Join us in Japan and get a 400 Euro discount!

If you are interested in going to Japan, this is the time to make the booking. If you fill out the booking form before the end of October, you will get a 400 Euro discount per person on the participation fee!

We have been able to negotiate this special offer through our agent, due to the fact that Western tourists are staying away from Japan. We however feel we should support their economy and the tourism sector. The regions we will be visiting during our tour are far away from the areas that were affected by the Tsunami that hit Japan and the powerplants that ran into trouble because of it. The United Nations has declared Japan to be a safe destination, so safety should not be a reason to stay away. 

Winter is the perfect time to visit Japan. Its breathtaking, snow-covered landscapes are the perfect backdrop for us to photograph Japan’s unique wildlife. During this spectacular trip we will visit the famous snow monkeys, while they enjoy a hot steam bath in volcanic hot springs and play in the snow. We will travel to the northern island of Hokkaido (the Alaska of Japan), where we will photograph rare and beautifulred-crowned cranes while they perform their gracious winter dances, large flocks of whooper swans floating in misty lakes covered with ice and beautiful mountains in the background, and white-tailed and Steller’s sea eagles, as they sit on the pack ice that has drifted over from Siberia.

Download the day-to-day schedule (PDF) and read all about this exciting tour, which starts on 13 February 2012, ending on 25 February 2012.

Be quick and take advantage of the special discount of 400 Euro per person! It is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Fill out the booking form before the end of October to apply for this special offer.

Interview in Digital Camera Magazine

UK-based magazine Digital Camera now features a 7-page interview with Marsel in their October issue. The editor has selected 11 images to go with the interview.

In the article Marsel talks about how he became a nature photographer, how things changed since the introduction of digital photography, the problems, the preparation, and how he works in the field.

Death Row

This is one of my favorite images from this year's Namibia workshop. Even though I have visited Namibia countless times, it amazes me that it is still possible to find unique compositions, even at a popular and often photographed place as Deadvlei.

>Click here for large version<

The trees you see here are dead camelthorn trees that are hundreds of years old. The extremely arid climate prevents them from rotting and their skeletons turn the location in a very surreal and at times eery place.

For this particular shot I used the shadow of the dunes behind me as a natural ND grad for the bright foreground. I waited until the shadow line reached the base of the dunes in the background and exposed for the bright red sand, turning the already dark trees into silhouettes. I'm kind of allergic to touching and overlapping shapes, and I thought I had already shot every possible angle with free standing trees, but for some reason I suddenly found a lot of new compositions this year that I had never seen before. Just like athletes that have good days and not so good ones, I think the same applies to photographers - one day you're really struggling to get even a decent shot, the next day you suddenly see great images everywhere.

If you would like to join us on next year's Namibia workshop, please have a look at our website for tour information, images and video impressions. It's a spectacular tour with lots of variety, incredible photo opportunities, and you will return with stunning images - and that's a promise!

Snow monkey in National Geographic

My lighting experiments with the snow monkeys in Japan have become really popular this year. National Geographic (Dutch edition) now features one of my images in their October issue.

>Click here for large version<