimise contrast and detail in the brightest part of the file by altering the sensor response curve. All cameras have a fixed dynamic range, from shadow to highlight, that they can capture so its important to understand that its not possible to simply increase the dynamic range. Instead, Highlight Tone Priority shifts some of the available dynamic range from the mid-tones to the highlights to produce smoother tones, with more detail in bright areas. Canon describe Highlight Tone Priority in the following way in the Canon EOS 1DX MKII user manual:

Highlight details are improved. The dynamic range is expanded from the standard 18% grey to bright highlights. The gradation between the greys and highlights becomes smoother.

The Highlight Tone Priority setting will be indicated by a D+ symbol in the LCD display when it is engaged. According to Canon you should avoid using Highlight Tone Priority in low light or when shooting subjects with heavy shadows because it may cause more noise to appear in those areas (In my own testing to date I have not encountered this).

Incidentally, the reason you cannot set an ISO lower than 200 with the Highlight Tone Priority setting engaged appears to be because the camera is in effect underexposing the photograph by shifting the ISO under the hood (probably to ISO160 or even ISO100). The net result is better preservation of highlight detail when the Highlight Tone Priority setting is engaged. You could argue you could achieve the same effect by under exposing your photograph without turning on the Highlight Tone Priority. However, underexposing the photograph means you are also increasing the noise to signal ratio and thats never a good idea.

In my own experience and as a result of direct testing over a period of more than three weeks in Antarctica with ice and snow in various light and conditions I have found that enabling Highlight Tone Priority increases the perceptible tone and texture (fine detail) in ice and snow and that there is no negative side effect of engaging this setting (provided you expose correctly). In fact, I noticed a difference immediately when looking at the jpeg preview generated on the back of the camera magnified at 100%. Once I got the files onto my laptop and was able to look carefully at them I was convinced of the benefit and once I got the files home and onto my high end graphics workstation I was a complete convert. Enabling this setting does produce a file with increased texture and tone in snow and ice than might otherwise have been achieved.I am not advocating that you engage Highlight Tone Priority on your camera for all subjects and that you simply turn it on and forget about it. But I am advocating that you think seriously about trying it the next time you are photographing ice and snow (wedding photographers might also find this extremely useful for brides dresses). For me, Highlight Tone Priority is now a mandatory setting and I have added it to the ‘My Menu’ area on both my EOS 1DX MKII cameras. I will certainly turn it on whenever I am shooting ice and snow in the future.

MacPhun Pre-Order Luminar Neptune 2018 for Mac and Windows

News and Updates, Software, Uncategorized

MacPhun have just announced the new Luminar Neptune 2018 is now available for Pre-order for both Mac and Windows. Those of you who follow my blog or who have travelled and photographed with me in recent times know already that I am a huge fan of this time saving software.

About Luminar: Luminar 2018 offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018; a digital asset management platform.

A Digital asset management platform is huge news for those users looking for an alternative to Adobe’s rather bloated Lightroom software and increasingly annoying subscription model.

Users will also benefit from the new intelligent Sun Rays filter, LUT support, and real-time noise removal. With workspaces that match different styles of editing, Luminar adapts to deliver a complete experience that avoids clutter and complexity.

Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts. Existing filters deliver richer colors and depth in less time. A brand new streamlined user interface speeds up working with presets, filters, and masks. With full support of pro options like layers, masks, and blending modes, complex repairs and photo composites can be easily accomplished.

Luminar 2018 is available now for pre-order on November 1, and released on November 16 2018. Pre-Order HERE.

Svalbard in Winter Expedition March 2018 – A Landscape and Wildlife Paradise

Arctic, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions

This coming winter (March 2018) I will be leading an expedition to Svalbard in search of spectacular frozen landscapes, Polar Bears, Reindeer, Arctic Fox and more. The Arctic in Winter is a place to inspire the imagination. It is a white landscape bathed in golden light.The main focus of this expedition will be Arctic winter light, landscape and wildlife. In March and April the light conditions in Svalbard are magical. Usually winter trips to Svalbard are limited to day trips on snow mobiles quite close to the town of Longyearbyen. With our expedition ship we will explore a much bigger area including the western and northern areas of Spitzbergen. Expeditions such as this to Svalbard in winter have only really been possible for the last few years. With our ship now fully prepared for an Arctic winter it is possible for us to sail north from Longyearbyen and explore the spectacular coastline of the Svalbard archipelago.

This unique expedition has been designed to provide the very best possible opportunities to experience and photograph Svalbard in winter light. We expect to meet wildlife such as Polar Bears, Walruses, Seals, Arctic Foxes and Reindeer. At this time of year the sea birds will also be returning to their breeding grounds.This exclusive expedition is for a strictly limited number of just 12 participants plus leader and is dedicated to winter photography in Svalbard. Currently there are only a few places left before the expedition will be sold out.

We will be using the ice hardened expedition ship M.S Origo that will enable us to skirt the edge of the pack ice searching for and photographing landscapes and wildlife. M.S Origo is widely regarded as the best ship in the Arctic for Photography. Our expedition ship is also equipped with suf cient zodiacs (2 x Zodiac MKV models) and crew for all photographers to be shooting simultaneously with plenty of room to spare for camera equipment – So bring what you need!If you are keen to photograph the Arctic in winter you can register you interest in one of the few remaining places by dropping me an email. A detailed PDF with costs and itinerary can be downloaded HERE. Places are filled on a first come, first served basis.

Major Workshop / Expedition Update 2017 / 2018

Africa, Antarctica, Arctic, Australia, Finland, Iceland, Landscape Photographs, Lofoten, New Zealand, News and Updates, Photographs, Tasmania, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions

With August almost behind us (just where is the year going?) I felt it time for an update on workshops and expeditions for the remainder of 2017 and into 2018 (with a sneak peak into 2019).

In a little under two weeks time I will be heading north to Greenland for two back-to-back expeditions to the remote east coast of Greenland. These expeditions into the remote and wild Scoresby Sund fjord system have been in planning for more than two years now and I am really looking forward to setting sail from Constable Point in Greenland to start our photographic expedition. Both of these expeditions have long been sold out, but I will be returning to Greenland in 2019 and will have more details on that expedition later this year.After I finish in Greenland I am heading down to Antarctica for my White Nature expedition. Timed as the first of the season we have planned our expedition to take advantage of dramatic and variable weather as well as giant icebergs and lots of snow and ice. I have been travelling to Antarctica annually for many years now and have found early November to consistently offer the best photographic experience for all aboard. I recently published a full guide on how to choose the right photographic expedition to Antartica and it can be downloaded for free HERE. This expedition is sold out.

2018 will kick off with sold out expeditions to Lofoten for Winter landscapes and Iceland for Arctic Fox in winter. My last workshop to Lofoten was in 2016 and I am looking forward to returning to this incredible archipelago. The rising and precipitous mountains that climb directly out of the sea and the rugged coastal landscapes make for a photographers paradise. And of course, the chance of Aurora Borealis (northern lights) only sweetens the pot and adds that magic element to what is one of the most picturesque places I have ever been fortunate to visit and photograph.My annual expedition to photograph Arctic Fox in winter in the remote and wild Hornstrandir reserve in Iceland has also long been sold out (Read the 2017 Expedition Report). I will be returning to Iceland in 2019 for this expedition and am now taking expressions of interest from those interested in photographing this incredible survivor. I will have full details including dates and costs for 2019 soon.After Iceland I will travel to Svalbard to lead a winter expedition north of Longyearbyen in search of polar bears and dramatic winter landscapes. Svalbard in winter is an absolutely breathtaking location. With newly formed sea ice, snow and ice covered mountains and chance encounters with the worlds largest land predator in a stunning white environment this expedition rates as one of my absolute all time favourites (Be sure to check out the Expedition Trip Report from March this year). At this stage there are still a few places remaining before the expedition will be sold out. If you are interested in joining us and exploring the winter white wonderland of this Arctic archipelago you can register your interest by dropping me an email. The remaining places are filled strictly on a first come, first served basis. To get an idea of what winter is like in Svalbard be sure to check out the new Ghosts of the Arctic short film by clicking on the image below.In late April / Early May I will lead my annual New Zealand South Island Masterclass workshop. This will be the last year I offer the South Island workshop as I plan to switch gears in 2019 with a brand new Van Diemens Land Tasmania Landscape workshop that will also include an optional extension to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria Australia (more details on this to come at a future date). The New Zealand South Island Masterclass has been an eagerly anticipated workshop over the last few years. For the final year my co-leader Phillip and I are including even more helicopter time over the spectacular southern alps with doors off photography to enable us all to capture some truly stunning imagery. Strictly limited to just six participants there are now only a few places remaining before the workshop will be sold out. Earlier this year, Daniel Bergmann and I completed a brand new workshop to photograph Atlantic Puffins and other Arctic birds at several different locations in Iceland that included the remote northern Grimsey Island, inside the Arctic circle. (Read the trip Report). The workshop was a great success and as such we have decided to offer a new workshop in May next year that will take us back to Grimsey Island to photograph both the wildlife and incredible landscape of this remote island. As well as Grimsey Island we will also spend time in Myvatn in the north of Iceland – One of the best places in the world to photograph Arctic birds. Grimsey Island in particular is one of the most spectacular locations I have visited in Iceland with towering cliffs that rise hundreds of feet out of the ocean and incredible basalt columns. It is a wild and primordial landscape that is rarely visited and even less rarely photographed. If you are interested in photographing the loveable and comical Atlantic Puffin and other Arctic bird species this workshop is not to be missed. Only two places remaining before the workshop will be sold out.In July I will return to Svalbard for my annual summer Polar Bear expedition. This expedition has been designed from the ground up to provide the very best possible opportunities to Photograph Polar Bears in their natural environment. With the reduction in Arctic sea ice the Polar Bears in Svalbard are dwindling in number and the number of years left to photograph them is unfortunately now extremely limited. Late July and August are the ideal times to photograph Polar Bears north of Svalbard due to the dwindling ice around the archipelago. On this expedition we will be carrying a naturalist/biologist who specialises in locating Polar Bears and an expedition leader and captain who have years of experience in placing us in the ideal position to make the best photographs. Their expertise will allow us to approach the king of the Arctic as closely and safely as possible and make incredible photographs under the spectacular midnight sun. To get an idea of what this workshop entails be sure to read the 2016 trip report. In October I will return to the gigantic sand dunes of Namibia for a new Desert Fire Safari. This will be my fourth visit to Namibia to photograph the ancient sand dunes of the worlds largest and oldest desert. It is the perfect juxtaposition to my usual polar landscape and wildlife photography and offers an alternate landscape of extremes. Our workshop will sea us visit the giant red sand dunes of Sossusvlei, the eerie ghost town of Kolmonskop as well as the relentless Skeleton coast and the Etosha wildlife reserve. Places are now limited. For more information please send me an email.Finally in November 2018 I will return to the sea ice of Gould Bay in Antarctica for my Emperor Penguin expedition (Read the 2016 Expedition Report). There are plenty of species the world over that are much harder to find than Emperor Penguins. To my knowledge however, none is as difficult or as expensive to reach as the Emperor Penguin; and thats the conundrum of Emperor Penguin photography. We know exactly where they are located, we just cant get to them without great difficulty and significant expense. Living on the sea ice in remote and difficult to reach areas of Antarctica the Emperor Penguin is therefore as difficult to reach as the enigmatic snow leopard is to locate in the wilds of its mountainous territories. This expedition will see us fly to Union Glacier deep in the Interior of Antarctica where we will set up our base camp before we take smaller twin otter aircraft out to the sea ice for our advance camp where we will live with the Emperor Penguins during our time on the sea ice. Strictly limited to just eight photographers there is only one place remaining before the expedition will be sold out (Read the 2016 Expedition Report).Peaking into 2019 I will be leading a brand new workshop to the north of Finland in February in search of Golden Eagles, Hawk Owls, Wolves and wolverine (full details coming very soon). The workshop is going to include a significant amount of photography from private hides and will afford opportunities to photograph rare species not often seen and even less often photographed. I am not quite ready to start taking bookings for this new workshop but you are welcome to register your interest by dropping me an email.

A final sneak peak into 2019 includes a new workshop to photograph the landscapes of Van Diemens land (Tasmania) with an optional extension to the Great Ocean road in Victoria Australia. More details to come soon….