WILD Magazine Features Antarctica Portfolio

Wild magazine has remained my favourite Australian outdoor adventure magazines over the years and I am very pleased to have a portfolio of my images from Antarctica featured in the current issue. This is the second time WILD have featured a portfolio of my photography. The first was back in February 2011 when they published a series of images from Iceland under the title ‘Fire and Ice‘. This 2nd portfolio of images from my 2011 Antarctica expedition includes some of my favourite images from that trip.If you are interested in joining me on an expedition to Antarctica there are still a couple of spots remaining on the November trip I am leading with my good friend Daniel Bergmann this year. This promises to be a very special and unique expedition. You can download a detailed PDF flyer and itinerary from the Workshops Page on my website or contact me for further information.

FootNote:

Wild magazine was founded and originally owned by Chris Baxter – a well respected climber and outdoorsman in his own right who was largely responsible for a significant portion of the early climbing scene in Australia. I had the privilege of knowing Chris and climbing with him briefly during my youth at both Mount Arapiles and The Grampians. Chris forged many new climbs at both of these world famous locations as well as Mount Buffalo and was a full time character in the Australian climbing scene. Chris subsequently sold Wild due to health issues after building up a very successful publishing company that became the outlet for all things bush walking and climbing related in Australia. Unfortunately  Chris passed away in 2010 after a long fight with cancer but ‘Wild’ and ‘Rock’ continue to be published under new new ownership.

Elected to the AIPP Victorian State Council – 2013

I was honoured this week to be elected to the Victorian State Council of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Serving on the Victorian council is a privilege and I am looking forward to working with my fellow council and Victorian members over the coming year. The AIPP have some very exciting events coming up over the coming months and the council has some great plans to continually improve it’s events and membership return on investment. It is an exciting time to be joining the council and I am looking forward to the year ahead. If you are considering joining the AIPP I would strongly encourage you to attend one of the upcoming events and get involved in the peak Australian body for Photography. Our next event is the Print Critique evening on the 3rd of July at the Melbourne head office in Box Hill at 6:30pm.

Antarctica Expedition 2013 – Limited Places Available

Daniel Bergmann and I have had a couple of places become available on the Antarctica Photographic Expedition we are leading in November this year. There is one triple share male space remaining, one twin-share and one-twin private place before the trip is sold out.

This has been a trip more than 8 months in the planning and has been designed and structured to provide the very best possible photographic opportunities. It also includes some truly unique features and opportunities that we are really excited about. The expedition is for a strictly limited number of 50 participants plus leaders and expedition guide and will offer an extended period in Antarctica (15 Day / 14 night Expedition). Whilst most trips to Antarctica take 100+ tourists we are capping the trip at a maximum of 50 dedicated photographers in order to ensure the best possible experience and photographic opportunities. We will be using an ice hardened expedition ship with a highly experienced crew in order to ensure we can get as close as possible to big ice and place you in the best locations for making photographs. Our expedition ship the ‘Polar Pioneer’ is equipped with sufficient zodiacs and crew for all photographers to be shooting simultaneously with plenty of room to spare for camera equipment.The expedition departs on the 9th of November 2013 and returns on the 23rd of November 2013 and includes very special access into areas normally restricted to scientific research, as well as taking in amazing locations such as the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, the Gerlache Strait and the surreal geothermal Deception Island, to name but a few. There is a fly return from the Falkland Islands; which avoids the worst of the Drake Passage and allows us more time in Antarctica as well as the opportunity to visit and photograph in the the wildlife rich Falkland Islands. There is also an option to stay on in the Falklands for each person for as long as they wish. Flights run once a week out of the Falklands with LAN Chile.

KEY FEATURES OF THIS EXPEDITION

  • Strictly Limited to a maximum of 50 participants (much smaller than most other trips to Antarctica, more personal space and the ability for everyone to go ashore and work from zodiacs simultaneously)
  • Ice Hardened Expedition Class Ship
  • 15 Day Trip (Most trips are only 10 days), which means more time for photography
  • Access to areas of Antarctica dedicated to scientific research
  • The expedition is dedicated to photography first and foremost; which means we will be spending the maximum amount of time possible shooting from ship, shore and zodiac.
  • Added experience of Wildlife in the Falkland Islands and the ability to stay on after the trip in the Falklands.

Weather dependant there will be the added option to spend a night ashore camping in Antarctica. Should the weather favour us we will select a suitable location at the end of a days photography and head ashore via zodiac where we will make camp. All overnight camping equipment will be provided (including sleeping bags) and all you need to do is to make the decision to either spend the night ashore or on ship. Zodiacs will be kept ready throughout the night in case there is any need to return to ship. Of course if you choose to spend the night camping there will be non-stop opportunities for photography throughout the night. This is a fabulous opportunity to not only tick one of the seven continents but also to spend a night ashore.

In addition high end medium format camera manufacturer Phase One has joined this expedition. Kevin Raber, ex Vice President of Phase One PODAS workshops and now part owner of Luminous Landscape will be joining us for the duration of the expedition and will bringing a number of complete Phase One camera systems for everyone on the expedition to freely try and use throughout the trip. This is a truly extraordinary opportunity for all participants to experience the very best medium format digital system on the market today in what is in all likelyhood the most remote and amazing landscape on the planet. Not only will we be travelling to world class locations such as the geothermal Deception Island, the breathtaking Lemaire channel and the Gerlache Strait; but we will also be making photographs with some of the highest quality camera equipment available today.

To get an idea of the sort of photographs you will be able to take on this expedition please visit the Antarctica portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com You can download a detailed flyer and itinerary HERE .

If you are interested in joining us on what is going to be a unique and wondrous expedition to Antarctica then please drop me an email to secure one of these last remaining places. These last places are secured on a first come, first served basis ad once they are spoken for and booked thats it.

Canon 200-400mm F4L IS w/ 1.4TC Unboxing

I am not normally into ‘unboxing videos’ but I could not help myself this afternoon when I found myself with a few minutes to spare and a large cardboard box containing the new ‘Canon 200-400mm F4L IS USM Lens’. I field tested a prototype of this lens late last year (You can see the Video HERE) and have been eagerly awaiting its official announcement and release in the hopes it would arrive in time for my Arctic workshops this July and August. Thankfully, it was delivered today which gives me a week to test it before I take it to Svalbard and Greenland in search of Polar Bears. So, just for giggles, HERE is my first (and probably last) unboxing video of the new and hotly anticipated Canon 200-400 Lens. In keeping with what seems traditional with unboxing videos – its faceless.

Photography Expeditions.com

For those of you who may have had some difficulty with the FLASH based workshop page on my primary website at www.jholko.com (usually only an issue when using non-flash enabled tablet devices such as Apple iPads and iPhones) I have put up a new HTML page that provides a quick snapshot of the current workshop and expedition offerings. The site contains preliminary information and a portal link for additional information on each trip. Also included are direct links to those professional photographers I work with on joint workshops and expeditions from time-to-time. The new page can be accessed at www.photographyexpeditions.com