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APPA – Australian Professional Photography Awards Finalist Nature Category 2018

Posted in Antarctica, Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs1 Comment

The 2018 APPA (Australian Professional Photography Awards) awards wrapped up this evening with the awards ceremony and Gala dinner in Melbourne. Due to some personal commitments I was not able to attend the ceremony and dinner in person this year, but I did very much enjoy judging on the Saturday and Sunday. The standard of work this year was particularly strong (especially in the Nature category) with some absolutely outstanding images in all categories.

This year I chose to enter my four photographs into the Wildlife sub-category of Nature and was very pleased to have all four score extremely well. Whilst I didn’t quite reach my stretch goal of 6 points (I scored 5) I did accrue enough overall points to make the finals in the category (which in many ways is even better!) My individual prints scored 91 Gold Award (2 Points), 87 Silver with Distinction (1 Point), 85 Silver with Distinction (1 Point) and 85 Silver with Distinction (1 Point). I am now just one point (one point!) away from my 2nd Gold Bar and a double Master of Photography – M.Photog II. That honour will have to wait until APPA 2019 though. Importantly for me, I now have the five required Gold Awards (I already had the 10 required Silver with Distinctions) for the honour of Grand Master of Photography. That will come in a few more years I hope if I can amass enough points. In the meantime, my images from APPA 2018 below and congratulations to the winners of each category and the overall PPY winner. See you at APPA 2019…

Mother and Cub – 87 Silver with DistinctionPolar Bear on Blue Ice – 91 Gold AwardPolar Bear For-play – 85 Silver with DistinctionLone Gentoo – 85 Silver with Distinction

Ghosts of the Arctic Officially Selected for Chagrin Film Festival 2018

Posted in Arctic, Media, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Video, Wildlife PhotographsLeave a comment

In some very exciting news I learned today that my short film with Untitled Film Works, Ghosts of the Arctic has been selected to be filmed at the highly respected Chagrin Film festival in October this year.“The Festival is a five day celebration of the art of documentary film, at venues in and around the century village of Chagrin Falls, Ohio. This inspiring event draws audiences from all over Northeast Ohio, the US and the world to experience documentary films and the compelling art and culture they highlight.”I will be in Africa when the festival is underway leading my Namibia workshop, but if you stop past please be sure to drop me an email and let me know what it was like.

Namibia Desert Fire Safari 2018 – Last Two Places Left

Posted in Africa, Landscape Photographs, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

In October this year I am leading my bi-annual safari to the gigantic sand desert of Namibia. At this stage there are now just two places remaining before the workshop will be sold out. Namibia is an epic world class location for both landscape and wildlife photography and best of all.. we are going to be doing both on this trip! We will be spending time at the ghost town of Kolmonskop, the giant sand dunes of Sossusvlei, the iconic salt pans of Deadvlei and the wildlife rich region of Etosha. If you are interested in joining us please drop me an email at info@jholko.com to secure your place. A full PDF itinerary can be downloaded HERE.

Departing for Polar Bears of Svalbard Expedition 2018

Posted in Arctic, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife Photographs, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

Tomorrow afternoonI am going to be leaving Australia for the long trek up to Longyearbyen at 78º north to lead my annual Arctic summer expedition for Polar Bears, Walrus, Arctic Fox and of course Arctic landscapes. I have been in Australia for two months now – the longest stretch I have had at home in more than five years and I am feeling rested, fully recharged and super keen to get back up to the Arctic.As some of you are aware I have been battling with a badly torn lateral tendon in my right elbow (the result of continued repetitive strain with cameras and lenses (No! I will not switch to mirrorless!) that has precluded me from much serious photography since I returned from winter in the Arctic earlier this year. After very intensive physiotherapy I finally feel like I have started to turn the corner and have taken the first steps on the road to recovery.  It will be many months before the tendon is fully healed and I have to be careful how I use my arm, but I can now lift my camera again and that means I am ready to get back into the game with both er… feet….as it were.Its tradition for me to do a packing list for each expedition and so included below is my gear choice for this particular trip. All of this will pack into my F-Stop Lightroom Roller which I will use to get the equipment through the transit stage of my expedition (I no longer wish to lug a backpack through airports without rollers). I will then re-pack it on location into my F-stop backpack.

F- Stop Lightroom Roller Camera Bag:

  • 2 x Canon EOS 1DX MKII
  • 2 X Canon EOS 1DX MKII Spare Batteries
  • 1 x Canon 11-24mm F4L
  • 1 x Canon 24-70mm F4L IS
  • 1 x Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS MKII (I am unsure if I will upgrade to the MKIII at this stage)
  • 1 x Canon 400mm F2.8L IS MKII
  • 1 x Canon 1.4 TC MKIII Teleconverter

In my checked luggage I am bringing the following:

  • 1 x Sachtler Carbon Fire Tripod (the new model I have not as yet tested in the field)
  • 1 x Sachtler FSB-6 Fluid Head
  • 1 x Ortlieb Dry Bag (for zodiac excursions)
  • 1 x Canon 1DX MKII Battery Charger and Lens Cleaning Kit

The astute gear gurus amongst you will probably note that I am taking the 400mm f2.8 instead of the 600mm f4. The primary reason for this is I have been doing some testing with my physiotherapist and am finding the 400mm better balanced for my elbow as the weight is not so far forward. The addition of the 1.4TC gets me out to almost 600mm in any case and provides both a super fast aperture as well as a flexible focal length.

Summer in the Arctic is an incredible time. With the midnight sun we will have 24 hours of light available for photography and that means a huge amount of opportunities. The ice is quite far north at present, which means we may have to go as high as 82º this year. Either way, I cant wait to stand on the bow as we push through the pack ice and raise my camera for that first polar bear of the expedition. See you in Svalbard!

Addendum: There are now limited places only on next years High Arctic Expedition. If you are keen to join us and secure a spot for the best available Arctic expedition experience please let me know as soon as possible.

Photo of the Month June and July 2018

Posted in Arctic, Landscape Photographs, New Zealand, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife PhotographsLeave a comment

Somehow I managed to let June slip past without a photograph of the month update. Either I am getting old and forgetful or just had too much on my plate (I am hoping its the later). Either way this update is both my June and July Photograph of the month (I will try not to forget August!).

The June photograph of the month was taken on my recent New Zealand South Island Masterclass (Read the Trip Report). We were driving from the small town of Fox Glacier to Greymouth on our last full day and had just left town after breakfast. We rounded a bend in the road when I noticed the wonderful cloud and mist swirling amongst the trees and mountains. We immediately pulled over for a drive by shooting session and the following image resulted. The great thing about this sort of cloud and mist is it is constantly changing as it swirls amongst trees and mountains. I made a number of different exposures over a period of perhaps two minutes, but this is the one that best captures the feeling and drama of Middle Earth. In print this image absolutely swings with wonderful delicate tones in the clouds, mist and trees.The July photograph of the month was taken on my Winter Svalbard expedition this March (Read the Trip Report) and is of the full moon rising over the snow and ice covered Arctic mountains. I almost missed this opportunity – or rather, it is perhaps more accurate to say I owe a debt of thanks to Chris who remained outside to watch for the rising moon whilst the rest of us went inside for a warming drink. We had waited outside for over an hour for the moon to rise and had all but completely given up when Chris came inside to alert us that the moon was finally making an appearance over the mountains (thank you Chris!).