Earlier today I received the exciting news that I am a multiple semi-finalist in the 2022 Nature’s Best Photography competition. This is the first photographic competition I have entered since the AIPP closed its doors in late 2021. The closure of the AIPP regrettably also saw the end of the much lauded APPA photographic print competition. It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the finished print and vastly prefer the printed image to the digital facsimile. The loss of APPA was a deep, personal blow for me (and many others) and I do wish we had an alternative print competition. In 2022 however, there are regrettably no print competitions remaining of note; so after some soul searching I decided to enter Natures Best Photography (along with a couple of other Digital only competitions).

I cannot as yet share which photographs have made the semi-finals; but I am very pleased to have multiple photographs in the semi-finals after quite a long hiatus of entering photographic competitions (especially digital ones). More to come as soon as I am able to share the photographs. In the meantime, please enjoy this image of the Pallas Cat – my favourite from my last expedition to Mongolia.

Just a quick update that there are now only three places remaining on both my workshops for Wolves, Bears and Wolverines and the Golden Eagle and Eagle Owl extension in September next year 2023. The two workshops are back-to-back, but can be booked individually. Both are designed for the passionate and keen wildlife photographer who wants to make unique, intimate and dramatic photographs of these amazing animals. On both of these workshops you will have the opportunity to get incredible photographs not possible anywhere else. There is also extensive photographic tuition available. To get an idea of the sort of photographs you can make on these trips please check out the Finland portfolio on my website. If you are interested in photographing all of these incredible animals, or would like additional information about these workshops please drop me an email to register your interest in one of the last places.

A few weeks at home have come and gone fast enough to make my head spin and at crack of 4am tomorrow morning I am going to make my way back to Melbourne airport for the flight to Sydney and then long haul onto Santiago and then down to Punta Arenas at the bottom of Chile. From there I will have a few days to relax while my group waits for a weather window to fly down to Union Glacier deep in Antarctica where we will be based while we wait for a second weather window to take a twin-otter out to the sea ice at Gould Bay. Once there we will be camping on the sea ice with the Emperor Penguins for the duration of our expedition.

As I have written before, there are many species of wildlife that are harder to find than Emperor Penguins, but I know of none other that is as hard to get to or requires so many flights (perhaps only the White Wolves of Ellesmere Island). From my home base in Australia it will be five flights before I arrive on location on the sea ice. It has been four years since I was last camping with the Emperor Penguins and I am extremely excited to be heading back to photograph these miraculous birds with a small group of passionate photographers. See you in Antarctica!

Edit – If you wanted to know what equipment I have packed for this expedition be sure to check out Podcast #53 Packing for Antarctica and the Emperor Penguins. This podcast also includes a fairly significant rant on the recent requirement for Australian citizens (as of 2020) to have a special Visa to enter Chile. In brief, you now require an official authorized letter of introduction that states your purpose and reason for travel, your travel itinerary, your accomodation booking, three months bank statements (minimum) or a recent tax return (to show you can support yourself), and a full national Australian police check! You then make an online submission for the Visa. The entire process is going to cost you over $200 ($188 for the Visa and approx. $40 for the police check). The process takes not less than ten business days and is inordinately painful. Unfortunately, the entire requirement for this Visa appears to be little more than tit for tat; since the Australian government requires an equal level of documentation and bureaucratic red tape for Chileans to visit Australia. Travel in 2022 is a lot harder than it was pre-pandemic….

Both my 2023 and 2024 expeditions to photograph the Arctic Fox in the far north of Iceland in Winter are now sold out – thank you. Dates will soon be announced for February 2025. If you want to get the jump on the bookings when the trip is announced please just drop me an email to register your interest; no obligation at this point.

VISA UPDATE – If you listened to Podcast #53 you will know that I have been waiting for my visa to be issued for entry into Chile at the end of this week. I am pleased to say that the Chilean embassy issued the visa yesterday and that I will be travelling to Antarctica (via Chile) in just a few days time.

I have just published episode #53 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I have a big rant about the new red tape Visa requirements for Australian citizens to travel abroad to Chile.  I also discuss my equipment packing list for the Emperor Penguin expedition to Antarctica in a few days’ time.