Faroe Islands Workshop 2019 Announcement – Limited Availability

In August next year I am running a ‘one-time only’ landscape workshop to the Faroe Islands with my good friend Martyn Lucas. The emphasis on this workshop is on the incredible landscape on offer and we plan to make the most of our time in the Faroes by maximising our time out in the field.The Faroe Islands are comprised of eighteen small rugged and rocky islands located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The island’s position is unique and is the frame for breathtaking views; beautiful mountains, majestic fjords, dramatic sea cliffs; all in all a photographers paradise. The islands have a rich bird life, Including the largest colony of storm petrels in the world and over 305 bird species including Razor Bills and Atlantic Puffins.This workshop is for dedicated landscape photographers who are willing to work for their images. A small group of participants (maximum of 6 plus leaders) guarantees a more personal and intimate experience than bigger tours can provide. By keeping our group extremely small we can be mobile and move quickly to take advantage of changing weather and light.This is a unique opportunity to travel and photograph with two experienced professionals who have a combined total of more than 40 years of photographic experience and can take you to the best locations that are off the beaten track, and at the right time – when the light is best. You’ll be spending 9 days with others who are just as passionate about photography as you are, and to ensure everyone gets plenty of individual attention, the maximum number of participants is capped at six. We will be traveling in a comfortable large 4-wheel drive vehicle to give us plenty of space for camera equipment and gear. So bring what you need!This photography tour will last for nine (9) days, eight (8) nights. We will be staying in good hotels that are functional and clean. Breakfast and dinner are all included and will generally be held at the hotels where we are staying. However, this workshop tour is all about photography and we will be putting in long hours in the field in order to ensure we get the best possible light for photography. We will take food and drink with us into the field (for lunch) to ensure we are in the right locations get the best possible light. There will be some moderate hiking on uneven ground and a reasonable level of fitness is recommended. There is no obligation to participate in any hikes and every effort will be made to accommodate any requests.

There will be an (optional) opportunity to climb Staettaratindur, the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands. The mountain is 882 metres tall and the climb is approximately a four hour round trip with outstanding views.

If you are interested in joining us and securing one of the last remaining places you can download a complete itinerary with costings and all details HERE.

Photo of the Month September 2018 – Polar Bear Reflections

The middle of September has rolled around and its high time for the photograph of the month. This photograph from my Polar Bears of Svalbard expedition this July and August. What I really love about this photograph is the sense of environment and space in which the Polar Bear lives. If memory serves correctly I think it was close to midnight when I took this photograph. The light is soft and ethereal and there was a light fog that just softened everything beautifully. The Polar Bear was wandering up and down the ice flow and paused for just a moment in just the right place for this photograph. This was quite close to our expedition ship and I was able to make this image with just a 24-70mm F4L IS lens. If you want to photograph Polar Bears like this up in the pack ice in their natural environment then there are now only three places left on my Svalbard High Arctic expedition next July before it will be sold out. You can drop me an email for further details or download the full PDF itinerary from my website at www.jholko.com

AIPP Luminous Project Print Auction 2018

Unless you are a member of the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) you probably haven’t heard of the AIPP’s Luminous Project. The Luminous Project was a concept created a few years ago, and has been designed to celebrate photographic excellence, community spirit and offering photographers a helping hand when needed.

 One part of the Project is the Luminous Fund, which has been established to accept donations and bequests, and raise funds via the Luminous Auction. This is a silent auction run online, comprised of photographs from the year’s APPA submissions, with images selected before the judging to ensure the print’s score is not a consideration. Previous auctions have raised over $11,500 for the Luminous Fund, which is set aside in the accounts and only used for the purposes of the Luminous Project.

This year’s silent auction offers prints, chosen from this year’s 2018 APPA entries, with the objective of raising funds for The Luminous Grant for student education. This year I am pleased to announce that one of my photographs ‘Lone Gentoo’ from Antarctica has been selected (the print scored a Silver with Distinction at APPA), and a 13 x 19 inch print will be auctioned for the Luminous Fund. Only 15 images were selected in total this year, so its quite an honour to be chosen.

You can bid on the print of your choice HERE. Prints are available for bidding until 5pm AEST Monday 17th September 2018 on the AIPP Galabid site.

Wildlife Photographic Issue #33 September October 2018

The lastest issue No. #33 of Wildlife Photographic (my photograph on the cover of previous issue) has just been released and features a brief 10 Question Interview feature on my photography. The issue is now available for download in the Apple App Store http://bit.ly/1aKP3qR and in the Google Play Store at http://bit.ly/1JOhMcW. Download now for the full interview.

Australasian Nature Photography Exhibition 2018

The Australasian Nature Photography exhibition is now open at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide until the 11th of November this year. The exhibition includes work from all of the finalists from the 2018 Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year competition. I am pleased to say it includes one of my photographs as a finalist – Antarctic Sound Tabular Dawn. Taken from the deck of our expedition class ship ‘Polar Pioneer’ it documents the formation of ‘grease-ice’ snaking its way across the surface as the first light of dawn breaks across the face of a giant tabular iceberg.