The new December / February issue of Photo Review ‘Inspiring Australian Photographers’, is now on sale and includes a feature article ‘Ice Work‘ on my polar photography as well as one of my recent photographs from Antarctica on the cover. The cover shot was taken last November during a photographic expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula and is of a Gentoo Penguin calling its mate during a heavy snow fall. I had forgotten the exact location this was taken – but thank you to friend and participant Clemens for remembering it was in fact Cuverville Island. It was shot with a Canon EOS 1DX and the new Canon 200-400mm F4L IS lens with inbuilt 1.4 Teleconverter. Magazines rarely advise you prior to publication that you have made the cover so it is always a wonderful surprise to see the issue for the first time. You can click on the image below to download the full article or HERE to download as a PDF. The full issue of Photo Review is available now in both print as well as digital editions for the iPad or PDF for other electronic readers.
Category: Wildlife Photographs
Wildlife Photographs from around the World
2015 South Georgia Island Photography Expedition Announcement
I am very excited to formally announce that I will be leading a new fifteen day photographic expedition to South Georgia Island in November 2015 with my good friend and talented Nature Photographer Ole Jorgen. It seems somewhat fitting to have scheduled this new expedition announcement to coincide with my being in South Georgia at present and in the middle of a twenty one day expedition to both South Georgia and Antarctica. The 2015 expedition is going to be very different to the trip I am currently undertaking and will hone its focus and specialise solely on South Georgia Island. I have heard it said “If you can only photograph wildlife once in your life make sure its South Georgia Island“. I have to say I am in total agreement with that statement. South Georgia Island is a wildlife photographers paradise. There is absolutely nothing that prepares you for the enormity of the landscape or the miracle of the abundant wildlife. This is indeed a place where you are likely to only put down your camera when your finger is so tired you can no longer press the shutter and you can no longer see for the smoking cameras. It is an absolute photographic mecca and a true experience of a lifetime. My friend and fellow photographer Antony and I are currently shooting some video in South Georgia and we hope to share some our experiences with video on our return.
This fifteen day photography expedition will depart from the Falkland Islands on the 7th of November 2015 and is singularly focused on providing the definitive South Georgia Island photography experience. We have arranged permits for an extended stay in South Georgia that will allow us not less than ten days of photography (compared to the usual 48 hours only) at this incredible location. Best of all we have timed our expedition with the breeding season for the Penguins, Albatross and Seals. At this time there will be a lot of activity in the colonies and lots of action to photograph. We will sail from the Falkland Islands (the closest port) directly to South Georgia Island where we will zodiac cruise through a maze of icebergs before landing ashore on a beach bedecked with penguins, seals and lichen encrusted boulders. South Georgia Island promises fantastic wildlife and landscape opportunities. 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 the Falkland Islands where we will dock on the 21st of November and conclude this photographic expedition. For those who are keen there is a one-week extension for dedicated Bird photography in the Falkland Islands at the conclusion of the expedition. The extension is limited to just four photographers. EDIT – Please note the Falkland Islands Extension is already SOLD OUT.
This photograph of King Penguins was taken by my good friend Ole Jorgen on a previous expedition to South Georgia Island.
The expedition is for a strictly limited number of 52 participants plus leaders and expedition guide. We will be using an ice hardened expedition ship that will enable us to get into the best possible locations. Our expedition ship the ‘Polar Pioneer’ is equipped with sufficient zodiacs and crew for all photographers to be shooting simultaneously with plenty of room to spare for camera equipment – So bring what you need! Due to prior expressions of interest and bookings there are now only two places remaining out of the original 54 that were available before this expedition will be sold out. If you would like to reserve one of the two remaining places or would like further information you can download a detailed itinerary and PDF flyer HERE or drop me an email and I will get back to you when we dock back in Ushuaia later this month. Please note that once these last two places are spoken for thats it.
5 Years Old and Kicking On – Thank you
It is hard for me to believe it has already been five years since I started this photography blog. It still feels like only a few months ago that I sat down and decided to start writing about my photographic experiences, workshops, expeditions and travel photography. At the time I was not really sure exactly where I was planning to head with my own photography (or this blog for that matter); or perhaps a more accurate description would be I had not yet fully realised the direction I was taking. Looking back, I think the idea of working as a full time professional Nature photographer was always my ideal and the path now seems very clear, but I was perhaps to scared to allow myself to fully realise the dream. My feeling nowadays is you should always chase your passion regardless of the pursuit. As artists, we do our best work when we are most passionate about our subject. Passion and love of the subject and craft always shines and shows in the finished product. Wether you like to shoot macro images of insects, wildlife or grand vistas it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you get out there and photograph that subject. Do it with passion, do it because you love it and do it as often as you can.
It feels sort of ironic for me that this post celebrating five years of blogging and sharing my photographic experiences was scheduled to go live on this date automatically as I am currently in South Georgia and Antarctica leading a twenty one day photographic expedition with good friend Andy Biggs. This particular expedition was one I had been looking forward to for a very long time. With so many good friends and passionate photographers on board our ship and such world class wildlife and landscape I can think of no better place to be to celebrate the five year anniversary. If you missed out on this expedition, or if you have always wanted to travel to South Georgia Island then stay tuned – I will soon be formally announcing a new dedicated expedition to South Georgia Island in November 2015 that includes an unprecedented 10-day permit for photography in this world class location. Renowned photographer Art Wolfe once said something along the lines of “If you can only photograph wildlife in one place in your life, then make it South Georgia Island.” I have to say I agree with him. Interest in this 2015 expedition has been extraordinary and there are already only two places remaining before this trip will be sold out. If you want to get the drop on one of the last places please just send me an email to register your interest and I will get back to you when I return to Ushuaia.
I want to take a moment at this point to thank all of you who have been regular readers, and all of you with whom I have had the pleasure to travel with and photograph over the years (including the many photographers sharing the current expedition in South Georgia Island). The collective passion a group of photographers exude is powerful and intoxicating and an incredible source of inspiration to myself and all photographers. I feel very fortunate to have been able to share in so many photographic adventures with so many fantastic photographers – many of whom have become firm long term friends and are incredible photographers in their own right.
It was quite a hard decision deciding what photograph to share for this five year anniversary post but in the end I decided to share a new image from a project I am currently working on and hope to finish by the end of next year. This project will be a celebration of Polar Life in both the extreme North and South latitudes of the globe and will include photographs of a number of different species. This new work will appear in full once I finish the printing of my book ‘Extreme Latitude’ early next year.
This photograph of an Arctic Fox was taken from a snow blind in March this year at Hornvik in the extreme North West of Iceland. This location is only accessible by boat and is many, many miles from any civilisation. There are no roads into this area – it is pure wilderness. In the deep winter months when I visited this location I spent the better part of a week in a snow blind photographing a number of Arctic Fox. This large male was foraging in the snow and bristled when he found something edible so close to my location. It was shot with a Canon EOS1DX and Canon 600mm F4L IS MKII.
November Photograph of the Month: Penguin Love
It feels appropriate to post up a Penguin photograph as the image of the month for November as I am currently making my way from Australia to Ushuaia in South America in preparation for two back-to-back expeditions to South Georgia Island and Antarctica. This photograph was taken at Petermann Island in Antarctica in November last year during a fourteen day expedition. Shot near midnight we had been photographing pretty much non stop for more than twenty four hours. This was one of the last images I made that day of a male and female Penguin watching the Antarctic sunset. It was an interesting decision how to expose this shot and in the end I elected to go for more of a silhouette look and let the Penguins go quite dark. The Penguin shape is so distinctive as to be instantly recognisable irrespective of detail. I probably shot two or three dozen different frames of this scene as the Penguins moved around – but it is this one with the outstretched flippers from the male and with the female looking up at him that really worked for me.
Leaving for South America, South Georgia Island and Antarctica
The last few weeks have been a a complete blur for me and it is hard to believe it has already been six weeks since I returned home from Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard. The time has just absolutely flown past and I feel I have really not made much forward progress on personal projects (although I have finally started to make prints from my workshops to Namibia earlier this year). I had hoped to have more images processed from Iceland, Greenland and Svalbard but between the day-to-day business operations and family I just have not had time. I am actually quite a bit behind in image processing and I could use a month or two of solid computer time for editing, sorting and processing. Image processing will have to wait though as it is now time to turn my attention in full to South Georgia Island and Antarctica.
It is always exciting to be embarking on a new adventure with other passionate photographers and even though I have a pretty horrible travel schedule over the next three days to get to our departure point in Ushuaia, South America, I am looking forward to getting underway in just a few minutes when I finish up this post. Its just about 3am in the morning here and my first flight leaves in a couple of hours so it is time to load the car and make my way to the airport. See you in South America.
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