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January Photo of the Month – Maelstrom

January 2, 2015 Posted in Antarctica, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography13 Comments

My first photograph of the month for 2015 is an image I titled ‘Maelstrom’ of a large tubular iceberg on the edge of the Weddell sea in Antarctica. It was photographed from the fly bridge of the expedition ship in howling katabatibc winds – probably the strongest winds I have experienced to date in Antarctica (just standing on the deck without holding on was all but impossible). The winds (in excess of 50 knots I was told by the Captain) were whipping the fresh snow off the top of the iceberg like a vapour trail. There are a combination of factors in this photograph that really work for me, but its the drama that sets it alight and really makes it sing. I have been fortunate to photograph a great many icebergs over the last few years and it is the images that were shot in dramatic weather that really stand out for me. They are far more evocative than images of icebergs under blue skies or in fine weather. Maelstrom

Don’t forget! You can win a free 13″ x 19″ Fine Art Print of this photograph including shipping anywhere in the world. All you need do is to be the first to comment on this post on the home page with your thoughts on why you like this photograph or why you would like to own a print of the image and then share the post with your preferred social media outlet.

Happy New Year! Win a Free Fine Art Print of the Photo of the Month

January 1, 2015 Posted in Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Store, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs15 Comments

Another year has now come and gone – where do they go! In many ways I am quite sorry to see the back of 2014 (Read the Retrospective). It was an incredible year for me and in many ways I feel a turning point in my photography. However, it is now time to look forward and begin the new year in earnest. Before I leave for Yellowstone in Winter in a few weeks time I want to announce a new print project give-away that will kick off with my first Photograph of the Month post for 2015.

It has continually frustrated me over the last few years that I really only get to share a digital jpeg of my finished photography on the internet and not the finished fine art print as I envisioned it. The problem with sharing digital images online is that we are restricted to low quality jpeg images to protect our copyright ownership (and sadly images still get taken and used without permission). These low resolution jpegs are just poor facsimiles of the finished fine art print that fail to convey the wonderful tones, textures and subtelties that a well crafted print can convey.

Photography for me is all about the print and as I have written often before I never really feel like I have finished with an image until I have made a well-crafted print. Other than visiting one of the galleries that display my photography in Australia, Tasmania or Aspen in the USA and perhaps purchasing a large fine art print there has to date been no way for me to really share this aspect of my photography. However, I have a plan to change that and beginning immediately, and with every photograph of the month for 2015 I will be giving away free a 13″ x 19″ inch signed, open edition fine art print to the first person who comments on the photograph of the month post here on the main page. Each print will be of the actual photograph of the month and will be made on my favourite fine art paper – Moab Somerset Museum Rag. I use X-Rite Colour Management products in my print workflow and my prints are made on Canon IPF6350 and IPF9400 Large Format Pigment ink printers. This is the same paper, printer and colour management solution I use for all my large gallery prints and the same paper my winning photographs were printed on at the 2014 Victorian Professional Photographer of the Year Awards and 2014 Australian Professional Photography Awards. All you need do to win the print is to be the first to comment on the photograph of the month here on the home page with your thoughts on why you like it and to share the post with your social media outlet of choice. It doesn’t have to be a long winded explanation on why you like the photograph. Just a few words about how it makes you feel, or why you would like to own a print of the photograph is sufficient. I will then send you a FREE 13″ x 19″ inch fine art print to your nominated address including free shipping worldwide.My reasons for giving away a print every month are two-fold. Firstly, this allows me to share in some small way the finished photograph in my medium of choice with someone who appreciates the photograph and who will hopefully cherish the print; but it also allows me to give back something to the photographic community and share my finished photography with other photographers.

Due to my hectic travel schedule it may take me some time to make and post out each print so if you are the lucky winner for a given month I ask that you jut exercise a little patience and as soon as I am back in my studio in Australia and as soon as practical I will make the print and send it to you – free of charge. Each print will be made and personally signed by me with the same care and attention to detail I exercise on my large gallery prints. There will be a total of twelve prints to win throughout the calendar year and the give away starts immediately with the 2015 January Photo of the Month – You just have to keep an eye out for the next post. Good luck and don’t forget in order to win the print you need to be the first to comment here on the home page on the post titled ‘Photo of the Month – [Insert Month]‘ for the 2015 calendar year with your thoughts on why you like the photograph or why you would like to own a print and to then share the post with your social media outlet of choice.

Hint: The fastest way to be notified of a new post to my blog is to subscribe to updates by entering your email address in the subscription section.

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings

December 23, 2014 Posted in Antarctica, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife PhotographsLeave a comment

I just wanted to wish all of you who may have travelled and photographed with me either past, present or future, who follow my blog and photography or even just stumbled across my work somewhere, a very happy and safe Christmas and festive season. I hope Santa brings you some new photography toys and that you are fortunate to spend this festive time with close friends and family. Wishing you good health and happiness and all the very best for the festive season and New Year.

It is going to be a busy couple of weeks for me before I head back to Antarctica. I hope to finalise my 2015 What’s in Store Blog Post as well as finish the trip reports from South Georgia and Antarctica. I hope to also process and share some of the images I made during these expeditions. For now though, its time to celebrate Christmas with friends and family, say thanks for a wonderful 2014 and usher in the New Year. Roll on 2015. Chinstrap Penguin

Travel Photographer of the Year Winner 2014 – Wild and Vibrant Category

December 20, 2014 Posted in Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife PhotographsLeave a comment

I have just returned home to Australia after spending the last two months in South Georgia Island, Patagonia and Antarctica. Two months photographing in these incredible wilderness areas was as always a fantastic experience that was wonderful to share with so many like-minded friends and participants. I will have photographs to share and a lot more to say about these expeditions over the coming weeks once I get a chance to catch up on email correspondence, jet lag and family Christmas celebrations. Celebrations have at least started a few days early as I was very excited to learn on docking back in Puerto Williams from Antarctica that I had just won the 2014 Travel Photographer of the Year award in the Wild and Vibrant category. I only learned I was even in the TPOTY Finals a few weeks earlier after I docked back in Ushuaia from my first expedition to South Georgia Island and Antarctica. In fact, it was a mad panic and rush to get the prints made remotely and submitted by the deadline for the final round of judging. I only had a few days between expeditions and had to engage a third party company to make the prints on my behalf. Had I the time I would have much preferred to make the prints myself but given my printer was more than several thousand miles away I had to settle for a high quality lab in the UK. Travel photographer of the Year is one of the few remaining competitions that still judge the printed image and it is a massive thrill and honour to have won the Single Shot Wild and Vibrant Category with one of my Polar Bear photographs from Svalbard in the Arctic.

The judges said “In a time of environmental change the polar bear has become a powerful symbol of man’s impact on our climate. The wildness of this image is evident but the image also conveys vibrancy, both in colour and in the sense of power and energy. The elegance of the setting contrasts with the gruesome natural way of life in this harsh environment of Svalbard while the two splashes of red connect death with survival.”

The winning photograph has subsequently been featured by the UK Daily Mail, National Geographic Itlay, The Guardian, The UK Telegraph, the German news website Spiegel Online and more. Winning Travel Photographer of the Year in the Wild and Vibrant Category has topped off for me what has been a truly incredible year in the competition arena. The standards in these competitions are incredibly high and it an immense honour to win the category. VPPY - Gold Award

I am very much looking forward to returning to the pack ice north of Svalbard later this year in search of more Polar Bears on two separate photographic expeditions – Wild Polar Bears and Kingdom of the Ice Bear. Due to a recent cancellation there is now a single place available on the Wild Polar Bears expedition. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity to travel to the edge of the permanent pack ice and photograph Polar Bears just a few hundred miles south of the North Pole then just drop me an email for more information or to register your interest. You can also download a PDF information flyer from www.jholko.com

Departing on The Spirit of Antarctica Expedition 2014

December 6, 2014 Posted in Antarctica, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Photographs, South America, Travel Photography, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

My friend Antony Watson and I recently finished up ten days trekking and photography in the back country of Patagonia and have spent the last few days in Ushuaia at the bottom of South America. I admit, that at this point South America is starting to feel like my home away from home and that my Spanish is now about as good as my Icelandic! Later today we depart on our final Antarctica expedition for the year to the Antarctic Peninsula where we hope to encounter more amazing icebergs, landscapes and polar wildlife. We have a ship full of keen and passionate photographers all eager to get underway and get some polar frames in the can. The enthusiasm of a ship full of photographers about to embark on an Antarctic odyssey is a fantastic energy resource and one can’t help but get swept up in the excitement. 20141125_Patagoniaiphone_02073111 As expected Patagonia was a mixed bag of weather and light (or should I say wind, wind and more wind!). The scenery of this amazing location is breathtaking – the precipitous peaks, the plunging mountains and wild terrain is really phenomenal. Hiking through this terrain really puts a perspective on the sheer scope and scale of the geological uplift. I have personally found Patagonia a challenging place to photograph in the past and this trip was no different. The scenery really needs just the right combination of weather and light to really create great images. I have seen a lot of photography from Patagonia over the years and those images that really stand out for me are those that have captured the most dramatic weather and light. Patagonia remains for me one of those places that is dramatic to behold but photographically elusive. I am sure I have some good images from Patagonia, but I am not sure I have any definitive ones as yet. I need to look at my photographs with fresh eyes in a couple of months to really get a feel for what I did or did not accomplish. I took a laid back approach to my photography in Patagonia and was happy in many instances to simply take it in and leave the cameras in the bag. I did very much enjoy our long days of hiking through Patagonia and was very appreciative of the light weight 5D MKIII loaned to me by my good friend Martyn. The thought of schlepping one of my Canon EOS 1DX’s up some of those mountains would have in all likelihood seen me choose to stay at the bar. In fact, it is worth noting that the hiking was fairly arduous and I am not ashamed to admit I arrived at our campsite several evenings tired and sore. Hiking the back country of Patagonia with good friends was one of those life experiences you never forget and the memories from this trip will I hope stay with me forever. I hope to write more about our experiences in Patagonia over the coming months as my thoughts congeal from both our hiking and photographic experiences. Until then, its time to turn my attention again to Antarctica.

We will be sailing down the Beagle Channel in a few hours and making our way across the Drake Passage bound for Antarctica. No two Antarctic expeditions are ever the same and I am looking forward to seeing what this one has in store for us. As always we will chase the weather and light for the best possible photography opportunities. Sleep will as always be kept to an absolute minimum as we search for spectacular midnight sun polar light. This will be my final post for the next two weeks before we dock back in Ushuaia. Bon Voyage.