Earthquake in Japan

We just heard about the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan. We are deeply shocked by these terrible events and our hearts go out to the Japanese people.

For those of you who have travelled to Japan with us before: we have contacted our friends and colleagues in Japan and we're relieved that they're all ok.

TPOTY Public's Choice

My charging lion shot received the most votes from visitors to the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition in London, so it is now officially the Public's Choice. A big thank you to all the visitors that voted for my photograph!

I've won a personalised leather portfolio book from Plastic Sandwich, and I'm looking forward to build my own.

Back from Japan

We have just returned from Japan. It was one of our best visits ever. Not only because we had such a wonderful group, but also because of the weather conditions. There was so much snow everywhere that the views were even more spectacular this time. We got falling snow at the snow monkeys, which was tough for the lenses (why does the wind always blow in the opposite direction that you're shooting in?) but great for photos. We also got hoar frost at the swans and the cranes, something I hope for every year but doesn't happen often. The ice conditions were a little bit too good - there was so much ice that we had trouble leaving the harbor with our boat. Not that we needed to go very far, because there was a lot of raptor activity and we all got great white tailed eagle and Steller's sea eagle shots.

Our next White & Wild Japan tour will be from 13 to 25 February 2012. For more information, please have a look at the Photo Tours section on our website.

Squiver earns Five Star rating on Photo Travel Review Magazine

We are proud to announce that the online magazine Photo Travel Review has rated Squiver Photo Tours with their highest rating: five stars!

Photo Travel Review is run by photographers who have traveled extensively throughout the world. Each of them is recognized widely in the photographic community for the quality of their photographic skills. In addition, they each bring a wealth of experience from their occupations and professions. Their interest is to provide information of value to people who want the perfect photographic adventure.

From their website:

'The PTR Team knows the world photographic community very well. We have attended seminars, conducted our own, and we know the work of most well-recognized nature photographers. Marsel and Daniella offer something very special to the traveling photographer — vast experience and recognition for their work, a variety of places to go, reasonable costs, and expert instruction. In sum, the best combination of all attributes that make up a successful photographic holiday.

Photo Travel Review Magazine highly recommends Squiver Tours. The offerings are among the best in the world — Squiver has earned PTR’s five star rating.

We are tempted to add a “+” to the rating because their tours are among the most reasonably priced that we have encountered.'

Of course we knew this already, but it's always nice to hear it from someone else. ;-)

If you would like to be part of the Squiver experience, please have a look at our website for tours currently on offer. Our trips are for all experience levels and you don't need expensive gear to return with great results.

We are working hard on two new trips, and we will introduce them here later this month.

Naturescapes Image of the Year

I am proud to announce that my star trail image 'In the Dead of the Night' was awarded Image of the Year in the Landscape category of the 2010 Naturescapes Images of the Year Awards.

The image was shot on last year's Namibia Untamed photo tour.

Namibia is not only the least densely populated country of the world; it is also one of the driest. The clear desert air is perfect for shooting stars and star trails, so that's one of the things we always try on each year's Namibia tour.

We had planned the trip to coincide with new moon, so that we would have pitch-dark nights with lots of stars. For this shot of a dead camelthorn tree in Deadvlei I made a 58 second exposure for the master image, during which I painted the tree and the foreground with a small torch and a warm-up gel. There was still some afterglow on the dunes in the background. During the night the camera took little over 80 shots, each four minutes long.

As I was shooting with a D3X, I converted the star shots to jpeg after raw conversion before stacking them in PS, to keep the file size manageable.

Equipment Used: Nikon D3X, AF-S 14-24/2.8 at 14mm, 58 seconds, f/5.6, 80x4min at f/5.6, ISO 100, Gitzo tripod, Nikon programmable cable release.

Our next Namibia Untamed tour will be in May, and we're already looking forward to shooting star trails there again. If you would like to join us, have a look at the Namibia Untamed photo tour page for more information. Don't forget to check out the video of this spectacular trip on our website www.squiver.com!

Marsel

Desert Expedition 2010/2011

We've just returned from our two month desert expedition in Northern Africa. It was intense, but incredibly beautiful. We still have to sort all the images and footage we shot there and we're already leaving for Japan in a few days, so we hope to be able to share some of the results when we get back home again.

NPN Editor's Pick Award

Just a few weeks before we're heading out to Japan again for this year's White & Wild Japan tour, we found out that Marsel's shot 'Bliss', featuring three Japanese macaques enjoying a warm bath in a natural hot spring, was awarded 1st Honorable Mention in the 2010 NPN Editor's Pick Awards.

Ever since Marsel first posted the shot online, it has instantly become one of our most popular prints. If you would like to order a print yourself, please have a look at the Store section on our website for prices and sizes.

Greetings from Egypt!

Sun, sand, wind and dust

We are currently traveling in the desert of Northern Africa, battling the sun, sand, wind and dust. We ate more sand over the past couple of weeks than any normal human being during a lifetime, but we're enjoying the experience. Our purpose is a new photography project we're working on, and meanwhile we're scouting for new Squiver photo tour destinations. The next weeks we'll have little or no internet access, so if you send us an email, it might take a little longer than usual before we get back to you.

Travel Photographer of the Year 2010

We have been traveling in the desert of Northern Africa for the past weeks with no internet access, so we found out about this rather late: Marsel's charging lion picture was awarded in the 2010 Travel Photographer of the Year Awards. After two weeks of nothing but sand, wind and dust, and no showers, this good news got us freshened up right away.

As with most wildlife shots, there was quite a bit of luck involved to get this shot - after all, with wild animals you never know what's going to happen. Most wildlife photographers use long tele lenses to photograph potentially dangerous animals, and that is probably a wise thing to do. However, wide angle shots are often more dynamic, more in your face, so that's what Marsel wanted to try with lions. He used a radio controlled remote and shot from a handheld monopod, turned upside down, without getting out of the car. It's Marsel's secret (well, not anymore) technique to get low level perspective shots with wide angle lenses, while remaining flexible and without running the risk of getting eaten. This male lion did not appreciate the clicks coming from the grass very much, and decided to charge the D3. As often with lions, it was just a mock charge, but we got a few stains in our pants nonetheless...

This image is available as a fine art print. If you're interested, have a look at the Store page on our website or contact us if you have a specific size in mind.

Snow monkey commercial GE used as example

Getty Images is using the Snow Monkey commercial as a good example of how stock footage can be used in a commercial.

GE partnered with agency BBDO New York to create their “Snow Monkeys” ad, which advertises their GeoSpring water heater. BBDO used 17 footage clips in the spot, which has been praised by industry leaders and PETA, for the commercial’s humane use of stock footage instead of animal “actors.” Click on the image to view the commercial, with footage shot during our Japan White & Wild photo tour, which is coming up in February again. Want to join us and see them for yourself?

Zambia 2011 fully booked

It's still far away, but our Beyond the Great Rivers tour in Zambia for next year is already fully booked. We're planning to have the dates for 2012 online somewhere during the spring of 2011. For those who didn't manage to get a spot - we'll keep you posted.

Merry Christmas, merry snow monkeys

The Christmas edition of UK magazine Digital Photo features four of Marsel's snow monkey images from Japan. Apart from the often published 'snow ball' image, the double page spread also features three images that were taken on this year's Japan tour. Download the PDF here.

If you would like to photograph these fascinating animals yourself, as well as Japanese cranes, Stellar sea eagles, white-tailed eagles and whooper swans, there are only three openings left on the 2011 White & Wild Japan tour that takes place in February. Book now or click here for more information.