South Georgia 2015 Expedition – Availability

I have just had two places become available on the expedition I am leading with my friend and fellow Nature Photographer Ole Jorgen to South Georgia Island this November. This fifteen day photography expedition will depart from the Falkland Islands on the 7th of November 2015 and is singularly focused on providing the definitive South Georgia Island photography experience. We have arranged permits for an extended stay in South Georgia that will allow us not less than ten days of photography (compared to the usual 48 hours only) at this incredible location. Best of all we have timed our expedition with the breeding season for the Penguins, Albatross and Seals. At this time there will be a lot of activity in the colonies and lots of action to photograph. We will sail from the Falkland Islands (the closest port) directly to South Georgia Island where we will zodiac cruise through a maze of icebergs before landing ashore on a beach bedecked with penguins, seals and lichen encrusted boulders. South Georgia Island promises fantastic wildlife and landscape opportunities. We will see and photograph the world’s largest King Penguin rookeries, majestic albatross nests, seals and a plethora of bird life. Kelp strewn beaches are cluttered with basking elephant seals, feisty fur seals and hundreds of penguins that will prove a wildlife photographers dream. Stromness and Grytviken harbour 3000 metre rocky peaks that rise up from the ocean to form amazing backdrops to the remains of whaling stations that will fulfil every landscape shooters wishes for dramatic landscape.SouthGeorgia-2456-Edit42014South Georgia’s remote, untamed landscape is simply stunning. Scattered across the mighty Southern Ocean, the tiny arc of windswept islands and harbours are some of the world’s greatest wildlife sanctuaries set against world class landscapes. Famed for its abandoned whaling stations and Shackleton’s heroic journey, South Georgia is home to literally millions of fur seals and penguins, wallows of elephant seals, and nesting albatross. After we finish photographing in this breathtaking area we will sail back to the Falkland Islands where we will dock on the 21st of November and conclude this photographic expedition. King Penguins Saint AndrewsWe will be using an ice hardened expedition ship that will enable us to get into the best possible locations. Our expedition ship the ‘Polar Pioneer’ is equipped with sufficient zodiacs and crew for all photographers to be shooting simultaneously with plenty of room to spare for camera equipment. If you would like to reserve one of the two available places or would like further information you can download a detailed itinerary and PDF flyer HERE or drop me an email. Please note that once these last two places are spoken for thats it.

Iceland 2016 Winter Workshop Sold Out

My 2016 Iceland Winter Workshop ‘The Frozen North‘, with Daniel Bergmann is now sold out. If you missed out on a place you can still register to go onto the wait list. The workshop will run from the 4th of March 2016 until the 13th of March 2016 and will focus on the incredible northern landscapes of Iceland as well as the Aurora Borealis. We will be travelling in an Icelandic Super Jeep (modified 4-wheel drive) so that we can get off the main bitumen road and into the more interesting areas for photography and experience the true splendour of Iceland in Winter. We will be focusing our efforts in the Northern part of Iceland in some of the less visited and more spectacular winter locations. In winter the northern landscapes are covered in snow and the light is often soft and ethereal. There are fantastic opportunities to create wonderful images of the winter landscape.IcelandWinter2016soldoutI will be announcing our 2016 Summer Highlands workshop in the next few days and if you would like to join us you can register your interest by dropping me an email or by filling in the registration form on my website at www.jholko.com. The workshop is fully inclusive of all meals, accommodation and ground transportation as well as all tuition and image reviews. Places are filled on a first come, first served basis and once they are spoken for thats it. Please be sure to read the testimonials page to see what others are saying about our workshops and expeditions. You can also visit the Iceland Portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com for more images of Iceland.

New Zealand 2016 South Island MasterClass Workshop Sold Out

I just wrapped up my two back-to-back 2015 New Zealand South Island Masterclass Workshops (trip report coming soon) and was planning to officially announce and open up bookings for the 2016 workshop on my return to Australia in a few days time. However, due to initial expressions of interest and bookings the 2016 Masterclass workshop is already completely sold out and over subscribed. NewZealand-3313If you are interested in travelling to New Zealand and photographing in the spectacular South Island you can still register your interest to be put onto the wait list or to be amongst the first to be notified when the 2017 dates are announced. Like the 2015 workshop, the 2016 Masterclass workshop also includes extensive use of helicopters for accessing some of the most remote and spectacular country as well as aerial photography of the spectacular Southern Alps and glaciers. 2016 also includes a new optional extension (also sold out) to the rugged  northern coastline of the South Island.NewZealand-1988

AIPP The Working Pro Magazine Feature Article

The current May 2015 issue of the AIPP The Working Pro magazine features a short article (along with photographs) on my Polar Photography workshops and specialisation in the Polar Photography genre. You can download the complete article by clicking on the image below. The full edition of the Working Pro magazine is available for free to AIPP members.
workingpro2015

New Zealand South Island Masterclass Workshop 2015

Time has snuck up on me and in less than a week I will be flying to the South Island of New Zealand for my 2015 Masterclass workshop. Quite honestly, it feels like only yesterday I walked in my front door after two months on the road in Yellowstone, Iceland and Svalbard and it is quite a surreal feeling to be heading overseas again so soon. It has been a whirlwind time at home split between my family and the office and I feel like I have really only just started to catch up on my backlog of office work. I have no regrets about pushing the office paperwork to one side, but I had hoped to get a few more images processed from my recent travels before I ran out of time.

I am however, really excited about this new Masterclass workshop to the South Island of New Zealand. We have extensive use of helicopters during this workshop for accessing very remote areas and they should provide us some really unique and fantastic opportunities for photography. Early May is my favourite time of the year to visit New Zealand. The Autumn colour will be in full swing and the weather is often ideal with cold, crisp mornings and beautiful sunrises.

I have run out of time for a dedicated packing list post for this trip, but our emphasis is on landscape and as such I will be leaving my longer lenses at home this time. I plan to take my two Canon EOS 1DX cameras along with the 16-35mm F4L IS, 24mm F3.5L TSE MKII, 24-70mm F2.8L MKII and 70-200mm F2.8L IS MKII lenses. I also plan to take a 1.4 TC with me just in case I need a little more reach. I had hoped the new Canon 5DSR would be available by now but unfortunately a thorough and rigorous test of the new high resolution 50 mega pixel camera will have to wait until my Iceland Highlands Expedition in August this year. I am also packing my graduated neutral density filters and my tripod.

Before I leave for New Zealand I will be attending the Epson Victorian Professional Photography Awards that kick off this coming Tuesday the 28th of April and run for two full days at 1140 Studio in Malvern. I was fortunate to win both the Creative Photographer of the Year and Science Nature and Environment Photographer of the Year categories as well the Highest Scoring Print Award and overall grand prize and title of Epson Victorian Professional Photographer of the Year last year; which was a pretty comprehensive sweep and an incredible thrill and honour. I have put aside any expectations on my entries this year and entered solely for the sheer joy and pleasure of the print making process. The craft of fine art printing is really at the core of why I enter both the VPPY Awards and the APPA Awards and its a wonderful experience to watch prints being judged and to be able to view the prints in person. If you are outside Melbourne the VPPY awards this year are being live-streamed and can be watched online:

Room 1 – http://livestream.com/professionalphotography/2015-AIPP-VIC-Epson-Awards-Room1
Room 2 – http://livestream.com/professionalphotography/2015-AIPP-VIC-Epson-Awards-Room2Judges-schedule-VIC-2015.142417However, if you are in Melbourne I encourage to come down to the judging in person so that you can view all of the award winning prints as they are judged and displayed. Entry is free and there is an espresso machine on site if that adds any motivation!

VPPY 2014 WinnerThere is an awards cocktail party being held on the Thursday evening and I will then be leaving for New Zealand first thing on Friday morning. As always, I hope to post an update or two from our workshop as we travel through the South Island.

At the conclusion of the Masterclass workshop I will be staying on in New Zealand for an additional couple of weeks of personal photography with my good friend Martyn before I return home.

If you are interested in travelling to the South Island of New Zealand and photographing in this spectacular country I will soon be announcing my 2016 schedule. Please email me to express your interest. There is no obligation at this point. Please just be aware that some places are already spoken for and I do recommend registering interest early to avoid disappointment.