Wild Nature Photo Travel Team Launch 2024

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Today, I am excited to launch a new and exciting cooperative initiative: the Wild Nature Photo Travel Team. The Wild Nature Photo Travel Team is an invitation-only team for photographers who have participated in at least one of our workshops or expeditions and would like to take advantage of our exclusive team membership benefits. Just one of the exciting benefits of membership is that there is NO single supplement on our workshops or expeditions (a huge cost saving for members). The full details of the team are already available online at Wild Nature Photo Travel Team.

ABOUT: The Wild Nature Photo Travel Team is an invitation-only team program for photographers and travellers who have participated in at least one of our Workshops or Expeditions and who would like to enjoy the travel and networking benefits of our exclusive team membership. We have quietly been inviting participants over the last couple of weeks, and our team already comprises photographers worldwide, many of whom have travelled and photographed with us across the planet, from the frigid polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctic to the arid deserts of Africa and beyond. When you join the Wild Nature Photo Travel Team, you gain access to our exclusive membership benefits below and access to one of the most knowledgeable and experienced photography travel groups in the world today.

Membership Benefits

  • As a team member, you will enjoy no single supplement costs for any of our specified workshops or expeditions, which will result in huge savings on travel costs. Travelling with your partner? No problem, contact us on an as needs basis to be personally looked after.
  • Receive early notification of upcoming Workshops and Expeditions, including preferential cabin or room selection when available.
  • You will have exclusive access to the Wild Nature Photo WhatsApp Team group chat. Here, you can ask questions and get answers about your photography and printing needs. You can also network with like-minded travellers and photographers in a private, knowledgeable, and exclusive group.
  • Exclusive discounts on selected workshops and expeditions, including last-minute places or cancellation options.
  • Bespoke Wild Nature Photo Travel Team Jacket. A custom-made high-end polar fleece mid-layer jacket designed and made in cooperation with Icelandic clothing company 66º North (RRP $275 USD). Designed for use as either a mid-layer on those cold winter days or as an outer layer on warmer days or during more strenuous activity.
  • Selective discounts on partner products from companies such as BenQ Photographic Displays, Mr. Jan Gear Camera bags and X-Rite Color Management Solutions.
  • Early Access to each episode of the Wild Nature Photography Podcast
  • Preferred Insurance options with Global Rescue Travel Insurance Partner

Membership Fee

Your one-time investment of $500 USD ensures your membership in our exclusive team for five years.

Want to join the Wild Nature Photo Travel Team? Simply email us, and we will take care of your membership.

WNPP Episode 101 – Using Your Telephoto Lens as a Spotting Scope

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I have just published episode 101 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I discuss a technique you can implement to use your telephoto lens as a spotting scope when out in the field (avoiding the need for either binoculars or a dedicated spotting scope). Additionally, my thoughts on picking up the latest cover of the July / August edition of Wildlife Photographic magazine (along with a feature article on Emperor Penguin photography) and winning three highly coveted Gold awards (and two Silver with Distinctions) at the recent Australian Photographic Prize in Melbourne. This episode also airs on the eve of the exciting Canon EOS R1 Flagship and EOS R5 MKII launch.

Australian Photographic Prize 2024 Nature Single Capture Gold Awards

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Since the voluntary administration and closing of the AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography), I have steered clear of the new Australian Photographic Prize Award. Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Australian Photographic Prize arose as a direct result of ex-AIPP member’s desires to maintain a high-level photographic (both print and digital) competition in Australia for both professionals and amateurs (after the Australian Professional Photography Awards that were an inseparable part of the AIPP became no more). I chose to avoid (not boycott) the Australian Photographic Prize (APP) in its first two years since I was on the board of directors that took part in the decision to shut down the AIPP via voluntary wind-up due to predicted and inevitable insolvency (based on projected cash flows). At the time, this was the fiscally responsible decision (although much has been touted otherwise), and I still believe this to be the case as a director who was privy to the full picture of the organization’s finances. As of today, there still remains a small chance the AIPP may be re-born – pending a Supreme Court decision on what is to become of the remaining surplus funds. I have a feeling we have not seen the end of the AIPP, and it may yet re-emerge in one form or another.

This year, I decided to put the closure of the AIPP behind me (since it felt like the dust had significantly settled) and enter the single-image Nature category of the Australian Photographic Prize. The Nature category was judged yesterday, and I just caught up on the preliminary results on You-Tube during some downtime here in Mongolia (on my summer workshop for Pallas Cats). Much like the deceased APPA awards, the APP awards are judged by a team of five professional photographers on a moderated panel. Of the five photographs I chose to enter this year, all five made the final round of judging (top 35 entered images). Three of the five have gone to receive highly coveted Gold Awards, and the remaining two racked up Silver with Distinction awards, with one photograph (of the two back-lit Cheetahs) being a single point off a fourth Gold award. Screenshots of the judge’s scores and images are included below. You can also watch the recorded live-steam for the Single Image Nature category below. The overall winner of the category will be announced in the next few days.

Addendum: Since this post, I have been notified that two of my photographs (the owl and Pallas cat) were in the final round of judging as grand finalist images.

Wildlife Photographic Emperor Penguin Cover Shot July / August 2024

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The just-published July / August 2024 issue of Wildlife Photographic magazine includes one of my photographs of Emperor Penguins on the front cover and a feature article on my experiences photographing Emperors in the deep south of Antarctica. This is the seventh time I have been published in Wildlife Photographic and the sixth time I have been fortunate to score the cover shot! (the last five cover shot editions were on Walrus photography,  Grey Wolf Photography, Pallas Cat Photography,  Arctic Fox Photography, and Polar Bear Photography). I have also been previously been published in Wildlife Photographic for my Emperor Penguin photography.

Wildlife Photographic can be read on iOS and Android devices, as well as from any computer via our Web Reader at MagsFast. Please use the following link to obtain your free issue:  Free Subscription to Wildlife Photographic Magazine. 

Departing for Mongolia and Pallas Cat Kittens July 2024

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A few weeks at home have already come and gone, and later this evening, I am making the journey back to Mongolia (this time in Summer) to lead my Pallas Cat Kittens workshop in the far eastern Steppe Region. I am very much looking forward to returning to this incredible country (I was last there in January in Winter earlier this year – read the trip report) and am excited about the opportunities to photograph Pallas Cats and their kittens in the warm summer sun. I will be offering this workshop again in July of 2026, and preliminary details are now on my website at www.jholko.com/workshops. See you in Mongolia!

Iceberg in Antarctica