If you haven’t seen it yet, Sigma has released their latest factory sneak peek video a few days ago. Have you ever wondered why our camera lenses cost what they do? So much goes into making a camera lens and there is a large human component to the construction and assembly of a camera lens. And something that is uncommon these… Read more →
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Leave nothing but footprints take nothing but photographs – a new mantra proposal
I’m sure over the years we’ve all heard the mantra “Leave nothing but footprints take nothing but photographs.”, it’s a well spoken and oft used mantra along with many others such as “Tread lightly” “Leave no trace” and numerous other worthy mantras. But I’d like to introduce a new mantra, or rather modify an existing one. “Leave nothing but… Read more →
SOLD OUT – Jewels of the Arctic Expedition – August 9th – 22nd 2014
Our Jewels of the Arctic Expedition running from August 9th to 22nd 2014 is now SOLD OUT!!!! Whilst this is great news for us, it might not be great news for you if you were contemplating joining us on this expedition. But the good news is we still have some places left on our Jewels of the Arctic Expedition which runs… Read more →
Jewels of the Arctic Photography Expedition Experience Video
On our 2013 photography expedition, Jewels of the Arctic, videographer Abraham Joffe from Untitled Filmworks in Sydney joined us to shoot a promotional video for Joshua and the trips I am co-leading with him in 2014. As you can see, the Jewels of the Arctic trip offers some truly amazing scenery. The amazing cultural experience of visiting the Inuit village… Read more →
Interview with Far West China
I was recently interviewed by Josh Summers, the Editor of Far West China (www.farwestchina.com). Josh asked me about my experiences travelling to Xinjiang as a Photographer, what enticed me to travel there in the first place and of course what I can’t wait to go back and see when I return! If you have a few minutes, you can… Read more →
How to backup photographs and keep them SAFE!
I just backup photographs to my NAS. They’ll be safe? yeah? These are some famous last words. Its always good to have a NAS and it is part of a backup regime but in itself, it is not a ‘complete backup’ per se. So what is backup in a computing sense? Backup is the concept of making extra copies… Read more →
Birding with the Canon 200-400 f/4 L IS, 300 2.8 IS and the 600 f/4 IS
After returning from my trip to the Arctic I had a chance to go out shooting with my good friend and colleague Joshua Holko at a local wetlands. I must say first and foremost, I am not a birder. I grew up breeding and keeping birds, a pastime of my fathers that we shared, but I was never one to… Read more →
Scoresby Sund – Hare Fjord – Greenland
One of the most famous locations in Greenland is the stunning Scoresby Sund. Full of Fjords, Scoresby Sund is the largest and longest Fjord system in the world, offering some amazing mountainous icebergs. These monstrosities framed by the colourful Hare Fjord provided plenty of opportunity to produce amazing images. Its hard to comprehend being so close to shore when photography… Read more →
Camera Gear and Polar Regions – So what’s the deal?
Camera Gear and Polar Regions – So what’s the deal? We’ve all heard horror stories of people’s gear getting ruined. It does happen, no doubt about it. But there’s a few precautions you can take to give your gear the best chance of survival and more important allow you to keep shooting for the duration of your Photography Expedition. Photography… Read more →
Seeing your first Iceberg – A first hand account
Seeing my first Iceberg is an experience I will never forget. We had been at sea travelling North from Iceland and up the South East coast of Greenland when I saw my first Iceberg. It wasn’t particularly large, but still it was my first. Its very hard to describe the experience of seeing an Iceberg the first time. Its a… Read more →
The Spirit of Antarctica Photography Expedition Announcement – Dec 2014
It is with great pleasure that I publicly announce that I will be co-leading the Spirit of Antarctica photography expedition in Dec 2014 with my good friend and colleague, Joshua Holko. This expedition sets sail from Ushuaia in South America. We will sail across the notorious Drake Passage and will visit some of the première locations for photography in Antarctica.… Read more →
The Arctic Circle – An illuminating experience
I’m finally home in Australia getting back to some semblance of home life after three and a half weeks in the Northern Hemisphere above 66 degrees. I must say it has been an illuminating experience. Apart from the near twenty four hours of continual daylight as we passed 79 degrees, the impact of man and global warming can clearly be… Read more →
Iceland and the Arctic here I come!
Tomorrow I fly out for Iceland and the Arctic. A week of personal folio shooting in Iceland before heading to Isafjordur in northern Iceland to get aboard the Polar Pioneer for the Jewels of the Arctic expedition up the coast of Greenland to Svalbard. The same Expedition I will be co-leading with Joshua Holko in 2014 (for more details click… Read more →
Tian Shan Grand Canyon – Xinjiang China
The Tian Shan Grand Canyon near Kuqa is one of the highlights of the Xinjiang: China’s Wild Wild West – Photography Workshop. Its easy access, looming canyon walls, textures and colours make the Tian Shan Grand Canyon a veritable photographers playground. Part of the Tian Shan Mountain range, the Mysterious Grand Canyon extends quite some distance back into the mountain range.… Read more →
Choosing the right boots for your next photography expedition
Choosing the right boots for your next photography expedition can be a tough thing. There are hundreds of brands on the market and many different properties of a boot to consider when picking a pair of boots. The main properties of boots you should consider when making your selection are : – comfort – durability – support – weight – thermal insulation – water proofing/resistance –… Read more →
Tasmania – A Quick Photography Adventure
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of heading over to Tasmania for 7 days for a quick photography adventure to visit some of my favourite places in Tasmania. Tasmania without a doubt is my favourite part of Australia. Being born and bred in Australia I’ve travelled and seen some amazing landscapes, met some great characters and driven some amazing… Read more →
Arctic Circle Photography Packing List Recommendations
As I am slowly packing my gear from my own Arctic Circle photography packing list, I thought I’d share my packing list recommendations. I’m currently packing off this same Arctic Circle photography packing list that I give to my clients, as I prepare to fly out on the 2nd Saturday in August to Iceland and the Arctic Circle for a series… Read more →
The Flaming Mountains – XinJiang China
The Flaming Mountains are barren, eroded, red sandstone hills in Tian Shan Mountain range. Their striking gullies and trenches caused by erosion of the red sandstone bedrock giving the mountains a flaming appearance at certain times of the day. The climate in Turpan has harsh extremes. The extremely high summer temperatures make this the hottest spot in China, frequently reaching 122 °F (50… Read more →
Xinjiang: China’s Wild Wild West Photography Workshop Announcement – May 2014
It is with great pleasure that I publicly announce that I will be leading the Xinjiang: China’s Wild Wild West photography expedition in May 2014. So come and photograph Xinjiang: China’s Wild Wild West with me on this very exciting 11 day / 10 night photography expedition. Departing on the 17th of May 2014 and finishing on the 27th of May this trip will commence… Read more →
PhotographyExpeditions.com has been launched!
A side project that we’ve been working on has just been launched – www.photographyexpeditions.com www.photographyexpeditions.com lists all the current workshop and expedition offerings of Joshua Holko and myself. The site contains preliminary information and a link for additional information on each trip. Also included are direct links to those professional photographers I work with on joint workshops and expeditions… Read more →
The Rainbow City – XinJiang China
The Rainbow City, so named due to its rainbow coloured landscape. In the middle of the remote desert area we left the highway on a dirt track for some 10 miles before arriving at the Rainbow city. The Rainbow City is a photographers playground. A true cornucopia of photographic opportunities. It’s rich mineral content of iron and rhyolite combined with… Read more →
Fuyun – XinJiang China
Whilst returning from the Northern most areas of Xinjiang on our way to photograph the Rainbow city, the rocky gravel Tundra of the southern parts of Altay Prefecture leading to Fuyun extends for miles and miles. As we noticed some good weather conditions developing, storm clouds and rain on the horizon, we saw a rolling range of hills in the… Read more →
Kanas Lake – Xinjiang China
One of the most famous tourist destinations in Xinjiang region is Kanas Lake. Kanas Lake is fed from the Kanas glacier and is located high in the Altay mountain range near the Russian and Kazakhstan borders. As part of our trip nutting out our itinerary for a future trip we really wanted to see all there was to see in… Read more →
Ghost City – Xinjiang China
Photographing at the Ghost City was something I had been looking forward to ever since we started planning this expedition. Known as Yardang landscape by the locals, the Ghost City is so named due to the ghost like sounds created by the winds that blow through the landscape at night. The landscape itself is compressed dirt and sand, over thousands… Read more →
Heavenly Lake – High Altitude Cuisine – Xinjiang China
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China is heavily influenced by its neighbours. Bordering Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India and being part of the Silk Road there are many influences especially with regards to the local cuisine. Whilst visiting the Heavenly Lake we were able to observe local chef’s cooking some of the favoured local cuisine, namely Naan bread, Lamen (Noodles) and the ever popular kebab.… Read more →
The right lens at the right time
… or in this case the wrong lens at the right time.
When photographing both landscape and wildlife its always a compromise as to what lenses adorn your camera bodies at any given time. When you’re laying in wait in a hide, selecting the right lens is a lot simpler. But when you’re like me with a preference for shooting landscapes, I more often that not am stalking my next location when wildlife presents itself.
Sometimes the scenario arrives when one has to make the decision to either capture the moment with what you have or to risk missing the moment by going for a lens swap.
Whilst at the Heavenly Lake in the Tian Shan Mountains in Xinjiang, China I ran into this exact conundrum.
When firmly planted on knee on a rocky outcrop I was peering into my viewfinder composing an image of a temple across the lake I heard the squawking sounds of Eagles. Given that they had been relatively silent during the earlier part of the day I knew something was up.
I stood leaving my 5D Mark 3 safely mounted on the Gitzo tripod and reached around for my 1D Mark IV which was hanging at my side on my Black Rapid shoulder strap.
As I lifted the lens my fingers went straight to the ISO button. I knew I’d been shooting a landscape with this body not 2 minutes earlier and I was at ISO 100 at best. As I scanned the sky I was already adjusting the ISO up. How much, 3 clicks on the dial ISO 100->200->400->800.
I spied what was making all that noise…. I adjusted the zoom out to its longest focal length knowing I was going to come up short, cursed under my breath that I only had a 70-200 lens fitted, as I framed the subject and focussed and fired away.
10 frames and it was all over. It was literally one second moment.
I turned around to see Joshua, he said calmly with a wry smile “Please tell me you caught that..”
As looked at the LCD on the back of my camera, I think the smile on my face said it all.
With all the careful planning in the world sometimes everything does come together, the right lens, the right place, the right time and the right light. More often than not it doesn’t. But as always you make the best of the situation at hand, and when nature throws some magic at you, you just shoot away.
It was amazing watching these two Golden Eagles tumble in a mid air melee.
The right lens or not, it was all part of a something special.
Canon 1D MarkIV 70-200 f/2.8 IS f/5.6 1/6400 ISO 800
Canon 200-400 F4 L IS with 1.4x extender Prototype Review
Well the Canon 200-400 F4 L IS with 1.4x extender has been announced and delivery of these amazing lenses is expected to start soon. In February this year I had the joy of seeing the Canon 200-400 F4 L IS with 1.4x extender prototype in the flesh. I came along to shoot some video which culminated in the below video:… Read more →
Xinjiang China – Return From Investigative Photography Expedition
A few days ago I returned from 15 days in China with my good friend and colleague, Joshua Holko. More importantly we spent 12 days in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in remote North West China. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is the North Western most region of China bordering on Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan and Krygzstan. Its Northern and Southern regions divided… Read more →
China – Xinjiang Investigative Expedition May 2013
Tonight I’ve shared the last few hours of the evening with my wife and two gorgeous daughters soaking up as much of them as I can and just a little but more for tomorrow my good friend Joshua Holko and I are travelling to Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region in China. Xinjiang is located in the extreme north west of China and… Read more →
Jewels of the Arctic August 2014 – Announcement
It is with great pleasure that I publicly announce that I will be co-leading the Jewels of the Arctic photography expedition in August 2014 with my good friend and colleague Joshua Holko. So come and photograph the ‘Jewels of the Arctic’ with Moab Master Joshua Holko and myself on this very exciting 14 day / 13 night photography expedition in August 2014. Departing on… Read more →