Category: Travel Photography

Photography from around the World

Leaving for Yellowstone 2015 Winter Workshop

Posted in News and Updates, North America, Photographs, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

In a few minutes time I am leaving for the airport for my first workshop of 2015 – Yellowstone in Winter. I have been looking forward to returning to the United States for some time now and it is very exciting to be headed to Yellowstone in Winter with a small group of participants and passionate photographers. We are looking forward to beautiful and dramatic snow covered landscapes, geothermal features, Bison, Elk and with a little luck even Wolves. We hope to make some iconic images of some of the more well known features, but also venture further afield. We will be using a large private snow-coach so that we can get off the main road and move around the park to some of the better, but harder to reach areas for photography. During our trip we will be utilising accommodation both in and around Yellowstone National Park. We will also be visiting the Grand Tetons and National Elk Refuge. It is going to be very exciting and I am itching to don my warm clothes and step out into the park with my cameras. You can read my packing list for this expedition HERE and my thoughts on traveling with camera equipment and dealing with customs in my article on Carnets – A Passport for your Camera Equipment.Yellowstone Sold OutYellowstone in Winter is only my first stop during my time away from home and at the conclusion of this trip I will be travelling directly to Iceland for my annual Winter Aurora Workshop with Daniel Bergmann (Sold Out). If you are interested in joining us on our 2016 Iceland Frozen North workshop there are still a few places remaining before it will be sold out. At the conclusion of the 2015 winter workshop I have some time allocated for two personal projects (both in Iceland and Svalbard) of which I will have more to say in future posts. We should have good internet access in Yellowstone and I hope to post some updates and photographs from the trip as we progress. See you in Yellowstone in a couple of days.

The Spirit of Antarctica 2014 Expedition Report

Posted in Antarctica, Landscape Photographs, Photographs, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs2 Comments

In early December 2014 I led an expedition to Antarctica ‘The Spirit of Antarctica‘ with my good friend and fellow Nature photographer Antony Watson. This expedition departed from Ushuaia and saw us sail across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula. We spent the next ten days exploring the incredible landscapes and wildlife of Antarctica before our return back across the Drake to Puerto Williams in Chile. We were quite fortunate with both crossings of the Drake and unlike my previous South Georgia Island expedition we really did not experience the ferocity that the Drake is so renowned for. Our crossings by comparison were quite mild which was manna from heaven for those of us who succumb to the occasional bout of sea sickness.

This expedition was a mixed group of photographers, climbers and kayakers which provided us with some unique opportunities to include the human element in our photographs. It also meant that we had quite a lot of room in our zodiacs for gear and equipment.

During this expedition we visited several new areas I had not been to before in Antarctica including Enterprise Island, Elephant Point and Useful Island. Enterprise Island turned out to be a really fantastic location where we encountered two humpback whales which played for a short time before they decided to head south. We also stopped to photograph the wrecked remains of ‘The Governor’ whaling ship. This abandoned hulk rests in the shallows of the island and provided wonderful subject material for our cameras. I normally choose not to photograph on blue sky days in Antarctica and instead soak up the beauty of the location but in this instance there was just enough interesting cloud to make a strong photograph. The key to this image was to ensure just the right angle on the ship and not to clip the reflection in the water. One of the wonderful things about zodiac photography is if you miss the shot on the first pass you can always have the driver turn the zodiac around for another go. If memory serves, we probably spent the better part of an hour photographing around the wreck remains. The wildlife photographers amongst us were thrilled with the nesting Antarctic terns and we also encountered a Crab Eater Seal on a nearby ice-flow. Enterprise Island is a location I am now looking forward to returning on future expeditions.

The GovernerElephant Point turned out to be another wonderful new location that reminded me very much of South Georgia Island. The beach was bedecked with Elephant Seals, Fur Seals and Gentoo Penguins when our zodiacs landed and there were outstanding opportunities for really intimate wildlife images with recently hatched penguin chicks. We even came across a vagrant King Penguin as we explored the area. Elephant Point is also a wonderful location to photograph Giant Petrels, Kelp Gulls and many other bird species. Personally, I spent quite a bit of time photographing the Giant Petrels during light snowfall. By far the majority of the photographers on this expedition had never visited South Georgia Island and this stop at Elephant Island really gave them a taste of the incredible Bio-mass one finds in South Georgia. I am leading a dedicated expedition to South Georgia Island this November and can’t wait to return. There are only two places remaining before this expedition will be sold out. You can read more about that expedition HERE.

Giant PetrelWe also visited the geothermal caldera and remains of the whaling station at Deception Island during this expedition and were fortunate to have some overcast skies and light snowfall; which really added to the mystery and drama of this location. Deception Island is one of my personal favourite locations for photography in Antarctica. I actually wrote a short op ed. piece on this location earlier last month. This wonderfully surreal location offers virtually limitless opportunities for photography and its a great place to wander and explore. It has been interesting to watch the decay of the whalers remnants from visit to visit and year to year at Deception Island. My feeling is there is probably only a decade or two remaining before all that will be left is a few scraps of iron. Deception Island

One of the regular stops for Antarctica expeditions and one of my favourites for photographing penguins is Cuverville Island. Surrounded on just about all sides by towering mountains and hanging glaciers Cuverville Island is home to well over a thousand Gentoo Penguins and offers fantastic opportunities for photography amongst the many rookeries. We were fortunate to experience heavy snowfall during our stay here and some really fabulous photographs came out of this day. This photograph (my favourite from this Antarctica expedition) really captures the feeling of solitude one feels in Antarctica. I actually used this image recently in an article here on my blog ‘How to get Emotion and Mystery into your Landscape Photography‘ as an example of how to create evocative photographs.Antarctica-4470-Edit12014We even had an opportunity during this expedition to spend a night ashore camping at Useful Island for those who wished to partake in an overnight polar camping experience. From a photographic perspective this opportunity provided a great chance to work with the landscape and wildlife under the soft light of the moon and there is something quite surreal about falling asleep to the trumpeting sounds of Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins.

We also passed through the Lemaire channel during this expedition in wonderful conditions that even enabled us to have a BBQ on the back deck of the ship for dinner! This photograph of Gentoo penguins on the sea in front of our expedition ship was taken near the exit to the Lemaire channel in Pleneau Bay. This is an area I have visited on several other occasions, but this was the first time I have seen Penguins on the sea ice at this location.PolarPioneer and PenguinsAntarctic expeditions are always a unique experience. With the variation in weather comes a different expedition plan. These expeditions are fluid and its not uncommon for us to move from Plan A to B and C as the weather dictates. In this instance I think we got very close to sticking with Plan A for the duration of the expedition.

If you are interested in travelling and photographing in Antarctica, I will be leading a brand new expedition in February 2016 to the Weddell Sea – Antarctica The Wild Side. There are now only very limited places remaining before this expedition will be sold out. If you would like to know about this opportunity you can download a complete PDF itinerary and information flyer from my website HERE.

Just by way of a teaser and an easter egg for those of you who have read the trip review in its entirety: I am almost ready to announce a very special and totally unique opportunity for just four photographers to join me on a November 2016 expedition deep into Antarctica to photograph the mighty Emperor Penguins. This expedition will utilise a privately chartered transport jet to fly us deep into Antarctica where we are going to land on a pre-prepared ice-runway. At this point we will have left South America more than 3000 kilometres behind us and already be only 600 miles from the South Pole! We will then take a smaller privately chartered twin-otter ski aircraft to the remote Emperor Penguin colony where we will establish a field camp and spend our days living with and photographing the Emperors against a backdrop of spectacular mountains, icebergs and pressure ridges under soft evening  and early morning light. This is an expedition I have been working on for more than two years now and I am really excited to offer this very exclusive and unique opportunity to just four people very soon.

Book Review: Antarctica – The Global Warning by Sebastian Copeland

Posted in Antarctica, Book Reviews, News and Updates, Travel PhotographyLeave a comment

Antarctica – The Global Warning was released in back in 2006. The photographs are by Sebastian Copeland and there is a forward by Mikhail Gorbachev and a Preface by Leonardo DiCaprio. At the time of release it retailed for approximately $70.00 AUD here in Australia. It can now be found for significantly less than that if you shop around. You might want to read this review in full however before you part with your hard earned dollars on this book. I have actually been meaning to review this book for some time now, but before I begin I just want to say a few words about what Antarctica is actually like for those of you who have never been there.

Antarctica is miraculous. It is a continent of stark and beautiful desolation and I feel very privileged to have now visited and led expeditions to this incredible continent numerous times over the last few years. No where else on earth have I experienced such a sense of wonder as what I have felt in Antarctica and no where else is the landscape so other worldly. There is a variation to the weather, light and landscape in Antarctica that is in my experience completely unique. Mother Nature is a mad scientist and Antarctica is surely her greatest creation.

I have seen and experienced Antarctica at it’s most sunlit, brilliant and dazzling. I have also experienced violent storms, catabatic winds, snowstorms and some of mother Nature’s wildest weather. I have experienced dark, moody and overcast skies, racing clouds, sunlit mountains and glistening blue glaciers, the gentlest of snowfall and the strongest of blizzards. The weather and conditions in Antarctica are as varied as anywhere on earth and every visit offers a new experience in this regard.

It is this varied weather and Antarctica’s ability to both dazzle with brilliance and glow with purity that I found so obviously missing in Sebastian Copeland’s – ‘Antarctica The Global Warning’ photography book. This omission might not have bothered me so much (if at all) if it were not for the title of this book; the connotation of which is undeniable. This is, in its most basic form, a book intended to fuel the global warming debate. I do not wish to enter into this debate in this review; suffice to say that in my experience global warming is undeniable (I have witnessed its effects every year in both Antarctica and the Arctic). The problem I have with Antarctica The Global Warning book is that it it only shows one face of Antarctica in an attempt to skew the viewers impression of what Antarctica actually looks like and that makes it only a half truth.AntarcticaglobalwarningI feel there was an opportunity (and even a responsibility) in this book that has been missed by Sebastian Copeland. The opportunity existed to show Antarctica not only at its most mysterious, dark and ominous, but also in its brilliance and purity. Sebastian could have shown the ‘real’ Antarctica and the global warming message would have been even stronger. Yes, Antarctica can look like the dark images portrayed in this book. But it can also look brilliantly dazzling and incredibly pristine and pure. Indeed, it is often the most brilliant weather that truly portrays the rate of melt underway. I feel somewhat at odds saying this as a photographer who seeks out dark, moody and evocative landscapes in my own photography. Ultimately however, Sebastian’s book is not intended as a book of fine art photographs; it is intended to deliver a message and the images it uses to do so are only partially representative of the true Antarctica.

By far the majority of people who will read this book will have never visited Antarctica and will never do so in their lifetime. There is therfore an obligation in my view to present a more balanced viewpoint on what Antarctica is truly like when the intended purpose of the book is to highlight global warming.

It is hard to get past the message Antarctica The Global Warning is intended to deliver and I feel that is largely due to my own significant experiences in Antarctica. Had I never visited the continent I may well feel differently about the photographs in this book and their intended message. This leads me to believe that I and others who have visited Antarctica are not the intended audience for this book.

Print Quality: From the dust jacket I was disappointed with the print quality in Antarctica The Gobal Warning. There is clear evidence of banding, crushed and muddy blacks, blown highlights and poor tonal gradation. The photographs themselves are highly stylised with what I feel has been overly heavy-handed post production treatment (particularly in the 3/4 tones) and heavy vignetting. Many of the photographs are quite soft and exhibit excessive grain and noise; which, would appear to be a combination of over processing and poor quality offset printing. I am giving Sebastian the benefit of the doubt that these were not technical errors during capture. Overall, I was bitterly disappointed with the print quality in this book.

I personally have a strong preference for images that are printed with a white border around them to help contain and frame the photograph. Many of the images in Antarctica The Global Warning are full page, full bleed and appear awkwardly cropped to fit the page size.  I find this approach detracts significantly from the photographs and the photographers vision. This approach leaves me feeling short changed as if the photographer or publisher decided it was more important to have a full bleed photograph than it was to respect the images naturally preferred crop. There are examples to numerous to document where important elements in images are arbitrarily cropped at the edge of the page which leaves the image experience incomplete.

I have attempted over numerous sittings with this book to come to a different conclusion; but ultimately I feel Antarctica the Global Warning is a propaganda piece likely intended for those who will never visit or experience the true nature of this miraculous continent. I do not believe photographers are the intended audience for this book or more care and attention would have been paid to the print quality, layout, cropping and selection of photographs. I feel this book is a missed opportunity and that to me is the most disappointing aspect to this book.

Overall Review – * Give it a miss. There are better books on this subject you should consider adding to your library first

World Photography Cup 2015 Finalist

Posted in Media, News and Updates, Travel Photography1 Comment

Every now and again a really pleasant surprise crosses our path and this morning I was very fortunate to meet that surprise. Recently the AIPP Australian Institute of Professional Photography selected one of my photographs from the 2014 APPA Awards to be part of the Australian Team entry at the 2015 World Photography Cup (WPC). Twenty eight different countries entered this year from across 4 continents and the finalists have just been announced at Imaging USA. I was thrilled to learn this morning that my photograph was selected as a finalist in the Reportage category.  Medalists will be announced at the end of February 2015 and the overall Winners will be announced in Montpellier, France, on April 12th, 2015. Included below is the full finalist list.WPCFinalists2015

February Photo of the Month Winner: Chris Roberts

Posted in Iceland, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel Photography, Wildlife Photographs1 Comment

Congratulations to the second print winner ‘Chris Roberts’, for the photograph of the month for February 2015: ‘Arctic Fox Freeze’

What Chris said: The fox is beautifully isolated, in pristine snow, and I feel very cold just looking at him. He is clearly very much in his environment, and I’d love to know what he is looking at, and what he’s about to do.

Even at this distance on my computer, I can see that there is fine detail in his tail with the light dusting of snow on his body. I’d love to have the opportunity to see this beautiful and rare animal in the wild, but in the interim would be happy to view him in my home instead! A gorgeous capture, in what would have been very challenging conditions.Arctic Fox

Congratulations Chris, you were the first, and your print will be sent to you this week.

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