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
Finland - 100 hours in a hide - 24 March 2008
We have just returned this evening from a really amazing eye opening 'recci' to Finland. We travelled there to assess conditions for running a Bear, Wolf, Wolverine and birding photographic expedition in '08 and '09.
After flying to Helsinki, an internal flight north, stocking up on provisions at the local supermarket (cheese, local bread, pasta etc), then a 150 km car journey, then a mile in a snowmobile (steered by Adam ... very scary) we arrived at our home for the next 100 hours. The hide was in No-Mans Land which is a mere 700 metres from the Russian border. It was one of the best hides we have ever seen. Despite being about -15 degrees outside, the oil stove kept us warm inside and a small meths cooking stove warmed up our pasta. The only downside, no running water or toilets! THAT was the one time requiring us to race out into the cold ...
We were there in the low season. The bears were still fast asleep in their dens. They wake up usually in early April when the snow melts and runs into their nests. They wake up VERY hungry having lost about 40% of their body weight over the winter. From April until perhaps October they are out and about before settling down to sleep again for the winter. The wolves had been heard just before we got there, but aside from some tracks we did not see any. Once the Bears are out, the Wolves tend to follow them, sharing the meat that the bears find.
The highlight for us was seeing a Wolverine really close up. These are very strong and quite fierce creatures ... photos to follow.
Our expeditions will be to the same area, but in the "high season" where there is a very good chance of getting pretty close to the bears. We will be staying in an old logging camp, each evening being left at the hide to wait for the bears to come down to eat the carcasses which are left to attract them and returning to camp for hot showers, hot food, charging batteries etc the next morning. Relax round the camp during the day, a sauna if you dare, a big dinner and then back to the hide. We cannot wait!
A view here of the hide we bunkered down in and Julie on watch! More to follow.
Julie and Adam
Snow in Finland - 20 March 2008
From the heat of Africa to the snow in Finland; sometimes we think we are mad! This morning we are off to Finland. We are travelling close to the border with Russia (for which permits are required. Very Jason Bourne) to a remote hide. No electricity no running water (very, very Jason Bourne). We will stay there for the best part of a week simply waiting to see what comes by (very, very, very Jason Bourne). Depending on the season this includes Wolves, Bears, Golden Eagles, Wolverines, Woodpeckers etc, etc. So when packing, we put away our hot weather clothes from Uganda/Rwanda and brought out Arctic gear. Given there is no electricity, no computers, chargers, cables, adaptors and other gizmos. Hence we are traveling light. Just the 600 F4, the 500 F4, three Canon bodies and the Hassey.
Current temperature where we are going as we write this .... -14 c with snow is forecast for the next three days!
Julie [Bourne] and Adam [Bourne]
Gorillas - 17 March 2008
A few shots of the Gorillas that we like. As you can tell from these, some of the conditions were ideal and some were somewhat challenging. Whatever the conditions, being with the Gorillas was a real privilege. All these photographs taken with medium length lenses. 
and another we love. 
It is fair to say that it sometimes rained!
Looking at these photographs really reminds us of the unique pull primates have over man.
Julie and Adam
A beautiful country - 17 March 2007
Well, we (with the help of the wonderful Steff) managed to get our Blog to take some photographs. So we can show you a few of our photographs from the expedition.
This was the view each morning as we climbed above the clouds on our way to the Gorillas. As you can see that particular morning it was not raining!
It makes us want to fly straight back!
Julie and Adam
Uganda and Rwanda - Chimps and Gorillas - 15 March 2008
Gorillas and Chimps Expedition - What an Adrenaline Rush!
Hello
We are just back from our expedition to Uganda and Rwanda. We are almost finished writing up the trip report which will go onto the site soon! We are having a little trouble with our server and unfortunately cannot upload our photographs as yet, GGGRRRRRR!
Highlights for our clients were:
1. Treking Chimps in Uganda for two days. The Chimps are really noisy and when moving along the floor of the rainforest they are always screaming to let each other know where they are and what they are doing. The photography was really difficult as the light is pretty poor but we managed to get some good shots of some of the males looking up from the jungle floor, staring in fact and waiting their turn with a female who was "in heat". Racing along to keep up with them on one particular day with bodies and lenses weighing us down was exhilarating and bloody hard work to say the least, but what fun and it certainly got the adrenaline pumping as much as watching a Lion kill.
2. Treking the Gorillas in Uganda for two days and THEN Rwanda for three days AS WELL. This was really hard work - I don't think our group will mind our saying we were not a group of Olympic athletes! But we were all determined to see what we had come for and we came, we saw, and we conquered those treks! Some days we think awards were deserved! It was all good fun though and the pictures our clients were able to get are really very impressive. We provided the opportunity, and they, to their credit, provided the rest.
Uganda Gorilla treks (2 treks): The second day was the hardest. It was raining, we had to cross a raging river, and the last climb was very hard. We eventually caught up with the Gorillas and to our delight the sun came out and we were treated to a wonderful display by the Silverback (yes, he beat his chest), some of the young and the entire family stretching out along a valley. We came back tired, wet but on a complete high! We also had the opportunity of photographing a group of Gorillas in the rain which was quite beautiful and serene.
Rwanda Gorilla treks (3 treks): This was much easier. The views were great and we all managed to get a good portfolio of really interesting shots. On our first trek, we were sitting more comfortably than usual on a bank looking down at a female and a baby when without any warning a blackback (young male Gorilla, but BIG) walked past the front of the group, brushing our legs, it then turned, took one look at Marian, decided she was the one and slapped her on her leg. Marian, if not all of us, will be telling this story for years. We all managed to do what we had been told to do in the briefing ie we kept remarkably quiet during what was a phenomenally exciting wildlife encounter but once we were out of the forest.... what a high!
Prize giving on the last night of our trip saw the overall prize for consistently good photographs from every trek going to Wendy. The prize being five yards of printing from Shutterspeed Travel's 24inch HP printer - this will allow Wendy to print poster size on art quality paper, we are looking forward to the results. Murray and Lisa also won prizes, but what goes on tour stays on tour!
A great, great trip. Please take a look back at this blog at Easter when hopefully our server issues will have been solved and the photos will be up here in the Blog. Our full trip report and the library database photos should be on the site then as well.
Julie and Adam