AIPP Victorian Photographer of the Year Winner 2014

Posted in Antarctica, Arctic, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Wildlife Photographs4 Comments

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 AwardGodafoss Waterfall – 90 out of 100 Gold AwardRoad to Oblivion – 84 out of 100 Silver AwardNature Category Winning ImagesMarch of the Penguins – 97 out to 100 Gold with Distinction Award

Built for the Kill – 91 out of 100 Gold AwardBear 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.

Australian Geographic Magazine features ‘Fortress’ Iceberg Antarctica

Posted in Antarctica, Landscape Photographs, Media, News and Updates, Photographs, Travel PhotographyLeave a comment

The latest issue of Australian Geographic Magazine – May / June 2014 features a double page spread of one of my favourite photographs from Antarctica. A photograph I titled ‘Fortress’ for its giant castellated peaks and ominous presence. I took this photograph back in 2011 on my November Antarctica expedition and it has remained one of my favourite images from subsequent repeat visits to the Great White Continent. We were very fortunate to come across this incredible iceberg under dark and moody overcast skies as we cruised up the Gerlache Strait and I recall thinking to myself conditions could not have been more perfect to photograph this leviathan.

As I have written about here on my blog before this photograph was taken with a 17mm Tilt Shift lens from the deck of the Ocean Nova on my Canon EOS 1DS MKIII. I used the lenses shift mechanism to lower the perspective and give the impression the photograph was taken closer to the water. A higher resolution version of this photograph can be seen on my website in the Antarctica Portfolio and prints are available from my gallery in Brighton Australia and Aspen in the USA. Please contact me for sizes, edition availability and pricing.

Finalist ANZANG and BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2014

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I returned home late last night from an incredible two months spent in both Iceland and the oldest deserts in the world in Namibia. Both my Iceland winter 2014 workshop and Namibia 2014 workshops were incredible experiences and I will have a lot more to say about both trips over the coming weeks including complete debrief reports here on my blog. In the meantime, whilst I was away I learned that several of my photographs had made the finals in both ANZANG and BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions for 2014. Both of these competitions are two of the most respected amongst outdoor photographers today and I am extremely honoured to be a finalist in both of them. Judging is still underway for both competitions but I can reveal that one my finalist images for ANAZNG is from my last trip to Antarctica – Penguin rookery at Petermann Island. This photograph was taken around 11pm in the evening under perfect conditions, magical light and the rising moon at Petermann Island on my 2013 Antarctica expedition. This photograph is also my photograph of the month for April 2014.

Ultimate Iceland Summer Workshop Space Available

Posted in Iceland, News and Updates, Travel Photography, Workshops and ExpeditionsLeave a comment

Daniel Bergmann and I have a single place that has just become available this year on our Ultimate Iceland summer workshop from July 13th – July 23rd. We are looking forward to spectacular waterfalls, glaciers, icebergs and the incredible geothermal highland interior of Iceland all under the soft light of the midnight sun. The workshop investment is $7,450 USD and is fully inclusive of all accommodation, meals and in country transport. If you are interested in photographing the spectacular landscape of Iceland and would like additional information then please drop me an email at info@jholko.com.  This last available place is filled on a first come, first served basis.

Iceland 2015 Winter Aurora Workshop Open for Bookings

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Daniel Bergmann and I are pleased to have now finalised our Winter Workshop itinerary for 2015 to Iceland. The workshop will run from the 25th of February until the 6th of March 2015 and will focus on both the Aurora Borealis as well as many of the iconic and lesser known locations of Iceland. For 2015 we will be travelling in two Icelandic Super Jeeps (modified 4-wheel drives) 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.

At the beginning of March 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 and with fewer visitors, the black sand beaches of the south are more pristine. 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.We have a new itinerary for 2015 that includes many of our favourite locations for Winter photography as well as quite a few new ones we have not included before. Our 2014 workshop sold out in just a few days so 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.