Category: Photographs

Photographs

Greenland East Coast Back-to-Back Expeditions Report 2019

Posted in Arctic, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Workshops and Expeditions4 Comments

In  September of 2019 I ran two back-to-back expeditions to Scoresby Sound and the East Coast of Greenland with long time friend and fellow pro-photographer (Or as he prefers – the ‘Bus Driver’) Daniel Bergmann. For these two expeditions we flew by private charter flight from Reykjavik in Iceland to Constable Point on the East Coast of Greenland where we boarded our sailing ship, the Donna Wood. Flying across the Denmark Strait (the body of water between Iceland and Greenland) saves at least two days of sailing in both directions and gave us more time for photography in the field.

For both our expeditions we chose to sail north to the rugged and scenic Bjørneøer Islands (Bear Islands) where we made landings at both sunset and sunrise for contemplative landscape photography. Along the way we photographed many of the gigantic icebergs that drift as giant sentinels silently through the fjord system. For our landings in this area we were blessed with a magnificent iceberg with a full arch that was grounded against a stunning mountainous backdrop and we spent many hours in this location with the late afternoon and early evening light. The landscape topography in these islands is a landscape photographers paradise with beautiful boulders and stunning back drops in every direction.

From Bear Islands we sailed west through Øfjord as we rounded Milne land. This region of Scoresby Sound offers stunning glacial scared mountains that were freshly dusted with late Autumn snow that serve as a majestic backdrop for the plethora of transient icebergs that drift through this system. We rounded Storø island into Rodefjord and made our way down to iceberg alley at Red Island. This iceberg graveyard offers up some of the most incredible iceberg photography I have ever experienced anywhere on the planet (I actually rate it as the worlds best iceberg graveyard for photography). With perfectly still conditions and heavily overcast skies (absolutely ideal conditions for iceberg photography) we photographed for hours amongst the gigantic icebergs on both expeditions as we drifted on our zodiacs through the ice maze.

From Red Island we travelled east through Fønfjord for more gigantic iceberg photography as we made our way to the small Inuit village of Ittoqqortoørmit (first expedition only) where we did a short landing before making or way back to Constable Point to conclude our expedition.

The East coast of Greenland is one of the most spectacular locations on our planet. Speaking candidly, if I could only photograph one place for the rest of my life it would almost certainly be Scoresby Sund and the East Coast of Greenland.  It is absolutely miraculous on every level.

Due to hunting pressure the wildlife is often skittish and hard to find in Greenland. Local inuit are unfortunately still allowed to hunt and shoot up to thirty six Polar Bears a year and Musk Ox and Arctic Hare are hunted relentlessly and without mercy. Despite the general lack of wildlife in the area we did encounter and photograph Musk Ox, Bearded and Ring Seals and quite a few Arctic bird species. We did not encounter or sight any Polar Bear during these expeditions (although we had a report of a mother and cub in our area)

If you missed out on a place on the 2019 expeditions but would like to travel to the East Coast of Greenland to photograph this amazing region then I will be repeating this very special ‘Winters Cusp’ expedition in September of 2021 (the 2020 expedition already sold out). Full details are now available for download from my website at www.jholko.com including a complete PDF itinerary. Drop me an email for further information.

Polar Bears of the High Arctic 2020 – Now Limited Availability

Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Video, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions1 Comment

There is now only a few places left available on my Polar Bears of the High Arctic expedition this July before the expedition will be sold out (Read the report from last years expedition). The expedition runs from the 6th of July until the 15th of July and is strictly limited to twelve participants.

The High Arctic is a place to inspire the imagination. Nowhere is it more accessible than the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located deep within the Arctic Circle. Nowhere else can the Polar Bear be seen more reliably in its natural habitat, and photographing these magnificent animals will be our main objective. We will also search for walrus and the other wildlife of the region. Dramatic glaciers, plunging cliffs and beautiful drift ice formations will be present as well.Our intention is to sail directly north from the small town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard to approximately 80o degrees north, to the very edge of the permanent pack ice. At our northerly most point we will likely be less than 600 miles from the North Pole and depending on the sea ice we may get even closer. We will be using the ice hardened expedition ship M.S Freya that will enable us to skirt the edge of the pack ice searching for and photographing Polar Bears. M.S Freya is widely regarded as the best ship in the Arctic for Polar Bear Photography. With low-lying decks we can photograph at eye level with wild Polar Bears. Our expedition ship has private cabins (no need to share unless you wish) and is also equipped with sufficient zodiacs (2 x Zodiac MKV models) and crew for all photographers to be shooting simultaneously with plenty of room to spare for camera equipment – So bring what you need! Watch the expedition video ‘Kingdom of the Ice Bear’ to get an idea of what this expedition entails.If you are excited by the idea of traveling to the edge of the permanent pack ice to photograph Polar Bears in their natural environment with a small group of dedicated photographers now is the time to secure the very last place. You can download a detailed PDF itinerary HERE. Drop me an email to register your interest or to register for one of the last remaining places.

Photo of the Month October 2019 – Winter Ptarmigan

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The photograph of the month for October 2019 comes from my last snow mobile expedition to Svalbard in winter this year and is of a Ptarmigan in its winter plumage. I had been wanting to try and photograph this bird properly in a winter setting for some years now and this year I was afforded several opportunities over the period of two weeks I spent on snow mobiles in the winter landscape (mostly searching for Polar Bears). Whenever I am photographing wildlife like this I make every effort to get down as low as possible so that I can be at eye level with my subject and create a stronger connection between the viewer and the photograph. In this case, I lat down in the snow and actualyl partially buried my lens in the soft snow to create the soft transition between the snow and bird. The key to all of this style of wildlife photography is to carefully choose your background and then work with the subject to achieve the ‘look’ you want. In this case, a combination of a clean background with just a sudden gust of wind to ruffle the birds feathers and create some movement.

Keynote Speaker Melbourne Portrait Conference November 2019

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Scheduled to be held on November 12th and 13th at Melbourne’s Docklands, the Melbourne Portrait conference will provide two days of education by nine leading photographers. I will personally be headlining the conference as the keynote speaker and will be presenting and speaking on Wildlife portrait photography Tuesday 12th November at 9.30am. I will be showing photographs from both the Arctic and Antarctic. Attendees will get a look at previously unseen behind the scenes footage from my field work in the polar regions. The conference is open to both amateur and professional photographers. If you have not yet registered there is still some time. More information can be found HERE.

Photo of the Month September 2019 – Emperor Penguin Chicks

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The photograph of the month for September 2019 is of Emperor Penguin chicks and comes from my last visit to Gould Bay in Antarctica in November of 2018. This photograph and print scored a Gold award at the 2019 Epson Victorian AIPP State awards and a Silver with Distinction at the 2019 APPA National Awards. It was also part of my winning portfolio for Nature Photographer of the Year at the 2019 Victorian State Awards. I used a 400mm f2.8L IS MKII lens to compress the distance between the small creche of penguin chicks and played with a number of different f-stops to achieve the depth of field effect I was after. The intention was to have the distant colony of penguins soft but still distinctly obvious as penguins. I lay down as low as I could on the ice in order to maintain eye level contact with the penguin chicks and to maintain as much intimacy as possible in the photograph. You can watch the print being judged in the video below.