JHolko Photography Latest News and Updates
As a direct result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis that originated in China and the continual travel bans and closure of countries around the world my 2020 Polar Bears of the High Arctic expedition to Svalbard is being delayed until 2021. Full details are on my website in the Workshops link.
A few weeks ago I blogged that I took the plunge and ordered a brand new 16-Core Xeon Mac Pro for my still and video editing requirements. I noted at the time I would delve more in depth into my thought process for the purchase as well as discuss my reasoning for the final specification I chose. Since we are all pretty much stuck at home at the moment and since it has been more than a few years since my last unboxing video (the Canon 200-400mm f4L IS Lens) I felt it high time for another unboxing video and a vlog discussion on the new Mac Pro. Enjoy.
A few days ago I received the exciting news that I have been made a director of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) . I have been a member of the AIPP (Master of Photography with two gold bars and 4 silver service bars) for almost a decade now and am both thrilled and honoured to have been asked to join the board of Directors. These are challenging times for the institute I am looking forward to working with the board to secure the future of the AIPP going forward. The position was formally announced via video below. If you don’t want to watch the entire message for April / May just skip forward to 12:15 for the announcement.
The photograph of the month for May 2020 comes from my Finland workshop in September last year to photograph Wolves and Wolverines (Read the Trip Report). Photographed from a ground level hide in no mans land between Finland and Russia during the first late Autumn snowfall; this photograph captures for me the very essence of a wild wolf. The gesture with the raised paw and angle of attack of the animals head in combination with the intense glare makes for a powerful and emotive photograph.
By way of a little back story to this photograph – I had actually dragged a small portable ground level hide into this location specifically for the clean and distant forest background in combination with the soft grasses in the foreground. I was then very fortunate to have this young wolf approach within 600mm range just as the first snow was beginning to fall. Finland has very quickly become one of my favourite destinations on the planet for wildlife photography and I am looking forward to returning later this year (assuming we are all able to travel!). I will have a video on the post production of the photograph in Adobe Lightroom in coming days.
Things have been a little quiet on my blog over the last week or so as I have been very busy with renovations and painting during the COVID lock down (It seemed the ideal time to make the most of the forced time at home). My days have mostly been spent at the ugly end of a paintbrush as I have moved from room to room splashing a new lease of life around the walls and ceiling. Painting has to be the exact antithesis of what I would rather be doing and if it were not for this current COVID crisis I would be in Svalbard right now sharing a wonderful experience with a group of passionate photographers. Ce la’ Vie.
As well as painting the place I also recently moved my studio and office (down sized a bit) and added a new Mac Pro computer for my video and image editing workflow. I will probably do a video in the coming weeks on why I decided to pony up the substantial cash for the new Mac Pro and what my mind set and reasoning were for this not inexpensive purchase decision. In the end, I opted for the spec. below; which I felt offered really good bang for buck performance. I do have some updates in my mind down the road, such as the addition of an After Burner card for editing Prores and more internal SSD storage. – more to come on that later.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 