This morning the final winning results for the Travel Photographer of the Year 2020 competition were announced and I was pleased to receive a special mention for my Pallas Cat photograph from Mongolia in the Nature, Sealife and Wildlife category. Congratulations to all the winners and places. This was the first year that TPOTY has not judged prints in the final round of judging (as a result of COVID) and I have to say I really missed the opportunity to submit prints. Hopefully TPOTY will return later this year to judging prints in the final round.
As a direct result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the slow roll out of the vaccine and the continual travel bans, mandatory quarantine and closure of countries around the world my 2021 Winter Polar Bear expedition to Svalbard is being delayed until 2022. This expedition was originally planned for 2020, but will now run in April of 2022. New dates will be advised as soon as possible. Participants will be contacted directly via email.
For all of you who have written to me expressing understanding of the need for workshop and expedition delays I am extremely grateful. The COVID pandemic has has presented extremely difficult and ongoing logistical challenges to the business. Your support, patience and understanding has been very much appreciated. I am also grateful to remain healthy when so many around the world have been far less fortunate. Here in Australia, we are almost completely COVID free; with only a small handful of cases that are being managed through our hotel quarantine system. We are expecting vaccine roll out to begin around March with health workers and the elderly at the front of the line. Australia’s management of COVID has been effective by world standards, but has but has had a devastating impact on local business. Our dictatorial and dystopian style lockdown has destroyed thousands of businesses and had enormous mental health implications across our country. Although the media is portraying our approach as effective in the management of COVID (it has been); it is important to note that it has come at an incalculable cost to mental health and business. Many here in Australia have kept their lives as a result of our governments lockdowns, but have lost their livelihoods. We now need to help them rebuild.
With the vaccine in the early stages of roll out around the world I am hopeful we will be able to get back to travel and photography around the middle of the year. Workshop and expedition participants will always be contacted personally via email of any updates pertaining to their booked experience and subsequent updates will be made here on my blog.
Stay safe, well and healthy and I look forward to better times for all as the world rolls out the vaccine.
Brent Bergherm over at Latitude Photography has just published another Podcast episode on my Polar Photography. This podcast covers cold weather shooting, how I prepare for the cold, how to dress, what to take and what cameras and equipment to use. Listen to the Podcast.
Early next month I will be presenting a one hour online webinar on behalf of BenQ monitors on how to shoot the best wildlife photographs. The webinar is FREE and will include topics such as how to photograph Wildlife, best practice, the importance of colour calibration and even a little information on soft proofing for print. There will also be a Q&A session at the end of the presentation. The webinar will run February 17th 6:30pm Melbourne Australia time.
Join us with Joshua Holko on this live webinar where he shares his knowledge and experience on how to shoot the best wildlife photography, soft proofing for print, why calibration and colour accuracy matters, there’s also a chance for you to ask him any questions you may have at the end! Looking forward to everyone’s attendance!
The WPC was founded in 2013 as a cooperative effort by The Federation of European Photographers (FEP) and Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Its singular goal is to unite photographers in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. A Governing Committee has been created to conduct the ongoing affairs of the competition, also supported by UAPP (United Asian Professional Photography) and AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography). The brotherhood and sisterhood of photography is a bond that transcends language, culture, and geography. That’s the foundation behind the World Photographic Cup, an one of a kind international team competition. Sure, there are lots of other competitions, but there is just one World Photographic Cup.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 