Gura Gear Pro Team

Posted in Antarctica, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Reviews, South Georgia, Travel Photography, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

The good folks at Gura Gear who make my favourite camera bags recently launched their new Pro Team of photographers. I admit…. I knew this was coming; but am nevertheless very pleased to be included in this select group of photographers.  If you are a regular reader of my blog look for updates on the Gura Gear Monarch over the coming two months as it travels with me through Iceland the Arctic. Updates to my blog might be a bit thin over the coming two months whilst I am away on workshop but I do intend to try and post some images and updates whenever I have some down time and internet access. I include this next bit also as a teaser easter egg for those of you who read my blog in full. Standby for a very exciting announcement for a unique and very special expedition to South Georgia Island and Antarctica in November 2014.  This has been many months in the planning and we (myself and fellow co-leaders who will shortly be named) are almost ready to announce the trip details. It is super exciting and we are champing at the bit to spill the beans. Stay tuned!

Gura Gear has a passion for excellence in everything we do. This passion is evident in our Pro Team. We’ve teamed up with these great photographers that have work, personalities, and passion that describes Gura Gear in every way.​ Now you can learn a little more about what makes them great and what they find great in Gura Gear.

Packing for Iceland and the Arctic Summer 2013

Posted in Arctic, Equipment, Iceland, News and Updates, Travel PhotographyLeave a comment

In a weeks time I will be making the long trek back to Iceland for my 2013 summer Highlands Workshop (with a love of the Polar regions I really lucked out being born in Australia when it comes to travel time). Iceland in summer is a magical destination for photography and I always look forward to returning. I particularly love the summer months as it allows access into the normally inaccessible highland regions and the midnight sun provides hours of golden light for photography. Although the hours for photography are long the rewards are always worth while and I look forward to watching the sun rise and set over the primordial Icelandic landscape. I am particularly looking forward to this trip as some of the participants I have previously travelled with in Antarctica and they are a fabulous group of people and have become friends. I am looking forward to reuniting with them in Reykjavik and starting our trip. There are only a couple of places remaining on my Summer Iceland workshops next year if you missed out this year.

After our Iceland workshop I will be spending a few days in Reykjavik to rest after the long hours of midnight sun photography. Weather permitting I will take the opportunity to do some aerial photography over the glacial rivers and the highland region of Landmannalaugar. Aerial photography in Iceland is something I have wanted to undertake for many years now and I am very much looking forward to this opportunity. There are spectacular patterns and colours over the glacial rivers and highlands and the aerial perspective should provide some unique imagery.

After we finish in Iceland my friend Daniel Bergmann and I will head to Longyearbyen (via Oslo) in Svalbard for an expedition with nine other photographers to photograph Polar Bears aboard MS Origo. I am packing the new Canon 200-400mm F4L IS with its inbuilt 1.4 Teleconverter on the 1DX as the ideal weapon for Polar Bear photography and am looking forward to putting this new optic through its paces in the Arctic. After our Polar Bear trip we will dock back in Longyearbyen and board the ice hardened expedition ship Polar Pioneer to co-lead the exciting Jewels of the Arctic expedition from Svalbard to Greenland and Iceland. We are looking forward to some spectacular landscape and wildlife opportunities on this trip. Spitsbergen’s rugged northwest coast comprises mountains, tundra and fjords and Greenland’s remote east coast shows off the immensity of the icecap, fantastic icebergs and massive granite spires rising over 1000 metres above the fjords. The arctic landscape is one of untold splendour and beauty and this expedition has been designed to maximise the photography opportunities. This expedition offers a complete Arctic experience for photography: tundra walks amidst reindeer and exquisite dwarf vegetation, zodiac cruises near icebergs and calving glacier fronts, hikes to breathtaking mountain vistas and warm welcomes into indigenous communities. We will likely see and photograph reindeer, Arctic fox, musk ox, countless sea and land birds, walrus, seals, whales and polar bears amongst the breathtaking arctic landscapes. We will have nearly 24 hours of daylight with hours and hours of golden light. At our most northerly position we will be only 600 miles from the North Pole. This expedition is sold out; however I will be co-leading another expedition in 2014 to the Arctic (The Jewels of the Arctic) and bookings are now open. Please contact me if you would like more information or visit the workshop page on my website to download a detailed itinerary.

I will farewell my friend Daniel when we dock in Iceland and hook up with my co-leader Peter Eastway and friend Antony Watson for the return Jewels of the Arctic Expedition (I must remind them both to pack some vegemite). Joining us on this trip will be Abraham Joffe from Untitled Film works. Abraham and his company will be filming and producing a short film of our adventures and experiences and it is our hope to provide a glimpse into what life is like aboard ship during a photography expedition. These photography expeditions and workshops are huge amount of fun as well as a fabulous learning opportunity and we hope to capture the experience of joining such a trip in a short video that will be freely available toward the end of this year. I won’t list the full spectrum of equipment Abraham and his film company are bringing on this expedition as the list is extensive – suffice to say he will be shooting with a RED Epic as well as several Canon 1DC Cameras. Untitled Film works were selected from a large number of applicants for this project due to their exceptionally high quality work, passion for their craft and desire to continually raise the standards of production. I want to thank them for taking on the project and look forward to working with them. To get an idea of the calibre of their productions please visit their website at www.untitledfilmworks.com.au and stay tuned on our return for a glimpse into our expedition.If you have been following my blog you will know that I am taking the Gura Gear Monarch Bataflae camera bag on this two month trip to Iceland and the Arctic. Andy Biggs kick started The Monarch’s adventures about a month ago on safari in the wilds of Africa and I am pleased to pick up the torch and carry on it’s travels. This time it is headed to Iceland, the Svalbard Archipelago and Greenland as above. I am going to be away for two months and as well as teaching workshop in the field will also be photographing alongside the participants. We will be shooting everything from Icelandic and Arctic landscapes including mountains, glaciers, icebergs, waterfalls and geothermal regions to wildlife including grazing reindeer, Walrus, Sea Birds and with a little luck some Polar Bears so the Monarch is leaving Australia chock full of equipment.

Gura Gear Monarch Bataflae 32L: (carry on luggage)

  • Canon EOS 1DX Pro Body Camera
  • Canon EOS 1DS MK3 Pro Body Camera
  • Sigma 15mm Fish Eye Lens (I have some specific shots in mind for this specialist lens)
  • Canon 17mm F4L TSE Lens
  • Canon 24mm F3.5L TSE Lens
  • Canon 24-70mm F2.8L MKII Lens (The MKII version of this lens is an amazing piece of glass)
  • Canon 70-200mm F2.8L IS Lens
  • Canon 200-400mm F4L IS Lens with inbuilt 1.4 TC (Yes! It has arrived! Watch the Unboxing Video)
  • 4 x Spare Batteries for the Canon Cameras
  • 1 x Macro Extension Tube
  • 1 x 2X TC Teleconverter
  • Cable Release and Bubble Level
  • Assorted CF and SD Cards totalling around 100 Gigabytes
  • Rocket Blower and Dust Cleaning paraphernalia
  • Complete LEE Foundation and Filter Kit with Soft and Hard ND Graduated filters – includes a custom made adapter for the Canon 17mm TSE Lens
  • Rode Portable Microphone and Dead Cat (for recording small bits of audio in the field)

Gura Gear Chobe Bag: (carry on luggage)

  • 15″ Macbook Pro with Lightroom 5 and Photoshop CS6 with the Nik Plugin suite
  • MacBook Power Adapter
  • 2 x 1TB iOmega dual firewire 800 Hard Drives (for dual in the field image back up)
  • Various Power Adapters / Chargers and Associated Cables
  • Canon 1DX / 1DS MK3 Battery  Charger
  • iPad Mini (e-books and movies for the long flights)
  • Firewire 800 CF Reader
  • Passport / iPhone / Wallet
  • A lot of these items I store inside Gura Gear Etcetera cases inside the Chobe. (These cases are fabulous for organising accessories)

North Face Thunder Rolling Duffle: (checked luggage)

  • Arctic Sport Muck Boots (For use in the zodiacs in the Arctic)
  • 66º North Wet and Cold Weather Outer Shells
  • Base Layers
  • Mid Layers – Trekking Pants and Tops
  • Gloves and Hat
  • Miscellaneous clothes
  • Personal items and toiletries – including Sunscreen (The Ozone layer is extremely thin in the Poles and it is very easy to get sun burned in minutes)

Tripod: (checked luggage)

  • Really Right TVC24L Tripod
  • Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head
  • Really Right Stuff Tripod Spikes (For mossy ground and rock claws for ice and rock)
  • Wimberley Side Kick (For use with the 200-400 Lens)

What Camera Gear is being left at home?

As someone who prefers to carry it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it, I always find myself in a bit of quandary when it comes to deciding what to leave at home when packing for a workshop or expedition. This is not to say I am indecisive; rather, my imagination often runs away with the possibilities of when and where I might use a given lens or piece of equipment.  Despite my intentions, I often find a lens I planned to leave at home sneaks its way into my bag at the last minute as the fear of wanting it outweighs the thought of the extra weight in the camera bag. On this occasion however, I feel quite confident in my lens selection. I have all the major focal lengths covered and although some of my favourite glass is staying at home (The Canon 300mm F2.8L IS and 85mm F1.2L MKII) I do have these focal lengths covered in the 70-200 F2.8L IS and Canon’s new 200-400 F4L IS Lens. I am particularly looking forward to putting this later lens through its paces in the Arctic. In case you missed it, I reviewed an early prototype of this lens late last year and found its performance to be staggeringly good (the video of the review was featured over at the Luminous Landscape). Just for giggles I also did a short Unboxing Video.

The Bitter Sweet

It is always somewhat bitter sweet for me to be heading overseas on a photography workshop. On the one hand I love spending time in the outdoor polar regions with other photographers who are passionate about their craft. I am fortunate to meet and travel with some fabulous people who are not only talented photographers in their own right but also a source of continual inspiration. Many of these participants have become friends and I just want to take a moment to acknowledge their photography and thank them for their participation and input. The breadth of talent I see on workshops and expeditions is always a source of inspiration for my own photography. I am particularly looking forward to hooking up with my good friend Martyn Lucas with whom I have travelled in both Iceland and Antarctica. This time Martyn is joining me for the Jewels of the Arctic expedition and it will be great to have him onboard. The bitter for me is that I am leaving my wife and two young kids for an extended period of time. The drudgery of the daily school drop offs and pick ups always seems a distant memory when I step onto the plane and it is the smiling faces I remember. Thank goodness for technology and Skype.

WILD Magazine Features Antarctica Portfolio

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

Wild magazine has remained my favourite Australian outdoor adventure magazines over the years and I am very pleased to have a portfolio of my images from Antarctica featured in the current issue. This is the second time WILD have featured a portfolio of my photography. The first was back in February 2011 when they published a series of images from Iceland under the title ‘Fire and Ice‘. This 2nd portfolio of images from my 2011 Antarctica expedition includes some of my favourite images from that trip.If you are interested in joining me on an expedition to Antarctica there are still a couple of spots remaining on the November trip I am leading with my good friend Daniel Bergmann this year. This promises to be a very special and unique expedition. You can download a detailed PDF flyer and itinerary from the Workshops Page on my website or contact me for further information.

FootNote:

Wild magazine was founded and originally owned by Chris Baxter – a well respected climber and outdoorsman in his own right who was largely responsible for a significant portion of the early climbing scene in Australia. I had the privilege of knowing Chris and climbing with him briefly during my youth at both Mount Arapiles and The Grampians. Chris forged many new climbs at both of these world famous locations as well as Mount Buffalo and was a full time character in the Australian climbing scene. Chris subsequently sold Wild due to health issues after building up a very successful publishing company that became the outlet for all things bush walking and climbing related in Australia. Unfortunately  Chris passed away in 2010 after a long fight with cancer but ‘Wild’ and ‘Rock’ continue to be published under new new ownership.

Elected to the AIPP Victorian State Council – 2013

Posted in Media, News and UpdatesLeave a comment

I was honoured this week to be elected to the Victorian State Council of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP). Serving on the Victorian council is a privilege and I am looking forward to working with my fellow council and Victorian members over the coming year. The AIPP have some very exciting events coming up over the coming months and the council has some great plans to continually improve it’s events and membership return on investment. It is an exciting time to be joining the council and I am looking forward to the year ahead. If you are considering joining the AIPP I would strongly encourage you to attend one of the upcoming events and get involved in the peak Australian body for Photography. Our next event is the Print Critique evening on the 3rd of July at the Melbourne head office in Box Hill at 6:30pm.

Antarctica Expedition 2013 – Limited Places Available

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

Daniel Bergmann and I have had a couple of places become available on the Antarctica Photographic Expedition we are leading in November this year. There is one triple share male space remaining, one twin-share and one-twin private place before the trip is sold out.

This has been a trip more than 8 months in the planning and has been designed and structured to provide the very best possible photographic opportunities. It also includes some truly unique features and opportunities that we are really excited about. The expedition is for a strictly limited number of 50 participants plus leaders and expedition guide and will offer an extended period in Antarctica (15 Day / 14 night Expedition). Whilst most trips to Antarctica take 100+ tourists we are capping the trip at a maximum of 50 dedicated photographers in order to ensure the best possible experience and photographic opportunities. We will be using an ice hardened expedition ship with a highly experienced crew in order to ensure we can get as close as possible to big ice and place you in the best locations for making photographs. 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.The expedition departs on the 9th of November 2013 and returns on the 23rd of November 2013 and includes very special access into areas normally restricted to scientific research, as well as taking in amazing locations such as the breathtaking Lemaire Channel, the Gerlache Strait and the surreal geothermal Deception Island, to name but a few. There is a fly return from the Falkland Islands; which avoids the worst of the Drake Passage and allows us more time in Antarctica as well as the opportunity to visit and photograph in the the wildlife rich Falkland Islands. There is also an option to stay on in the Falklands for each person for as long as they wish. Flights run once a week out of the Falklands with LAN Chile.

KEY FEATURES OF THIS EXPEDITION

  • Strictly Limited to a maximum of 50 participants (much smaller than most other trips to Antarctica, more personal space and the ability for everyone to go ashore and work from zodiacs simultaneously)
  • Ice Hardened Expedition Class Ship
  • 15 Day Trip (Most trips are only 10 days), which means more time for photography
  • Access to areas of Antarctica dedicated to scientific research
  • The expedition is dedicated to photography first and foremost; which means we will be spending the maximum amount of time possible shooting from ship, shore and zodiac.
  • Added experience of Wildlife in the Falkland Islands and the ability to stay on after the trip in the Falklands.

Weather dependant there will be the added option to spend a night ashore camping in Antarctica. Should the weather favour us we will select a suitable location at the end of a days photography and head ashore via zodiac where we will make camp. All overnight camping equipment will be provided (including sleeping bags) and all you need to do is to make the decision to either spend the night ashore or on ship. Zodiacs will be kept ready throughout the night in case there is any need to return to ship. Of course if you choose to spend the night camping there will be non-stop opportunities for photography throughout the night. This is a fabulous opportunity to not only tick one of the seven continents but also to spend a night ashore.

In addition high end medium format camera manufacturer Phase One has joined this expedition. Kevin Raber, ex Vice President of Phase One PODAS workshops and now part owner of Luminous Landscape will be joining us for the duration of the expedition and will bringing a number of complete Phase One camera systems for everyone on the expedition to freely try and use throughout the trip. This is a truly extraordinary opportunity for all participants to experience the very best medium format digital system on the market today in what is in all likelyhood the most remote and amazing landscape on the planet. Not only will we be travelling to world class locations such as the geothermal Deception Island, the breathtaking Lemaire channel and the Gerlache Strait; but we will also be making photographs with some of the highest quality camera equipment available today.

To get an idea of the sort of photographs you will be able to take on this expedition please visit the Antarctica portfolio on my website at www.jholko.com You can download a detailed flyer and itinerary HERE .

If you are interested in joining us on what is going to be a unique and wondrous expedition to Antarctica then please drop me an email to secure one of these last remaining places. These last places are secured on a first come, first served basis ad once they are spoken for and booked thats it.