The single place that became available a few days ago on my Ultimate Polar Bears of the High Arctic Expedition in June 2025 has been spoken for, and the expedition is now Sold Out—thank you. We are looking forward to an eighteen-day expedition up north of Svalbard to the edge of the permanent pack ice in search of this ultimate marine predator. Our next expedition to Svalbard with availability is now April 2026 – Svalbard Landscapes and Wildlife in Winter.
On October 30th and November 14th at 06:00pm AEST this year, I will present two free webinars for BenQ on post-production for Arctic and Antarctic wildlife and advanced post-production with Nik Software. You can register for the October 30th Webinar HERE and the November 14th Webinar HERE. As mentioned above, attendance is free, but you need to pre-register as numbers are limited, and typically, these webinars fill very fast. There will also be a Q&A session at the end of each webinar. I will also show a range of new and old work as examples and when and how to use specific techniques to enhance your RAW captures.
The photograph of the month for October 2024 comes from my just completed East Greenland Scoresby Sund expedition (trip report coming soon). Photographed from the deck of our expedition schooner, the Rembrandt Van Rijn, this image directly resulted from positioning the boat in the best location at the best time. It’s a great example of the key difference between a dedicated photographic expedition and a general tourist trip. With time on our side and a team of participants all dedicated to making great images, I decided to simply stay with these two icebergs and wait for the best light of the day. This soft pastel light post-sunset is a wonderful example of what makes Greenland alluring to photographers. These types of photographic opportunities are abundant in Greenland and easily made from the deck of a suitable expedition-class vessel. In this instance, I used a 24-105mm F4 RF lens at F5.6 ISO800 hand-held. As we slowly circled the icebergs (numerous times!) I made many different photographs from different angles so that I could choose my preferred angle in post-production.
A single private cabin place has just become available on my Ultimate Polar Bears of the High Arctic expedition, which will take place June 10th – June 27th, 2025. An 18-day expedition is an all-new opportunity to venture far north, east and west of Svalbard into the pack ice in search of Polar Bears. If you have ever wanted to photograph Polar Bears on a dedicated trip with like-minded, passionate photographers, this is the expedition you want to participate in. With 18 days, we will sail far north into the permanent pack ice, looking for and photographing the King of the Arctic. We can sail much further east and west with our extended time than all the other eight and nine-day expeditions. The extra time will give us many unique opportunities to encounter and photograph this incredible high-arctic predator. If you are keen to photograph the King of the Arctic, please drop me an email to express your interest. First come, first served.
I have just published episode 104 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I discuss my thoughts on the new Canon EOS R5 MK2 camera now that I have had an opportunity to use the camera in the Arctic for several weeks of intense photography (Eastern Greenland and South Western Iceland). I first tested the camera back in September in Australia over three days of landscape photography down the Great Ocean Road. During this shoot, I was photographing only from a tripod and had not yet shot handheld with the camera in my preferred polar environment. My initial impressions from this shoot in Australia were all positive, and I was very keen to get the camera up to Greenland to see how it performed. After shooting with the camera in Eastern Greenland and Iceland for the last three weeks, I have (perhaps surprisingly) concluded that this camera is not for me. The files are excellent at low to moderate ISO (ISO800 and below) but fall far short of those from the EOS R3 at ISO800 and above. Since most of my photography is at moderate to high ISO (typically 800 and above), this is a significant factor in my decision-making process. Of more importance, however, is that the ergonomics of the EOS R5MK2 just don’t suit my size hands or my style of shooting. It is a wonderful camera that will undoubtedly make many people happy – but it isn’t for me. Find out more in this podcast.
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