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It has been quite some time since I last did a workshop and expedition availability update. Rather than post everything happening this year (Read the 2022 Retrospective and 2023 What’s in Store post), I am instead posting only those few trips with availability in 2023. Please contact me about any workshop or expedition you may be interested in for additional information or to register your interest. For 2024 and beyond, please check out my workshops page at www.jholko.com/workshops

Svalbard Spring Light Expedition

Only two places remain on this expedition. This will be my last planned expedition to Svalbard for the foreseeable future. April is the ideal time to visit Svalbard. The landscape is still blanketed in snow and ice, and the low angle of the sun means there are outstanding opportunities with the light, landscape, and wildlife. If you have ever wanted to photograph Polar Bears in beautiful soft light, this is the expedition for you.

Zululand Africa Ground Level Wildlife Masterclass

In May, I will lead my Zululand Wildlife masterclass. This is the African workshop for the photographer who has always wanted to photograph African wildlife at ground level and not from the detached height of a large safari vehicle. Whether this is your first African visit or you are a veteran of many safaris, this is the workshop to get you up close at eye level with the wildlife.

Wild Wolves of the Taiga Forest Finland

Only three places remain before this workshop is sold out. If you have ever wanted to photograph wild wolves, this workshop is for you. To get an idea of the sort of photographs you can make in this workshop, be sure to check out the Finland portfolio on my website – www.jholko.com/portfolios

Finland Eagle Owl and Golden Eagle Extension

The optional extension to the Wild Wolves of the Taiga forest workshop has only 3 places remaining before it is also sold out.

Antarctica Return to the White Continent Expedition

One of the most exciting destinations on the planet for both landscape and wildlife photography is Antarctica. The enigmatic white continent is, without doubt, the premiere and sought-after location for Polar Photography on our planet. With its monumental icebergs, towering mountains and glaciers, and a plethora of wildlife, it offers the intrepid photographer a unique and powerful photographic experience.

One of the problems with almost all expeditions to Antarctica is the sheer number of people visiting ships can accommodate. In recent years there have been virtually no sub-100 passenger vessels (and many are now 200+ passengers) traversing the icy polar waters, which remains a significant problem for photographers. With strict IATO restrictions across Antarctica, passengers and photographers have been forced to wait their turn for an all too brief period of photography on the continent, with no more than 100 souls allowed ashore at any one time. Now, I am incredibly excited to announce that my company Wild Nature Photo Travel, has fully chartered the completely refitted Polar Pioneer. We will return to the Great White Continent in December of 2023 on a dedicated expedition for photographers.

With a capacity of just 52 photographers, we will all be able to all land at the same time and spend hours ashore at each of our landing locations. Our choice time slot of December 8th – December 21st, 2023, is absolutely ideal for both ice and snow; while providing us a fantastic opportunity for a potential landing at Deception Island and a subsequent cruise through the spectacular Lemaire Channel – a landscape photographers’ paradise.

Whether you are a seasoned Antarctic veteran or a first-time traveler, this expedition is sure to offer you unparalleled and unique opportunities not offered anywhere else. You will be one of just 52 photographers on a dedicated expedition designed solely to offer the best possible photographic experiences – A return to the Great White Continent!

For more information or to register your interest, please email me at info@jholko.com. Limited places and cabin types only.

I have just published Episode 60 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I wish all a very happy New Year and give a brief workshop and expedition update on those trips with availability for 2023. I am pleased to say the podcast also hit 10,000 downloads last night – thank you. Wishing all of you all the very best for 2023!

I would like to thank all the readers and followers of my blog, those who follow my work on social media, who have purchased prints, cards, and books, as well as workshop and expedition participants for your continued support throughout 2022. It has been an extraordinarily challenging year for many (myself included), and I am hopeful things will continue to improve for all in the coming year. I wish all of you a very happy and safe New Year and all the very best for 2023. If you are traveling with me in 2023 on one or more of my workshops or expeditions, I look forward to shooting together in some of the world’s most beautiful and remote locations. I hope your year is full of beautiful light, stunning locations, good health, and great experiences.

I have just published Episode #59 of my Wild Nature Photography Podcast. In this episode, I discuss my equipment and packing for both the sold-out Pallas Cat and Snow Leopard expeditions in Mongolia in January 2023. This will be the final podcast for 2022, as I will be leaving in just a few days for Mongolia. A new series (season 3) of the Podcast will kick off early in the new year. For those enquiring about future expeditions to Mongolia for Snow Leopard, please stand by for future dates to be announced in late January / early February 2023.

Just a brief reminder, if you enjoy the podcast and want to show your support and help with the hosting fees for the new Season three, you can head over and buy me a coffee. All contributions are greatly appreciated, and all funds go toward the production and hosting of the podcast.

We all know it has been going on since the end of the COVID pandemic. Airline fares are up more than 30%+ and still climbing. CEO and executive salaries and bonuses are at obscene levels. International and domestic airfare pricing is out of control, and it is time for the government to step in and regulate this out-of-control, profit-hungry (at any cost) monster.

The reality, of course, is this is very much a first-world problem. However, with airfares priced the way they currently stand, families can no longer afford to travel, while airline executives buy more enormous mansions than ever. I am not sure when this became ok – but it isn’t.