The Arctic Arts Project of which I am a project photographer is in final preparation for The Arctic Circle assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland, where we will be co-presenting with Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Earth Vision Institute and Stefansson Institute. With Photographers: Kerry Koepping, Örvar A. Þorgeirsson, Joshua Holko, Iurie Belegurschi, Carsten Egevang, Andy Williams and Marc Muench. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend in person due to my other travel commitments. However, I can share a preview of the video we will be showing at the Assembly. Just click on the image below. Read more about the Arctic Circle Assembly HERE.
Category: News and Updates
JHolko Photography Latest News and Updates
Polar Photography Presentation Community College of Rhode Island
PhotoPlus in New York is now only around the corner (I will be leaving Australia in just over a week). As well as presenting at the Moab, and Legion Paper, BenQ and Canon stands I will also be giving a free Polar Photography presentation at the Rhode Island Community College on Thursday October 27th between 6 and 8pm. Details Below:
Photo of the Month October 2016 – Polar Bear on Sea Ice
The photograph of the month for October 2016 was taken on my Polar Bear expedition to Svalbard this July (read the trip report). I actually made this photograph through the open porthole of my cabin as I wanted to be as low down to the water as possible (wildlife photographs are almost always stronger and more powerful when you get down to eye level with the subject). I had been photographing the bear from the deck of the ship with a 600mm lens. When he started to approach closer to the ship I grabbed a wide angle lens and ran downstairs to my cabin as I new there would be an opportunity to capture a dramatic image of the bear in the landscape from a low perspective. We were fortunate to have some really dramatic cloud and lovely soft arctic light under the midnight sun. 
If you are interested in photographing Polar Bears on sea ice under the midnight sun there are now only a couple of places remaining before my expedition next July will be sold out. You can register your interest by dropping me an email.
One of my very good friends and Norwegian partners Ole Jorgen Liodden has just launched a new project and study on Polar Bears vs. Humans.
Polar bears and humans have a long history in most parts of the Arctic. Since the Inuitts met the Polar bears thousands of years ago, there has been more and more interaction with this large predator. Hunting, scientific activity and tourism is today directly interacting with the Polar bears, and also climate change and pollution can be linked to human activities, affecting the life of the Arctic King.
The big question is how this human activity is affecting the Polar bears. How many Polar bears are killed annually? Is this hunting sustainable? Is the Polar bear management effective? How does the climate change affect the survival and opportunities for Polar bears? Is the population of Polar bears decreasing or increasing? Are there any red flags regarding the trade of Polar bear skins? These are some of the important questions very few authors, researchers or organizations are asking. In this project we want to publish information about these topics and ask the questions to different Polar beard interest groups.
The project aims to expose the impact of Polar Bear trophy hunting as well as the legal and illegal hunting and killing of Polar Bears in the Arctic. You can read more (and support) about this important project on the project website.
Landscape Photography Magazine – Raw and Unedited Interview
Landscape Photography Magazine have just published a new Really Right Stuff Sponsored Interview in their latest (no. #68) October issue. The interview was a great opportunity to talk a little bit about how I transitioned into a full time professional Nature Photographer and also my own ethics and thoughts on Nature Photography. Interview Excerpt Below:
In your opinion, how vital is integrity in the field of landscape photography?
Integrity is critical if we are to be honest with the viewers and honest with ourselves. When we look at a photograph we expect – or at least hope – it is real and not a digital creation. I personally believe in rewarding the skill of the photographer in the field and not the skill of the retoucher in front of a computer. Nowadays, literally anything is possible with digital manipulation in post-production. Multi-image composites are commonplace and are frequently presented to the viewer – often through social media – as ‘captures of nature’. Whilst it is fine to do this sort of manipulation I find it disingenuous not to disclose it. Nature photography should be about capturing what we find in the field, and not creating it on a computer. The latter is digital art in my book.
When I see images that are clearly composites being used to market workshops to exotic locations, that really irks me. Participants on those trips are going to expect to see that scene and are unaware that it is a fabrication. Our integrity as photographers is all we have to stand behind. That’s not something I wish to compromise.
The full interview is available for free on the Landscape Photography Magazine website.
Canon 600mm F4L IS DO Lens in Development
Camera and lens rumours don’t often make news on my blog; but I wan to make an exception in this case as I believe the development of the Canon 600mm F4L IS DO lens will be a real game changer and one of the most exciting lenses to be expected in recent times. A 600mm F4 DO lens will absolutely change the game for wildlife photographers who (wedded to the sublime bokeh of 600mm F4 lenses) have traditionally had to schlep large, bulky and heavy telephoto lenses around the globe in search of wildlife. As a photographer who regularly travels with a 600mm F4L IS MKII lens I can tell you that its no easy task getting such a large piece of glass on location on the the other side of the world. A 600mm F4L IS DO lens would be manna from heaven. I think I’ll make some space for this one in my lens cupboard now….
From Canon Rumours
We’re told that the Canon EF 600mm f/4 DO IS that was shown in prototype form at Canon EXPO in September of 2015 is currently scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2017.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 