I was thrilled to learn a few days ago that for the third year in a row my work has been accepted into the Nillumbik Prize and subsequently into the finals. The Nillumbik Prize is one of the oldest art shows in Victoria and the Prize celebrates artists and works from the Nillumbik region and recognises contemporary work of excellence in any medium. The prize features some incredible artwork across a very diverse range of mediums including everything from sculpture to photography. Over the last few years I have only seen a few other photographs make the finals so it is a great honour to again be included this year. The photograph ‘Antarctica – An Epic Sense of Scale‘ will be on show from the 30th of May at Montsalvat Art Gallery in Eltham as a 24″ x 100″ fine art print on Moab Somerset Museum Rag. This print recently scored a Gold award at the Victorian Professional Photography Awards and was part of the winning portfolio for the 2014 Creative Photographer of the Year and 2014 Epson Victorian Professional Photographer of the Year. Be sure to click on the image below to see it full size. If you stop past the Gallery please be sure to drop me an email and let me know what you think.
Iceland 2014 Winter Aurora Workshop Report
In March 2014 I led my annual winter workshop in Iceland with my good friend and fellow Nature photographer Daniel Bergmann. Winter is perhaps my favourite season to visit Iceland (although I do miss access to the highland regions. Look for a brand new Highlands workshop for 2015 I will be announcing here in the coming days). During winter the normally vivid green landscape of Iceland is transformed into a monochromatic moonscape. Waterfalls and glacial lagoons partially freeze, and the landscape is often covered in fresh snow making for superb landscape imagery. The entire country is evocative of a winter scene from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and it provides superb opportunities for landscape photography.
During the workshops ten day duration we travelled from the capital city of Reykjavik to Mývatn in the north where we spent several days photographing spectacular winter scenes including the geothermal region of Námafjall and what I regard as Iceland’s most beautiful waterfall – Goðafoss (which roughly translates as the waterfall of the Gods). Goðafoss is located in the Mývatn district of North-Central Iceland at the beginning of the Sprengisandur highland road. The water of the river Skjálfandafljót falls from a height of 12 meters over a width of 30 meters. This winter photograph of Goðafoss scored a Gold Award at the recent Victorian State Print Awards here in Australia.
We also photographed at several locations around the partially frozen lake Mývatn. Mývatn is a lake near Akureyri in North Iceland. The lake was formed during a massive eruption some 2300 years ago. Today the area is best known for the huge numbers of birds that visit in the summer, and for the weird and inspiring volcanic features that surround the lake. The geothermal features at Námafjall are some of my favourite in Iceland. Sulphur belches from the boiling mud pits and fumaroles giving the whole location and incredibly alien off-world feeling. In winter the vents and mud pits are surrounded by snow and ice and there is a fabulous juxtaposition between the pristine snow and the orange mud and rock. Check out the video below shot just for fun of one of the participants walking through one of the larger fumaroles.
Some of the participants were fortunate to see and photograph both male and female Gyr Falcon by the side of lake Mývatn. The Gyr falcon is the worlds largest falcon and I have been wanting to see and photograph them for some years now. Although I was finally fortunate to spot one during this trip I was not able to get a photograph. Several of the participants however did get some fantastic images of a female Gyr Falcon by the shore of lake Mývatn where she was perched out of the buffeting wind. Daniel and I raced to this location with our long lenses but she had already left by the time we arrived.
The north of Iceland can be a crazy place in winter with frequent snow storms and regular road closures and thus when the opportunity arose to head south during a twenty four hour weather window we were quick to bug out and make our way to Egilstadir on our way to Höfn and Gerði and the renowned Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. Our timing was perfect with the road east opening just in time for our departure (the road closed again the following day due to another wild snow storm). Along the way we photographed spectacular mountain scenery in this part of the north of Iceland under fresh snow in ideal conditions. The mountain passes of Iceland are incredible in winter and we were well equipped to deal with the snow and ice conditions in our modified super jeeps.
At Gerði in the south we spent three days photographing around the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, Fjallsárlón and the Vatnajökull glacier. These areas are perhaps Iceland’s most well known photography destinations and with good reason. The icebergs that calve off the terminal face of the Vatnajökull glacier and are washed out to sea through a narrow channel and then deposited onto the black sand beach provide limitless opportunities and we spent many hours wandering the shore of the lagoon and beach making images. Along with the lagoon itself and the myriad of icebergs that drift in in its half frozen surface there is a lifetime of photography in just this small area.
We also visited the remote Stokksnes peninsula where we photographed dramatic storm light and lenticular clouds over the jagged mountain peaks. Stokksnes is a fabulous location in Iceland that has only recently started to become well known amongst landscape photographers. The black san dune hummocks and tussock grasses makes for wonderful foreground set against the dramatic mountain peaks. I have visited this area many times over the last few years and I have never known it to be free from wind. Our visit this year was no exception with strong winds, racing clouds and dramatic light.
We also headed into a spectacular and wondrous ice cave under the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier where we spent several hours photographing the incredible formations, colour and texture found in the glacial ice. This was one of the largest and most impressive ice caves I have ever experienced. The cave extended for more than three hundred metres and through the use of a zodiac and our mountain guide we were able to navigate quite a distance into the cave via the river. The river in this cave rises and falls with swings in the temperature and we were fortunate to be able to penetrate quite deeply into the cave.
The ice cave provided us limitless possibilities for macro detail and abstract photography with the inside of the ice cave akin to some sort of alien spaceship. 
We also travelled up to the terminal face of the Svínafellsjökull glacier where we photographed some large seracs and ice stacks during a clearing winter storm. From the Jökulsárlón lagoon we travelled to the small sea side town of Vik where we photographed the incredible Reynisdrangar sea stacks and basalt column formations along the coastline. This is perhaps my favourite beach for photography in Iceland. There are quite often large rocks in the sand that make for ideal foreground material and the wild surf makes for fantastic imagery.
Iceland in winter can be a real mixed bag of weather but we were fortunate to have some very cooperative weather during our trip that resulted in some wonderful photographic opportunities. The workshop was capped off with a nearly on demand showing of the Aurora (northern lights) over the glacier on our last night at Vik.
Our participants for this workshop came from North America, Australia, and Hong Kong and represented a broad range of experience and skill set. With a ratio of just six to one Daniel and I were able to ensure that those who needed more assistance or were learning to use filters and other equipment for the first time were able to get some fantastic images.
Daniel Bergmann and I have just opened bookings for our 2015 Iceland Aurora Workshop which will focus on the dramatic coastal landscapes of the Snæfellsnes peninsular as well as the east cost including Vik, the spectacular Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon and night time Aurora photography. If you would like to reserve a place please drop either myself or Daniel an email at info@jholko.com. There are limited places remaining.
Don’t forget you can now download a free copy of the Visionary Insights eBook directly from this website.
New eBook Now Available for Download: Visionary Insights
Over the last few months I have been collaboratively working on a new (and completely free) ebook titled Visionary Insights which I am excited to announce is now available for Download Here. This new ebook was written in collaboration with nine other outdoor photographers with one goal in mind: To help elevate the emotional power of your images – regardless of what equipment or software you currently own and use. Together, we discuss some of our creative insights and processes which you can use and apply to your own photography to consistently create more evocative images.
These are definitely not the typical basic tips you commonly find on the web. Rather, these are intended to be little-known insights gleaned from decades of combined in-the-field experience. They are the creative thought processes of the photographer. The intention here is simple: No fluff. No theory. Just insights that will help pack your photos with punch. Each insight is accompanied by an example photograph as well as a video exploring the creative process behind that image in much greater depth. I am excited to share this new creative resource and hope you find it of benefit in your photography. Just click on either of the two images or the download button below to download your free copy. If you want to learn even more there are optional expanded videos also available for download.
Photo of the Month May 2014: Bear Reflection
It has been a whirlwind of ‘to do lists’ over the last week since I returned from my winter Iceland workshop and Namibia overland workshops and as usual my photograph of the month is somewhat belated. Between catching up on all my email correspondence, office paper work and winning the 2014 Epson Victorian Professional Science, Environment and Nature photographer of the year, Creative Photographer of the Year, Highest Scoring Print of the Year and scooping the pool with the grand prize of Epson Victorian Professional Photographer of the Year I have just barely had a few moments to begin to sort and edit the more than five thousand images I shot whilst I was away. The reality is it will likely be many months before I have finished the editing and post production work. I do feel I did some good work in both Iceland and Namibia and I am looking forward to sharing them here on my blog and on my website over the coming months. I have very much enjoyed seeing some of the photographs that were captured during these workshops by participants and it never ceases to amaze me how high the standard of work can be from people who are passionate about their photography. I will also have a full debrief report from both the Iceland and Namibia workshops over the coming weeks here on my blog.
In the meantime, my photograph of the month for May is of a large female Polar Bear I photographed in late July last year at the edge of the permanent pack ice north of Svalbard. I was fortunate to be in the right position when this bear wandered up to the edge of the ice and peered down into the still waters and her own reflection. In terms of distance this Polar Bear was less than thirty feet from the boat when I made this image and I used Canon’s new 200-400mm F4L IS lens with inbuilt 1.4 Teleconverter. This photograph scored a highly coveted Gold Award at the recent VPPY Awards and was one of the photographs in my Creative Folio and Science, Nature and Environment Folio. 
AIPP Victorian Photographer of the Year Winner 2014
Over the last few days The AIPP Australian Institute of Professional Photography Victorian State awards (VPPY) were held here in my home town of Melbourne at 1140 Studios in Malvern. The AIPP Annual state and national awards are two of my favourite photographic competitions to participate in because all entries (other than Sport and Commercial categories) are judged in print and not digitally. Those of you who follow my blog regularly will already be aware that I am a huge advocate of the print as the finished medium of choice for my own photography. I personally never really feel like I have finished with an image until I make a finely crafted (hopefully!) print. The AIPP National and State awards are two of the few remaining competitions to actually judge the finished print and they do so using a panel of judges all deemed experts in their respective genres and accredited as Masters of Photography through their years of success in this arena. Prints are judged in a controlled lighting environment and assessed for their content, originality as well as technical craftsmanship. The judging is enthralling to watch (it was live-streamed to the internet this year) and can be quite nerve wracking if you are a first time entrant as the standard of work is incredibly high. In brief, prints are scored out of 100 with images judged less than 70 being deemed not of professional standard. Prints judged between 71 and 79 are considered strong professional practice. Images judged 80-84 are awarded a Silver and are considered strong professional practice of an award standard. Scores of 85-89 are given a Silver with Distinction and demonstrate superior imagination, craft and skill. Prints judged 90-94 exhibit excellence in visual communication, craft and skill. And finally those rare few images that reach 96-100 are considered to have exceptional vision, creativity, innovation, master craftsmanship and skill. Very few prints score Gold awards in these competitions and even fewer reach the top tier of Gold with Distinction. Out of the more than 900 print entries this year fewer than twelve received Gold awards and less than four Gold Distinctions were awarded.
This year I entered both the Travel and Creative categories as well as the Science, Environment and Nature category and was absolutely thrilled to take overall first place in both the Science, Environment and Nature Category as well as the Creative Category (I was also a finalist in the Travel category with the highest scoring prints including three gold images one of which was a Gold with Distinction). Winning both of these categories is a huge honour and I feel very humbled to have had my work judged so highly by my peers. On top of winning my two chosen categories I also took out the Highest Scoring Print award for the overall highest scoring print across all categories. Highest scoring print is one of the most coveted and sought after awards and the possibility of winning it has always felt like a dream so I am deeply honoured to be the recipient this year. As someone who is so passionate about the ‘print’ and the craft of fine art printing this was an incredible honour. The winning print scored a 97 out of 100.
I was even more honoured to also be the recipient of the overall award and title of Victorian Photographer of the Year. The recipient of this award is chosen from amongst one of the category winners from: Commercial, Landscape, Travel, Wedding, Portrait, Science Environment and Nature, Documentary and Sport, Family and Illustrative. Winning both the Creative category, Science Environment and Nature category, Highest Scoring Print award and overall title of Victorian Photographer of the Year is an incredibly humbling experience and I want to sincerely thank all my judging peers and all of the staff and helpers at the AIPP – Thank you. I also want to thank those photographers I am fortunate to travel with on a regular basis for their support and also their enthusiasm, passion for photography and ability to continually inspire me with their own work and vision. I also want to thank my sponsors for their ongoing help and support – they include: Canon Australia, Moab and Legion Paper, Giclee Media Supplies, Gura Gear, Live-Books websites, Nik Software and X-Rite Color Management Solutions.Included below are my award images in each category and their respected scores out of 100. All of the prints were printed on Moab Somerset Museum Rag. This wonderful paper has continued to remain my all-time favourite stock for fine art photography prints.Highest Scoring Print Award
March of the Penguins – 97 out 0f 100 Gold with Distinction Award
Creative Category Winning Images (And Travel Category Entries)
Iceland Aerial – 95 out of 100 Gold with Distinction Award
An Epic Sense of Scale – 92 out of 100 Gold Award
Godafoss Waterfall – 90 out of 100 Gold AwardRoad to Oblivion – 84 out of 100 Silver Award
Nature Category Winning Images
March of the Penguins – 97 out to 100 Gold with Distinction Award
Built for the Kill – 91 out of 100 Gold Award
Bear Reflections – 91 out of 100 Gold AwardLeave Me Be – 86 out of 100 Silver with Distinction Award
If you are interested in purchasing a 20″ x 30″ inch Limited Edition Signed print of any of these photographs please contact me at info@jholko.com for edition availability and pricing. Signed Open Edition 13″ x 19″ inch prints will be available for a limited time only at a cost of $250 each including postage anywhere in the world.
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