We hope you are out there enjoying your photography. We have been spending some time planning our 2009 Expeditions and wanted to share them with you. If you have an interest in any of the following and would like to be sent the details as soon as we have finalised them, and before the itineraries go up on the website, you may want to send us an email to register your interest (without commitment). Some of the trips will be for 4-5 clients only so this is our way of giving you the heads up.
Bears in Finland
We will be returning to Finland to photograph wild bears for 3 days. We stay overnight in hides within 700 meters of the Russian border. The bears are attracted by carcasses that we arrange to be placed in front of the hide. The bears come in the early evening and can stay until the morning. At this time of year of course it does not really get completely dark and so this is a good chance to photograph and just observe some of Europe's largest wild animals up close and personal.
Dates are being finalised but it is likely to be in May. If you like the sound of a short trip over a long weekend to a wild part of Europe to shoot Bears, this is for you! There is still availability for this trip in August 2008 as well, the itinerary was posted last week and can be seen at the Current Expeditions section.
Bonobos in the Congo
Over the 2007/08 Christmas period we led a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC"} with the sole intention of photographing Bonobos for a week. As many of you know, Bonobos are one of the five species of great apes and are only found in the DRC. Bonobos are similar to Chimpanzees, but have a very different social model as well as some distinctive differences. We will be leading another expedition in 2009 when we intend to spend most of our time in a reserve managed by an excellent charity which should give members of the Expedition five full days of shooting these fantastic animals. We are one of the very few tour companies to travel to the Congo to see these amazing primates and we know anyone who joins the trip will enjoy the photogenic nature of the Bonobos and their accessability, ie there's no hard trekking or restriction to an hour's viewing on this trip!
Dates are being finalised but it's likely to be sometime between July and September. If you want a unique portfolio of an animal very few photographers have seen, let along photographed, this is for you!
Polar Bears in the Arctic
We are still finalising the ship arrangements and dates here but in the early Summer we will be leading our group to explore the pack ice and the ice cap of the Arctic in search of Polar Bears, Walrus, Seals, Seabirds and Whales. Traveling with people really in the know and on a small ice strengthened ship, we will be focusing on getting in to where we can get the best wildlife experiences the region has to offer. The atmosphere will of course be relaxed, the food superb and informative lectures will be held whilst we are at sea. Availability will go quickly so if you are interested in seeing Polar Bears we'd encourage you to register your interest early, before the itinerary goes up on the site.
Orangutans in Sumatra
The only great ape to be found in Asia is the Orangutan. Wild Orangutans only live on the Islands of Sumatra and Borneo. We will be running a recce trip to Sumatra to check out the viewing, accommodation and transport. We have already been speaking to our contacts and cannot wait to see these creatures from within two yards! We will be offering our existing clients the chance to come on this reconnaissance trip as we know they will not mind roughing it or the occasional blip.
Some of these trips will fill up very quickly. If you would like to express an interest and ensure your name is on top of the list, please email Julie on: julie.calvert@shutterspeedtravel.com
Happy shooting!
Julie and Adam
2009 Expeditions - 27 April
Wolverine, Finland - 6 April 2008
Wolverines are the largest member of the Weasel family and is a very stocky and muscular animal. Whilst they live in isolated Northern areas, they are quite rare. In Finland there are only just over 100 Wolverines left in the wild. They are very aggressive animals and in Lapland have been known to bring down Reindeer, which are many times their size. They also are known to eat the carrion left by Wolves.
We saw this one during our recent trip to Finland. We saw it running across the frozen lake toward our hide and it then spent about 30 minutes behind us eating some of the frozen pigs that are left out to attract Bears, Wolves and Wolverines! Eventually it crept in front of the hind and presented itself to us. As you can see, this one has been in the wars with a scar above its right eye.
As you can tell from this photograph, it was very cold and snowing at the time, but the Wolverine's thick coat is able to protect it from the hostile climate of Finland. We were delighted to see it!
We are finalising our next guided trip back to Finland when we expect to see Bears and Wolves - it will be a great time to see them and the hides we will be using really are second to none. Please keep an eye out on the website over the next two weeks when the details of the August trip should be up.
Julie and Adam