It is with great pleasure than I can announce that I will be leading a Photography Expedition to Africa in May 2016. So come and photograph the diverse culture and wildlife on this African Expedition from the Western Cape to the wilds of South Africa and Botswana with this very exciting 15 day / 14 night African Safari Cruise Expedition… Read more →
It is with great pleasure than I can announce that I will be leading a Photography Expedition to South Georgia and Antarctica in November 2016. So come and photograph the majesty of South Georgia and Antarctica on this Photography Expedition of a lifetime!!! South Georgia Island and Antarctica are miraculous. An island of incredible landscape and wildlife and a white… Read more →
Coming off the back of a photography expedition down to The Falklands, South Georgia Island and the Antarctic Peninsula, I held little hope for poor desolate windy Patagonia. Sure it has Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre and the Pireto Moreno Glacier, but really how could it compare with the sheer mass of wild life in The Falklands/South Georgia Island and exotic draw of Antarctica… Read more →
Ushuaia Argentina, it’s the gateway to Antarctica and its hard not to see it. Walking down the street there are signs everywhere talking about Antarctica. Looking down to the docks from the vantage point of my guest room, I can see a number of Antarctic bound vessels including ours, the trusty Polar Pioneer. Its hard not be be excited. Theres… Read more →
Its with great pleasure I can publicly announce two new Antarctic Photography Expeditions for 2016! The Weddell Sea Explorer and Across the Antarctic Circle Photography Expeditions. The Weddell Sea Explorer Photography Expedition will be led by Moab Master Joshua Holko, Pro Nature Photography Daniel Bergmann and myself. This Photography Expedition will embark on Tuesday 9 February 2016 and disembark on Saturday 20… Read more →
Its with great pleasure that I can announce that the Jewels of the Arctic Photography Expedition August 2015 is now open for bookings! This will be the third year running this amazing photography expedition. Without a doubt it is one of my favourite expeditions. This 14 day/13 night Photography Expedition, departing August 16th from Isafjordur in Iceland and… Read more →
The South Georgia Island and Antarctica Photography Expedition has been SOLD OUT. This 20 day Expedition led by Joshua and Andy departing November 3rd from Ushuaia in South America has been designed to provide the definitive Antarctica and South Georgia Island photographic experience. If you’re still interested but have missed the boat, please let me know and I can… Read more →
I am very excited to announce that in November 2014 I will be joining Joshua Holko and Andy Biggs on the South Georgia Island and Antarctica Expedition. This 20 day Expedition led by Joshua and Andy departing November 3rd from Ushuaia in South America has been designed to provide the definitive Antarctica and South Georgia Island photographic experience. Crossing the… Read more →
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 →
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 →
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 →
… 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.
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 →
With our departure for our Investigative Photography Expedition to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China looming I thought it pertinent to pen a recommended packing list. The Xinjiang region of China at this time of year doesn’t have the extremes of heat/cold or humidity of the other regions I have recently visited, but it does have regions of high altitude which can be… Read more →
Bird Photography is not my speciality by any means, but I do have a passion for birds that I’ve carried from my childhood.
As I was unpacking the car from our most recent family camping trip I heard the chatter of some local birds as they were feeding in my front garden.
Funnily enough I had just picked the trusty Lowepo Computrekker AW out of the boot as that familiar noise hit my ears. I put the bag down, unzipped and luckily my 70-200 f/2.8 IS was mounted to one of my bodies (Why it was on the 5D Mark III and not the 1D Mark IV I’ll never know but I didn’t have time to change it).
I picked it up.
Flipped the switch to on.
Its a clean card and I’ve got battery.
As I started to stalk slowly and silently as possible through my bush garden I changed the drive mode to Silent High Speed.
I set Focus Mode to AI Servo.
I slowed and start to inch my way towards to the sounds of feeding birds I took off my lens cap…. and subsequently dropped it on a rock. I froze. I waited. I wasn’t greeted by the sound of birds taking flight.
I starting inching forward again.
As I peaked around one Grevillea bush to the back corner of my front yard I was greeted with the sight of two Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on the nectar from the flowers on another Grevillea bush just a mere six feet away.
I must admit, I stood and stared. The Rainbow Lorikeets are so vibrant in colouration and like most parrots quite vocal. A true pleasure to observe.
A moment later I lifted my camera, starting shooting. A bunch of frames later, the Lorikeets had noted my presence with a quick glance and took flight in a flurry of feathers and squawks.
As I sit and contemplate starting to get organised for my investigative expedition to XinJiang, China with Joshua, I do wonder sometimes how that we travel all over the world yet sometimes overlook the beauty that can be found right on our front doorsteps. Luckily for me, my landscaping in my front garden and my proximity to bushland area means that I have the pleasure of Bird Photography without travel.
