Arctic – Page 44 – www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com

2015 May Photograph of the Month: Ice Bear

May 2, 2015 Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife Photographs11 Comments

My photograph of the month for May 2015 follows on the Polar Bear theme from last month. In fact, this was the same Polar Bear as the previous photograph; although this image was taken a couple of days earlier and in a different location. The bear surrounded by winter ice with its paw raised, mid step, walking straight toward the camera is a powerful iconic image of the world’s largest land predator. My heart was racing when I took this image and it rates as one of the most exciting experiences I have had in the field photographing wildlife. The bear was in hunting mode, prowling the ice in search of food. It would stop occasionally and test the strength of the ice, smell at a particular place and then move on. It watched me intently as I crouched behind my snowmobile making images until it was time to move on before the bear got to close. Svalbard You can Win a free Fine art Print 13″ x 19″ 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. Just keep in mind that 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. The first four prints of the year were won by Fred Jennings, Chris Roberts, Caroline Hind and Nita Gulbas and their prints have now been delivered, framed by them and are hanging on their walls.

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 May photograph of the 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.

Polar Bears of Svalbard Expedition 2016 – Limited Places Only

April 14, 2015 Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and Expeditions1 Comment

In July 2016 I am leading a very exciting expedition to the permanent pack ice north of Svalbard to photograph Polar Bears living and hunting in their natural environment on the sea ice. This expedition has been designed from the ground up to provide the very best possible opportunities to Photograph Polar Bears in their natural environment. With the reduction in Arctic sea ice the Polar Bears in Svalbard are dwindling in number and the number of years left to photograph them is unfortunately now extremely limited. Late July and August are the ideal times to photograph Polar Bears north of Svalbard due to the dwindling ice around the archipelago. On this expedition we will be carrying a naturalist/biologist who specialises in locating Polar Bears and an expedition leader and captain who have years of experience in placing us in the ideal position to make the best photographs. Their expertise will allow us to approach the king of the Arctic as closely and safely as possible and make incredible photographs under the spectacular midnight sun. PolarBearsofSvalbard The expedition is for a strictly limited number of just 12 participants (only four places remaining) plus leader and is dedicated to the photography of Polar Bears living and hunting on the sea ice. Our intention is to sail directly north from the small town of Longyearbyen in Svalbard to approximately 80 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. Top of the World We will be using the ice hardened expedition ship M.S Origo which will enable us to skirt the edge of the pack ice searching for and photographing Polar Bears. M.S Origo is widely regarded as the best ship in the Arctic for Polar Bear Photography and has been my ship of choice for this expedition for the past three years. With its super low decks and operable portholes a mere 50cm above the water line we can photograph at eye level with wild Polar Bears. Our expedition ship is also 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! On this expedition we will also likely photograph Walrus, Seals, Whales, Arctic Foxes and the many Arctic sea birds including the rare and angelic Ivory Gull. To get an idea of the sort of wildlife photographs you can take on this expedition please visit the Svalbard portfolio on my website. All of the Polar Bear photographs on this website were taken from the very same ship we will be utilising for this expedition.

_H9P3362-Edit-MoabSMR-RelCol32013 Due to initial registrations from those who missed out on the 2015 expedition there are only a few places left before the expedition will be sold out (2015 Sold out in just a few days). If you are excited by the idea of travelling 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 register and secure your place. Places are very limited and once they are spoken for thats it. If you would like more information you can download a detailed PDF itinerary from my website at www.jholko.com. To register your place please just email me at info@jholko.com or use the register link on my website.

VPPY - Gold Award This brand new expedition has also just been featured in Hong Kong’s Jetsetter Magazine.

MEDIA2015_journey

April Photo of the Month Winner: Nita Gulbas

April 4, 2015 Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs1 Comment

Congratulations to the fourth print winner ‘Nita Gulbas’, for the photograph of the month for April 2015: ‘Polar Bear Blues’.

What Nita said: This image shows the world of the Polar Bear and the vanishing world it must survive in. The isolation of the bear on it’s bed of ice, where they are happy to be. In addition, the difficult environment that should remain theirs, not to be invaded my mankind and hunted to near extinction.

Congratulations Nita, you were the first, and your print will be sent to you shortly after Easter. Polar Bear Blues

Keep an eye out on my blog for the next print giveaway with the May photograph of the month. Remember the best way to get instant updates is to subscribe via email.

2015 April Photograph of the Month: Polar Bear Blues

April 4, 2015 Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife Photographs19 Comments

The photograph of the month for April 2015 was taken during my recent expedition to photograph Polar Bears in Svalbard in the Arctic this winter. If you have been following my blog (or read the story in the news) you will know that this bear was unfortunately shot dead only a few days after this photograph was taken (You can read my thoughts on this tragedy that could have so easily been avoided). The investigation into the death of this bear and the circumstances that led up to the attack and shooting are currently under investigation. I hope to report the findings of the investigation when they are released later this month.

This particular photograph is a very emotional image for me because of the tragic set of circumstances that led up to the death of this magnificent animal and the time I had spent photographing it only days earlier. I debated with myself for quite some time about wether to make this the photograph of the month for April and ultimately decided I would like this print to go to someone who will not only appreciate the print, but also the story behind it. I watched and photographed this magnificent Polar Bear play around this piece of blue ice against the backdrop of the glacier in Tempelfjorden in Svalbard for well over an hour. It was one of the most playful Polar Bears I have ever encountered and watching it climb over and play around this piece of blue ice was a very unique and special experience. I also photographed the same bear two days before this image as it lay on a fresh seal kill under the polar winter sunset. Polar Bear Blues You can Win a free Fine art Print 13″ x 19″ 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. Just keep in mind that 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. The first three prints of the year were won by Fred Jennings, Chris Roberts and Caroline Hind and their prints have now been delivered, framed by them and are hanging on their walls (Caroline your print is shipping next week).

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 April photograph of the 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.

Polar Bears on the Edge – Heading for Extinction

March 31, 2015 Posted in Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography2 Comments

It isn’t often I get on board for a crowd funding project. Frankly there are so many of them these days that deserve support that its impossible to contribute to them all. However, the recent events in Svalbard with the senseless death of a young female Polar Bear (I photographed this bear only days earlier) combined with my own additional experience witnessing the decline of these magnificent animals in the wild puts this particular effort at the forefront of my thinking and efforts. I want to urge all of you to help save the Polar Bear and to take just a few moments out of your day to do so.

Morten Jørgensen, who is arguably the leading authority on Polar Bears, is about to release a new book to help save this incredible animal from extinction. The book “Polar Bears on the Edge” has taken two years to write and I believe this will probably be the most important book about polar bear conservation in many years. In fact, it may well be one of the last chances to help save the species. 20150319032943-isbj_rn.vinkel.s_1200 The book ‘Polar Bears on the Edge – Heading for Extinction while Management Fails’, will be available to the general public including the press towards the end of April this year. You can order an advance copy by contributing to the campaign. To help fund the message of the book out to as wide an audience as possible, Morten has launched a campaign to cover the costs of production and distribution. This fund raising is not for profit – it is for polar bears.

Please check it out at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/polar-bears-on-the-edge I encourage and urge you to assist in whatever means you feel comfortable and able. To ensure polar bears have a future, we need to see a policy change in the Arctic. One way you can contribute to helping the polar bears is by donating to the campaign. But you can also contribute by spreading the word. You could forward this page to people around you, let people know through your mailing lists, through Facebook and Twitter etc, or embed the link to the campaign on your webpages. I encourage you wether you are a photographer or not to contribute to this campaign. Every little bit helps and with your support we can hopefully save this magnificent animal.