Category: Landscape Photographs

Landscape Photographs from around the World

Ice Blade : Antarctica

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One of the great joys of photography for me other than the actual taking of the photograph is the processing and printing of images in my studio.  Every now and again I revisit photographs from a shoot that have to date languished in my Lightroom library and very occasionally I unearth a gem that I had previously overlooked. Sometimes it takes the passage of time and a fresh set of eyes (and a step ladder) to pluck the plumbs that were previously hanging out of reach.

With the temperature in Australia a cross between scorching hot and roasting for days on end I have tucked myself away in the studio with the air conditioner and spent some time going over images from the last trip to Antarctica.  This photograph was taken from the deck of the Ocean Nova ship as we slowly cruised past this unusual iceberg during heavy snow fall. Many of my favourite photographs from this trip were shot when it was either snowing or overcast and ominous. Although Antarctica can look truly brilliant when the sun is shining I personally find it far more evocative and dramatic with some weather. I am looking forward to returning this year in November on the Antarctic workshop I am leading with Daniel Bergmann. In case you missed it Kevin Raber, Vice President of PODAS at Phase One is also joining us on this expedition and we are looking forward to photographing in one of the most remote and beautiful locations on the planet with the highest quality digital medium format camera equipment available. You can read the full post about Phase One and Antarctica HERE. Please visit the Antarctica Portfolio on my website for a higher resolution version of this photograph.

Iceland – The Vatnajökull Glacier

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It is perhaps not common knowledge that Europe’s largest glacier (the Vatnajökull) actually resides in Iceland. This massive glacier sits more or less in the centre of Iceland and has many different glacial tongues that snake down toward the coastline around its circumference. It is the Vatnajökull glacier that was responsible for the creation of the Jökulsárlón Glacial lagoon where ice that has carved off the glacier now wallows in a large lagoon before being washed out sea. This lagoon is perhaps Iceland’s most famous attraction and is one of the natural wonders of the world. It has become an icon and mecca amongst landscape photographers the world over. The glacier itself is sadly in rapid retreat and the carving face is now several miles back from the beach. On my trip to Iceland last year I attempted to walk to the carving face along the side of the lagoon but gave up after a few hours slog when I reached an impasse. The only viable way to reach the face near the lagoon is now via zodiac, which can be hired at great expense near the car park.  The glacier is nevertheless a remarkable subject for landscape photography and in many ways offers countless opportunities for composition with remarkable form and texture.

This particular photograph is my personal favorite from the glacier and was taken several years ago as I drove toward the lagoon from Reykjavik. A fog was descending across the glacier and I pulled the 4 wheel drive over to the side of the road where I took this image with the 70-200mm F2.8L IS lens at the 200mm end. I am hopeful that we will be able to get up to the glacier in a few weeks time during our winter workshops for some ice-cave photography.

February Photo of the Month – Road to Oblivion

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The photograph of the month for February was taken toward the end of my last workshop to Iceland. We had risen before dawn and driven into the highland region of Veiðivötn in the hope of some magical light at sunrise. What we discovered was a sea of fog had descended over the area during the night and reduced visibility to near zero. Exhausted from ten days shooting with no real sleep we pulled the four wheel drive super jeep over and decided to grab some shut eye in the hope the rising sun would burn off some of the fog. An hour or so later the sun had risen and the fog had started to lift revealing the alien landscape of Veiðivötn where iridescent green moss spreads its tendrils across the black volcanic sand landscape.

This photograph was taken only a few metres from where we pulled the car over and was shot looking back across the road on which we had just driven. Shot with the Canon 1DX and Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS at ISO100 F8 1/13th of a second on a tripod.

Winner! Outdoor Photographer of the Year! – ‘The Spirit of Adventure’

Posted in Antarctica, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Sport Photographs, Travel Photography1 Comment

I recently blogged that I had received email notification that one of my photographs from Antarctica had been selected as a finalist in the 2012 Outdoor Photographer of the Year ‘Spirit of Adventure’ category. This was the first time I have entered Outdoor Photographer of the Year and I was thrilled to have been selected as a finalist. I was subsequently very humbled a few days ago to receive news that I had not only been selected as a finalist, but had won the 2012 Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition in the ‘Spirit of Adventure’ category. The winning photograph was shot on my last expedition to Antarctica and was of mountain climbers nearing the summit in rapidly deteriorating weather. It was photographed from the deck of the Ocean Nova with a 300mm F2.8L IS lens at F7.1 1/2500th of a second hand held with the Canon 1DMKIV. The announcement of my win was officially made on the 16th of January on the Outdoor Photographer of the Year website and will also appear in the March issue of Outdoor Photography magazine. There was an awards ceremony on Saturday the 19th of January at the Outdoors Show in ExCel in London. An exhibition of  all the finalists work, including my own winning photograph was on display from the 17th – 20th of January. I am told the quality and quantity of images entered was exceptional across all categories. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the exhibition and awards ceremony due to other commitments.  If you stopped past please let me know what you thought. I admit to feeling really inspired and re-invigorated with the news and am very much looking forward to returning to Antarctic this November. A higher resolution version of this photograph can be seen on my website in the Antarctica Portfolio.