Following on from the wonderful email I received yesterday from Kevin, I received the following this morning from Lynette, who has also been a frequent traveller with us. Thank you, Lynette. It has also been an absolute pleasure to share these travel and photographic experiences!
“I totally agree with you , Kevin.. !! I have also taken numerous trips with Josh since 2017. I have travelled and photographed with several others starting in 2013, however no other leader has yet come close to matching Josh’s involvement with those who go on Josh’s expeditions and workshops. Josh is not only a Fabulous photographer and educator, sharing every bit of information he has, he is also the epitome of caring and kindness with others. He watches out for his clients in all situations on his workshops, from suggested camera settings and lens to use, to helping a photographer with unsteady feet walk across an area. My only hesitation in recommending Josh’s trips is that they might fill up more quickly than I can sign up!!!!”
Earlier today, I received a wonderful, unsolicited email from frequent traveller and photographer, Kevin Hall. Kevin has been a frequent traveller with Wild Nature Photo Travel in recent years, and his work from our trips has been published by both the BBC and BBC Travel. We live in a fast-paced, chaotic world today, where people rarely take the time to provide positive feedback or express gratitude, so I wanted to take a moment to publicly thank Kevin (thank you, Kevin) for taking the time to offer such wonderful feedback. From my perspective, it has been wonderful to share these experiences and to see your work published and in print from such high-profile organisations as the BBC.
“If you are reading this, you will probably be doing so because you are considering going on a workshop with Joshua Holko, and want to know what other photographers think.So let me tell you how it is… Joshua Holko is out to mislead you. He calls his trips ‘photography workshops’, as so many in the industry do. Well, I can tell you, as someone who has been on eight of his ‘workshops’ in 2023-25 and signed up for two more in 2026-27, that they are not ‘workshops’, as the term ‘workshop’ simply does not do what Joshua Holko delivers anywhere near justice. So don’t be fooled when he uses the term ‘workshop’!
If you sign up for a trip with Joshua Holko and Wild Nature Photo Travel, you get the ‘Big 5’ …
Practical support from the best polar photographer on the planet.
From the time you sign up to the time you return, Josh deals with you personally. He will answer any question you put to him regarding any aspect of the trip whether you require clarity or advice, with impressive speed providing he’s not out of signal travelling. He will willingly pass on his experience based on his 20+ years of travelling to and photographing in some of the remotest places on Earth. He is a man of integrity who provides honest, objective and helpful support and advice. He’s also very passionate about what he does, and that comes through if you are one of his clients.
Detailed packing lists sent out well in advance so you have time to prepare properly.
After all, most of his trips take you to some pretty isolated locations with extreme temperatures that few on the planet will ever get to see, so it is critical that you take the right equipment, be that clothing or gear, that will allow you to make the most of it. Imagine going on what might be for you the trip of a lifetime and forgetting a vital item of clothing or gear!
Excellent logistics.
Let’s face it, travelling to some of the locations on his list is not for the feint-hearted and impossible to do on your own. It would be fool-hardy and dangerous to try. Joshua Holko’s trip logistics are comprehensive and impressive at every level. He thinks of everything and releases you from this burden so you can focus on your photography and enjoying the experience. His trips attract a certain kind of person; generally people who are passionate about their photography, interesting to be around and good travelling companions. And that matters when you are with people in close quarter for many days or even weeks at a time. Many people who go on workshops with Josh have been on many workshops with Josh, and that speaks volumes in itself if you think about it.
Getting your bucket list shots by placing you in the right place at the right time, with your photography and your safety as his number one priority.
Josh is quite incredible in this regard. He won’t be found talking to camera for a YouTube video that he needs to post whilst you are in the field photographing. He is not a YouTuber. Similarly, he won’t be standing over you interfering with your photography. But he will be leading you in the field to where you will get the best shots and assist with any settings if asked. He will be photographing on the floor alongside the group, not in a ‘directors chair from afar enjoying a coffee’! And this is probably what I like the most about travelling with Josh; he lets you realise your own creative abilities by inspiring you with his knowledge and experience of all matters photography, wildlife and nature.
And lastly an immersive ‘life and photographic experience’ that provides the opportunity for you to grow as a person and photographer. Indeed, I personally think ‘photographic life experience’ far better describes what you get when you travel with Joshua Holko. Never did I think that I would go to East Greenland on a 100 year old Dutch sail ship to take photographs of monumental icebergs that subsequently be published by the world’s leading on-line Fine Art magazine, or ride on a dog sled driven by an Inuit over pack ice to one of the remotest places on Earth to photograph polar wildlife and landscapes with an article that I subsequently wrote about the trip being published by BBC Travel, or spend nearly three weeks in the High Arctic photographing polar bears. But I did, and have come back with some amazing life long memories and award-winning photographs.
There is one more thing I would like to add, and that is that I have never met anyone who is more knowledgeable about wildlife, nature and photography than Joshua Holko. He truly is a master in his field. His post processing knowledge of Adobe is also incredible and he will willingly sit alongside you during the trips to help you edit photos, again if you ask him, or sometimes will lead an impromptu class on editing if there is a desire by the group for him to do so. So in summary, I have no hesitation in recommending Joshua Holko’s ‘life and photographic experiences’ to you. Your only question should be ‘which one?’ And if it is, why don’t you do what I did when I first looked at his website, and that is ‘ask Joshua Holko’? I guarantee you will be amazed with what comes back!
Note: This testimonial has been written by me. I offered to provide it; I was not asked by Joshua Holko, and Joshua Holko has had no involvement whatsoever in what I’ve said. These are my words and my thoughts alone. And if you would like to see some of his influences on my work, please check out my website and look at Galleries and Featured Location. https://kevinhallphotography.co.uk
With best wishes, Kevin (Photo Credit Below: Kevin Hall).
I have just published episode 133 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I wrap up the recent workshop to the Camargue region in France to photograph the stunning white horses of this region.
Tomorrow, I am leaving Sweden for the last European workshop of the year, the White Horses of the Camargue in France. This sold-out workshop has been something I have been looking forward to for a very long time now. Actually, ever since I saw images of the horses more than a decade ago in an early tutorial Canon published on how to use their Digital Photo Professional software. I was never enamoured with Canon’s DDP software, but the images of the charging horses stuck in my mind, and I am excited to have my own opportunity to photograph these beautiful horses very soon, alongside all the participants on this trip. To be clear, there are not wild horses we are going to photograph. These are domestic, trained horses, and this is an opportunity to practice, hone and perfect techniques that can be applied to wildlife.
I am somewhat saddened that Canon was unable to supply me with the 100-300mm f/2.8L RF IS lens in time for this workshop (before I left Australia in August), as I feel this would have been the ideal glass for the occasion (fast and the perfect focal range). As such, I am packing both the 70-200mm f2.8L IS and the 400mm f2.8L IS. The 100-300mm is now waiting for me at Canon in Australia and will be joining my arsenal of lenses for next year’s workshops. I am particularly keen to put this lens to use on my Arctic Fox workshops in northern Iceland early in the year.
After I finish in France, I will head back to Sweden for a few days before wrapping up my European stay for the year and returning to Australia for the summer. The last workshop of the year will be to Antarctica for the Emperor Penguins in November before we kick off the 2026 year! I will write more about what is coming up in 2026 in a separate post later this year.
Both of our workshops in northern Iceland in March next winter for the Arctic fox are now sold out. Our next availability with openings is February 2027. This is the workshop for you if you have ever wanted to photograph Nature’s greatest feat of engineering – the Arctic Fox. This photography expedition will last for 6 days (5 nights). We will stay in a small, remote cabin that is rustic but functional and clean. During our stay in the cabin, we will have a dedicated staff member to clean and prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us (all included). However, this expedition is all about photography. We will work long hours in the field to ensure we give ourselves the best possible opportunities to photograph the Arctic Fox. We may take food and drink into the field to ensure we are positioned and ready to photograph when the foxes are active. We will have up to 10 hours of daylight to photograph the Arctic foxes. With luck, we may also see and photograph the spectacular Northern lights. Please get in touch if you would like additional information or would like to reserve a place.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 