Better Photography Magazine – The Iceman

At the tail end of the Jewels of the Arctic expedition I lead this year with Grand Master of Photography Peter Eastway to Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland we sat down for a coffee (ok.. he drinks tea – even Grand Masters aren’t perfect!) in the small town of Longyearbyen for a brief chat about our experiences and life in photography. Peter took the opportunity to conduct an informal interview for his magazine Better Photography and the interview and article were just published in the new Summer 2014 issue. Peter has kindly allowed me to post the entire article in full as a PDF on my blog and website which you can download and read HERE. Peter has also published a separate report on our expedition together in the same issue of Better Photography magazine. To subscribe please visit www.betterphotography.com.au. Peter and I are currently in the early planning stages for a return to Greenland together in 2015 and we hope to finalise details in the first half of next year. As a teaser for those of you who read my entire posts – I will also be announcing a new  trip for 2015 for a maximum of just twelve photographers dedicated to photographing Polar Bears living and hunting on the pack ice north of Svalbard. With the sea ice in the arctic dwindling and the ring seal (the main prey for Polar Bear) disappearing this expedition will very much be a once in a lifetime experience to see and photograph Polar Bears hunting in their natural habitat.

In the meantime if the travel bug bites you or you have the urge to scratch that photographic itch,  Peter is leading a workshop to Patagonia early next year (2014). The workshop takes in Torres del Paine, Perito Moreno Glacier, Cerro Torre & Fitz Roy  and runs from the 15 – 28 March 2014 for 14 days. The trip includes accommodation, all meals, English and Spanish speaking guides, local travel (minibus) and transfers.  You can download the brochure from Peter’s Better Photography website. Having just returned from a week in Patagonia (on the Chile side) I can recommend this location as offering world class landscape opportunities.

Photo of the Month November 2013: Lemaire Channel Antarctica

I recently returned from my 2013 photography expedition to Antarctica and have started to edit and process the images I shot during this remarkable trip. I will have a full report on this expedition over the coming days here on my blog but wanted to share this photograph from the Lemaire Channel in Antarctica as my photograph of the month for November. The Lemaire Channel experience on this expedition was nothing short of breathtaking with incredible reflections in the dark still Antarctic waters. This was our longest day of shooting during the trip and saw us rise before 4am and shoot through until well after midnight. The conditions on arrival at the entrance to the Lemaire were anything but ideal. Low cloud and clagged in conditions had me more than concerned as the sun began to rise. Then as if someone flicked a light-switch the cloud lifted and we were greeted to an incredible experience as we glided through the Lemaire Channel where we were treated to an incredible photographic display of light and reflection. To top it off we took the 2013 honours as the first ship of the season to navigate this amazing passage of water. A higher resolution copy of this photograph can be seen on my website at www.jholko.com

Jewels of the Arctic 2014 Open for Bookings

Jewels of the Arctic Expeditions for 2013 are done and dusted (watch for the video here in the next few days). The good news if you missed out is that I will be leading back-to-back Jewels of the Arctic expeditions again in August and September next year 2014. These expeditions are designed to take in the very best of the Arctic and are geared towards Arctic photography. As per the sold out trips this year I will be leading both expeditions. My friend and Pro Photographer Antony Watson will be assisting me on both trips with lectures and photographic instruction. The first expedition departs from Longyearbyen in Svalbard and takes us across to Greenland and Iceland. The second begins in Iceland and sails to Greenland and Longyearbyen in Svalbard. The two expeditions are identical; but are run in reverse order.

The 2013 Jewels of the Arctic trips sold out quickly and many places for 2014 have already been filled from those who missed out this year (the first trip is almost sold out and only a few places are remaning). If you are interested in joining us on one of these photographic adventures you can download a detailed itinerary and PDF flyer from my website or contact me for additional information.

Look for a short film I am excited to be releasing very soon here on my blog of our Jewels of the Arctic experience this year.

Finalist: Natures Best Photography & Travel Photographer of the Year 2013

I returned home a couple of days ago from an expedition I lead to Antarctica with my friend Daniel Bergmann and am starting to catch up on all of the missed correspondence whilst I was off the grid. I will have a lot more to say about the Antarctica expedition over the coming weeks as this was an extraordinary trip with some of the best weather and light I have experienced in this part of the world – including an absolutely incredible journey through the Lemaire Channel. In the meantime, I was very pleased to learn that two of my photographs were selected as finalists in Natures Best Photography and another in the Travel Photographer of the Year competition. This is the second time I have had images in the finals in both Nature’s Best Photography and Travel Photographer of the Year and am honoured to have had my photographs selected.  The overall winners for Natures Best Photography have already been selected and can be seen on the Natures Best Photography website. Travel photographer of the Year is still in its last round of judging and final winners should be announced in a few days time. Finalist – Natures Best Photography 2013: Landscape Category

Finalist Natures Best Photography 2013: Landscape Category

Finalist Travel Photographer of the Year: Single Shot Extraordinary Image Category

Photographers South Georgia Island and Antarctic 2014 Polar Photography Expedition

I am very excited to announce that after months of organisation and planning Andy Biggs and I are now opening bookings for a brand new and very exciting photography expedition to South Georgia Island and Antarctica.  This twenty day (yes, 20 days!) photography expedition will depart Ushuaia in South America on the 3rd of November 2014 has been designed to provide the definitive South Georgia Island photography experience. We will cross the Drake Passage where we will spend time photographing amazing icebergs and the spectacular Antarctic Peninsula. We will visit Elephant Island, home to twenty two of Shackleton’s men for four months. We will then enter the Scotia Sea detouring to the remote and rarely visited mountainous South Orkney Islands. We will zodiac cruise through a maze of icebergs before landing ashore on a beach bedecked with penguins, seals and lichen encrusted boulders. This location alone promises fantastic wildlife and landscape opportunities. We will then continue across the Scotia sea bound for South Georgia Island where we will see and photograph the world’s largest King Penguin rookeries, majestic albatross nests, seals and a plethora of bird life. Kelp strewn beaches are cluttered with basking elephant seals, feisty fur seals and hundreds of penguins that will prove a wildlife photographers dream.  Stromness and Grytviken harbour 3000 metre rocky peaks that rise up from the ocean to form amazing backdrops to the remains of whaling stations that will fulfil every landscape shooters wishes for dramatic landscape.  South Georgia’s remote, untamed landscape is simply stunning. Scattered across the mighty Southern Ocean, the tiny arc of windswept islands and harbours are some of the world’s greatest wildlife sanctuaries set against world class landscapes. Famed for its abandoned whaling stations and Shackleton’s heroic journey, South Georgia is home to literally millions of fur seals and penguins, wallows of elephant seals, and nesting albatross. After we finish photographing in this breathtaking area we will sail back to Ushuaia where we will dock on the 22nd of November and conclude our once in a lifetime expedition.Andy, and I wanted to put together a dedicated photography expedition to both Antarctica and South Georgia Island that really gave photographers the best possible opportunity to photograph big icebergs, and amazing wildlife. We wanted to ensure sufficient time in both Antarctica and South Georgia Island so this is a brand new itinerary that has been planned from the ground up to really maximise the opportunities for photography. We have specifically timed our expedition early in the season in order to give us the best opportunities for plenty of icebergs as well as wildlife at South Georgia Island. The ice and snow at South Georgia island will be pristine and as yet unvisited by man after the Antarctic winter. If you can only travel to Antarctica and South Georgia Island once in your life for photography then this is most definitely the trip you want to be on.KEY FEATURES

  • Dates : 3rd of November 2014 to the 22nd of November 2014 : 20 days / 19 nights
  • Ship : Ice Hardened Expedition Class Ship ‘Polar Pioneer’ Regarded by many as the best vessel for polar photography for its ability to get really close to big ice and ample deck space for photography.
  • Leaders : Andy Biggs, Joshua Holko
  • Dedicated to Wildlife and Landscape Photography

If you would like to register your interest to secure a place on this trip you can email Andy or I at andybiggs@andybiggs.com or info@jholko.com. Places are very limited on this trip and given the unique nature of this expedition we do expect to sell out quickly. Due to early expressions of interest the Captains Suite and Mini Suites are already sold out and there are only limited twin private and twin share rooms remaining. We have the entire vessel so this trip is solely for photographers and is 100% dedicated to both landscape and wildlife photography. Places are booked strictly on a first come first served basis. Additional information and a detailed itinerary can be downloaded from my website at www.jholko.com