Last night I wrapped up my 2016 Namibia Desert overland Safari and I am now making the long journey back to Australia (currently at the airport lounge in Windhoek). I have been on the road since early February with back-to-back workshops and expeditions to the Weddell Sea in Antarctica, Iceland in Winter, the Iceland Arctic Fox Project, Lofoten in Winter and finally Namibia. This time away amounted to twenty four flight sections and an awful lot of miles travelled. I am now very much looking forward to a couple of weeks at home before I head to the South Island of New Zealand for my Masterclass workshop.
As is always the case it is going to be many weeks before I can sort through all the photographs I made during these trips, edit and process my selects and share them on my website and social media. My priority is actually to now finish my work on the Arctic Fox Project and have the book ready for release later this year (I will also be formally announcing a new gallery showing of this work). In the meantime I hope you enjoy this image from the abandoned diamond town at Kolmonskop in Namibia. See you back in Australia.
In late February the darkness of the Icelandic winter is starting to lift and the days are becoming longer. We will have up to ten hours of good light during the day and with a little bit of luck the spectacular Northern Lights will increase our photographic opportunities well into the night. Winter conditions in Iceland can be stunningly beautiful: the glacial lagoons freeze, some of the waterfalls are partially frozen, the glaciers appear more blue with fresh snow on top, the landscape of the north is covered in fresh snow and with fewer visitors. With true darkness in winter comes the possibility of seeing the awe inspiring Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). We plan to make photographs of them whenever there are clear skies and intense Aurora activity.
This photography workshop will last for 11 days (10 nights). We will be staying in good hotels and guest houses that are functional and clean. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all included and will generally be held at the hotels where we are staying. However, this workshop 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 may take food and drink with us into the field 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.
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 10 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 twelve.
You can download a complete itinerary and information PDF 
Access to these two islands is only obtained by first flying into Mount Pleasant near the capital Stanley and then taking a much smaller B-2 Islander plane out to the smaller Saunders and sea Lion Islands. The weather around the Falklands is a constantly changing variable and as such flights to these islands are never assured – everything is a weather dependant. Our first stop at Saunders Island was roughly a forty five minute flight from Stanley. We were touch and go for this flight due to very low cloud and fog in the area, but in the end we made it by flying under the cloud and super close to the water. I knew we were low when I looked out the window at the passing cliffs and saw a flock of sheep looking down on us.
On arrival at Saunders Island we made the 45 minute drive by 4-wheel drive out to the ‘Neck’ area which would be our home for the next few days. The Neck is a remote part of the island with only basic self contained accomodation. The wonderful thing about this location however is the sheer plethora of bird life literally right outside the window. The Neck is really a very special area and we certainly got our moneys worth with changing conditions and amazing wildlife. In addition to Gentoos, Magellanic and Rockhoppers there was also a group of King Penguins out here, as well as one pair of Macaroni Penguins in the Rockhopper colony. The Caracaras (Johnny Rooks) and the Turkey Vultures were also very active here and there were a great many small birds including Meadowlarks, Black Throated Finches, Plovers and more. In addition there were Oyster Catchers, Gulls and other sea birds. Some of us also made the trek out to two of the remote ponds where we were able to photograph Black-headed Swans and the beautiful Silver Grebe. At the Rookery we enjoyed the Rockhoppers and also a huge number of breeding Black-browed Albatross in spectacular landscapes. I know of no other place in the world where you can photograph Black-browed Albatross in flight with a wide angle 16-35mm lens!
When we had finished at the Neck we took another small plane ride to Sea Lion Island where we spent three more days photographing Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins and also Rockhoppers and Cormorants a short drive from the lodge. In addition we had some fantastic shorebirds, Caracara, Blue Eyed Cormorant as well as several different species of the wetland birds found in the Falklands (several of them endemic to the islands). One of the highlights for me personally was the short-eared Owl which I spent the better part of two days to locate and photograph.
The Falkland Islands is a world class location for bird photography and is a remarkable location for any wildlife photographer to spend time. With so many of the birds being approachable the photographic opportunities are extensive. As yet I have only had time to process a small handful of the photographs I made in the Falkland Islands, but hope to find time to work through many more over the course of this year. I am also looking forward to returning to the Falklands for a future workshop.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 