Even with fast zoom operations, it is now easier to focus (RF 100-300 f/2.8L IS USM Only). The electronic shutter system has improved the control of the panning assist after the second continuous shot.
I am unsure exactly what ‘easier to focus’ means in Canon’s vernacular. Perhaps they mean quicker or better to focus? Or Both? In any case, that comment only applies to the new 100-300mm f2.8L IS RF lens. The other note concerns all the telephoto lenses noted above and panning assist – a feature I have only begun to dabble with so far. Nevertheless, it is always recommended that the firmware be updated to the latest.
In early February 2024, I led my annual winter expedition to the remote Hornstrandir Nature Reserve in northwestern Iceland to photograph the Arctic Fox. This is an expedition I have been leading every year for many years now (excluding the COVID pandemic) and is one very near and dear to my heart. Over a decade ago, I visited this remote Nature Reserve to find and photograph the Arctic Fox. Now, more than ten years later, and having guided many groups to this location, this is one of my number one preferred workshops to lead.
As I have written frequently, the Arctic fox is Nature’s most remarkable feat of engineering and is an incredibly photogenic subject in the snow-covered Iceland landscape. In the far north of Iceland, the Arctic fox is protected inside the Nature reserve, and it is possible to get extremely close to these wild animals. The north of Iceland is probably the best place in the world to photograph the Blue Morph variety of the Arctic Fox. While the white morph dominates most of the Arctic, the Blue Morph is more common only in Iceland. In Winter, the chocolate brown coat of the blu-morph makes for a stunning contrast against the winter snow.
For this expedition, our group convened in Isafjord in the northwest of Iceland early in the morning on our scheduled departure day. We then took the roughly one-hour boat ride (on our chartered boat) across the fjord on calm seas to our remote cabin—our warm and cozy home for our week-long workshop.
This year, we had five individual foxes around the cabin. Two of the five were two-year-old cubs we only saw on our last day. I have been photographing several of these foxes, including the dominant female and male for years, and we are very much old friends. Seeing at least two first-year cubs active in the area was also fantastic. There was no successful breeding last year, so it is excellent that the two-year-old cubs from the prior year are doing well.
Winter in Iceland can be particularly fickle, and one never knows what the weather will bring. It is possible to have everything from sunshine to blizzards to driving rain. This year, we began our workshop with fantastic snow conditions that saw us photographing for many hours across our days in the field. We were straight into the photography on day one on arrival. Bags were unpacked, camera gear assembled, and we were straight into photographing Arctic Foxes. The foxes are typically most active in the early morning and late afternoon, which at this time of year meant we were out shooting from about 9:30am until roughly 4:30pm. The winter light is short this time of year in Iceland, but the sun’s low angle makes for superb photography throughout the day.
Over the next few days, we experienced various conditions that perfectly summarised Iceland’s freeze/thaw climate. Conditions for our workshop this year were absolutely superb, with ideal conditions for capturing the drama of Iceland’s winter weather. We had everything from breaking sun to blizzard conditions, providing an excellent opportunity to create a diverse portfolio of images during the workshop.
This year, we had some wonderful snow cornices and deep snow drifts that provided outstanding opportunities to capture dramatic images of the fox in the landscape. It was possible to make photographs with everything from 16-35mm all the way to 600mm,
I will return to the far north of Iceland in the Winter of 2025 to lead another workshop for the Arctic Fox and then again in 2026. There are now just a couple of places remaining on my 2025 expedition. If you have ever wanted to photograph Nature’s most remarkable survivor in Winter, this is your opportunity. Our remote cabin is ideally situated as a cozy home away from home and provides a beautiful base from which to photograph the Arctic Fox. Places are minimal; please contact me for complete details.
Iceberg in Antarctica
Those who appreciate wildlife photography and would like to own some of the photographs from these expeditions can order my book on the Arctic Fox from my online publishing house – Melrakki Publishing.
The photograph of the month for April 2024 comes from my recent winter expedition to the east coast of Greenland (full trip report coming soon). It shows an Arctic Snow Hare in full gallop during a howling -40º C blizzard behind the small Inuit village of Ittortoqitormit on the East coast of Greenland. I photographed it with the Canon EOS R3, and the Canon RF 600mm f4L IS lens. The real challenge of this photograph (other than avoiding frostbite) was keeping the fast-moving subject in the frame as it galloped at high speed through the snow. The blizzard wind was incredibly strong, making hand-holding the lens impossible. To counter this, I lay down in the snow, using the snow cover as a makeshift tripod, cranked up the ISO to 1600 and opened up the f-stop to f6.3. This close to the subject meant the depth of field would be extremely narrow, making focus critical. Anything less than perfect focus on the eye would result in zero keepers. Incredibly, the Canon EOS R3 could track and nail focus on the eye of the fast-moving Snow Hare despite the howling wind and flying snow. Focus Case 2 was used to ignore the whirling snow around the hare. The blue background is not the sky (which could not be seen in the white-out conditions), but the wooden wall of one of the small painted houses in the village. This is an excellent example of how depth of field control can be carefully employed to control backgrounds and enhance a photograph. Without the blue background, there would be almost no contrast between the Snow Hare and the background.
The Asia Pacific Photography Awards have just announced the 2024 People’s Choice Award winner for the Nature category. I am thrilled to report my recent photograph of the Pallas Cat, titled ‘Regal Cat’, from Mongolia in winter was the overall People’s Choice award winner for 2024.
In 2022, I completely swept the pool in this category, taking First, Second, and Third place. This year, I won the Peoples Choice award in the nature category and drew with myself for third place in the judged category with the Pallas Cat photograph and the Pygmy Owl photograph. All three of my entered photographs were also top 20 and top 10 finalists.
I will return to Mongolia again in January 2025 and 2026 to photograph the Pallas Cat and the Snow Leopard. The 2025 expeditions are already sold out, but bookings are now open for 2026. You can email me for further information or to register your place. Full details are also available on my website at http://www.jholko.com/workshops.
Please note that I will be offline for the next eight days (from tomorrow) while guiding my annual expedition to the far north of Iceland to photograph Arctic Fox in Winter. The expedition to the Hornstraidir Nature Reserve to photograph Arctic Fox is near and dear to my heart, and this year, it looks like we will have some fantastic snow conditions. I am really excited to get back up to this remote part of Iceland to find and photograph this tenacious predator. The area we are located for this expedition is quite far from the nearest town, without cell or internet coverage. If you are trying to contact me during this time, please be patient and I will get back to you on my return.
If you are interested in photographing the Arctic Fox, I now have dates available for the 2025 expedition, which will run from the 8th of February until the 14th of February 2025. The trip is eight days / seven nights and is fully inclusive of accommodation, food and transfers to and from Isfjordur to our remote cabin. On this trip, you can expect to have a great many fantastic photographic encounters with the Arctic Foxes that inhabit this remote peninsula. Full details are available on my website HERE. You can also check out the Adobe Spark Presentation. See you in Iceland.
www.WILDNATUREPHOTOTRAVEL.com 