German magazine Fine Art Printer has just featured and published a portfolio of my photography from Iceland, Australia, the Arctic and Antarctica in issue #117. You can check out the feature by clicking on the image below to download a PDF of the article. You might need to brush up on your German!
Category: Wildlife Photographs
Wildlife Photographs from around the World
Emperor Penguin Photographs – Where Are They?
I have had several emails over the last couple of weeks asking me why I have not as yet (after two visits to the interior of Antarctica and the remote sea ice for Emperor Penguins) shared or posted a single photograph of an Emperor Penguin. It is a fair question (as well as an astute observation) and being completely and totally upfront I decided more than two years ago that I was not going to post a single image of an Emperor Penguin until I had completed my second trip with clients this year. I felt the clients who accompanied me on this dedicated and unique expedition deserved to have the stage and spotlight for their images first and I have been thoroughly enjoying seeing their work on social media since our return this November. Seeing their photographs has been an inspiration and a wonderful trip down memory lane of the incredible experiences we shared together in such a remote area of Antarctica whilst we camped with the Emperors. Reading their comments and thoughts on the expedition that have accompanied the photographs has been for me wonderfully fulfilling and I want to take the opportunity to thank each of the participants once again for putting their faith in me to pull off this expedition.
The second reason is more selfish in that I wanted (and needed) some time to work my way through my images with a really critical eye and heavily vet them for only those photographs I felt that were absolute stand out. This process has been (and still is ongoing) extremely time consuming. I shot over 15,000 images alone in just three days on the sea ice in blizzard conditions this year and finding the best of the best in so many is no small task. Especially when you are looking for minute gesture changes and subtle differences that take a photograph from great to extraordinary. It takes a lot of time to properly edit a shoot such as this and I find I need to live with my selections for quite a while before they make the final selection. The good news is I will soon be sharing my work from this expedition and I plan to release all of the photographs simultaneously in a new portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com. I will also have a full trip report with many behind the scenes photographs. Until then, I wanted to share another Penguin photograph – This time its Adelie Penguins riding a large piece of fluted blue ice during a heavy snowstorm in Antarctica. This was my favourite photograph from the expedition I lead to South Georgia Island and the Peninsula post the Emperor Penguin Expedition. Conditions were difficult with freezing wind and blizzard snow; but the results were well worth the cold fingers.
Travel and Outdoor Photographer of the Year Finalist 2016
On the eve of my departure for South Georgia and the Antarctic peninsula this November I received the very exciting news that a number of my photographs had been selected for the finals in both the 2016 Travel Photographer of the Year and the 2016 Outdoor Photographer of the Year competitions. This is the fifth year in a row I have made the finals in Travel Photographer of the Year (with multiple photographs) having first entered back in 2012 and subsequently 2013, 2014 (winner in the Wild and Vibrant category) and 2015. This year I am honoured to have two photographs in the final round of judging (currently underway). I am continually inspired to enter the Travel Photographer of the Year competition as it is one of the few photographic competitions remaining today that still judge the ‘print’ rather than a compressed jpeg. I wrote several years ago of my disillusionment with so many of the photography competitions that make their judgements solely on a compressed jpeg file. The craft of producing a beautiful fine art print is one of the most enjoyable aspects of photography for me and is how I prefer to have my work viewed.
I first entered Outdoor Photographer of the Year back in 2012 and subsequently won the Spirit of Adventure category in the same year with my photograph of mountain climbers near the summit of a spectacular Antarctic peak. I went on to make the finals again in 2014 (commended in the Wildlife insight category), 2015 and now again in 2016. I am especially thrilled to have had a total of thirteen (out of fourteen entered) images shortlisted this year in the competition. I cant as yet share which images are in the final round of judging for Travel Photographer of the Year, but I look forward to doing so in the coming days.
Photo of the Month December 2016 – King Penguins on the Move
This morning I returned home to Australia after two incredible back-to-back expeditions to the Emperor Penguins in a remote part of Antarctica and a South Georgia / Antarctic Peninsula expedition on board Polar Pioneer. I will have full trip reports on both expeditions in the coming weeks (once I catch up on my back log and overcome another bought of jet lag). In the meantime, I wanted to post up the belated December photograph of the month (and final image for the 2016 year). This particular photograph was taken on my South Georgia expedition last year (November 2015 – Read the Full Report) and is of King Penguins all in a row and on the march (or belly slide) to the water. It was snowing heavily when I made this photograph. What really appeals to me about this image is not just the gesture and position of the penguins, but also the abstract nature of the mountain snow patterns in the background and the monochromatic pallet. There is just the slightest hint of yellow in the Penguins to give away that this is a colour photograph. I chose the background when I was composing the photograph and made a series of images as the King Penguins moved through the scene. The photograph scored a coveted Silver with Distinction at the 2016 Australian Professional Photography Awards.
Global Arctic Photographer of the Year Special Guest Judge
Late last year I was fortunate to win the 2015 Global Arctic Photographer of the Year and have subsequently been invited as special Guest Judge for the 2016 Awards. The only downside to being a judge of course is that I cant enter the awards this year! That said, I am very honoured to have been asked to judge and very much looking forward to judging this years competition. The standard of work in this competition is incredibly high and in many ways is the bench mark for how high the bar is set for Nature photographers. I cant wait to see the amazing photographs entered into the 2016 competition!
The purpose of the Global Arctic Awards – 2016 contest is to show the magnificence of the diverse North and Arctic world through photography. The contestants works represent the beautiful variety of northern nature and wildlife, depict the peculiarities of the “icy” world of the Arctic, and narrate unforgettable photo stories about the culture, life and centuries-old customs of the Northern minorities . Through the prism of photographic lenses the coldest, deeply frozen Earth regions, covered with ice and snow, will appear in a new perspective.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 