Scott Portelli is an international award-winning wildlife, nature and underwater photographer. He’s a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) and is regarded as a leading professional in his field. Scott has spent thousands of hours in remote locations across the globe filming and photographing nature, wildlife, the underwater environment and wild places.

Scott has spent over a decade working in the polar regions with a focus on Antarctica, the Subantarctic and Artic regions, producing a unique portfolio of fine art photography that showcases the intricate environment and its intriguing inhabitants. Working in extreme conditions, Scott’s photography provides a rarely seen glimpse above and below the surface in some of the harshest places on the planet.

As a professional nature, wildlife, underwater and aerial photographer, Scott spends a lot of time travelling the world to remote destinations in search of some of the most amazing creatures on the planet. For Scott, it is about the journey, bringing an idea to life by capturing a moment in time or by evoking an emotion. Each image has a unique story that is usually a very intimate moment that Scott may have shared with the subject.

“To create interesting concepts, it sometimes involves me immersing myself in an environment in order to research the location, subject matter and what opportunities may present themselves. I once spent two months on the back of a snow mobile in Baffin Island, Canadian Arctic in minus 37 degrees just to do a reconnaissance of the region for a series of photos I wanted to produce. In the end, I love what I do and I love sharing the natural world through photography.”

Scott was awarded at the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year in London in 2016, announced National Winner of the Sony World Photography Awards 2016 and Winner at Travel Photographer of the Year 2015. More recently, he was awarded winner in the Animal Behaviour Category at the Australian Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year ANZANG 2017, winner in the Underwater Category of the Asferico International Nature Photography Awards 2018 and runner up in the Behaviour Category at Underwater Photographer of the Year 2019. His conservation documentary also took out two awards at the prestigious French Underwater Film Festival in Marseille.

Scott's other notable awards include:

• 3^rd Prize - National Geographic Travel Photo Contest - Nature Category 2019
• Winner - 13^th Annual Black & White Spider Awards 2018
• Highly Honoured - Nature's Best, Windland Smith Rice International Awards 2018
• Winner - Sony World Photography Awards 2016

An accredited licensed RPAS/UAV Pilot, Scott has worked on aerial projects for some of Australia’s most sought-after tourism destinations.

Scott runs photography workshops and lectures to show enthusiasts and experts alike the best way to get the most out of their photography. On his Polar tours he specialises in Nature & Wildlife photography bringing the best tips and techniques for photographing in challenging locations.

Ian has worked as a wildlife filmmaker for over 30 years, mostly for the BBC Natural History Unit based in Bristol. In that time, he’s filmed on many of the big David Attenborough series such as Life In The Freezer, Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet and have won a BAFTA for Life In The Freezer and two prime time EMMYs for Blue Planet and Human Planet.

During that time, Ian has lived, worked and camped for long periods in remote wildernesses, from northern and eastern Greenland, Ellesmere Island, the Antarctic Peninsula, Siberia and the Subantarctic islands of South Georgia and Marion Island.

He’s swum with huge brown bears in British Columbia and been chased by a musk ox in Greenland. He has howled with wolves in Montana, snorkelled with thousands of sockeye salmon in the icy rivers of Alaska and walked through a mine field in Afghanistan.

Ten years ago Ian moved to Cornwall with his wife Anne and opened The Wild Studio, Cornwall where they exhibit and sell Ian’s panoramic wildlife pictures.

“I try to capture the sense of space and grandeur in a landscape and yet bring a feeling of intimacy with the wild creatures that I photograph. My films and photographs come from a lifelong love affair with the natural world. But as the wild places come under increasing threat, I’m constantly reminded how fragile nature is, and with that comes a new wonder for its ephemeral beauty which I do my best to bring to my images“.

Peter Eastway is a contemporary Australian photographer who is known internationally for his landscape and travel work. A practicing professional photographer, he shoots editorially and works selectively in advertising and family portraiture, two diverse ends of the professional sphere.

Peter has been involved in photographic magazine publishing for over 30 years, establishing his own title, Australia's Better Photography Magazine, in 1995. It is now one of Australia’s leading photography magazines.

Peter’s work has been published and exhibited internationally (USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Greece, India, New Zealand and Australia).

He was the author of the Lonely Planet’s Guide to Landscape Photography. His photography has recently featured on the cover of the Lonely Planet’s guide to Australia, in articles in the Qantas in flight magazine, and in an Apple television commercial. And he has worked with Phase One cameras, researching and promoting its high-end medium format cameras and Capture One raw processing software.

Peter Eastway is an AIPP Grand Master of Photography, a Fellow and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, and a Fellow and Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography. He won the 1996 and 1998 AIPP Australian Professional Photographer of the Year Award.

Massimo started his career as a traveller crossing the Ionian Sea, from the South of Italy to the Greek Isles by sailboat at the age of 15. That experience marked him for life. He has been crossing all the oceans on a sailboat ever since, and sometimes even solo. But the “bug” of travelling did not stop on the water. Thanks to his ocean knowledge, Massimo got a job as a fixer for National Geographic, which opened a new vision for his career path, and so he decided to become documentary photographer for the Society. In this way, his passion for human culture, history and wildlife became the reason to explore the planet. After 29 years and 83 countries explored for National Geographic, he still loves to travel and explore, even more than before. His passion for photography is the key to open connections with people and Mother Nature. Massimo loves to photograph the truth. As documentary photographer, he always tries to photograph the reality how it is.

Massimo learned from photographers, working for photographers in the field, so he loves to teach and to give back what he learned and what made him world famous. “Looking at the planet through a lens is one of the best way to travel and explore new places. Camera does not just immortalise your memories, but it also lets you immerse yourself into a situation that you would not look for,” - says Massimo.

He sets his camera carefully when on ground, dedicating the software to calibrate a photograph to print. “There is no better way than seeing your photograph printed on paper,” – he says - “put it on the wall and admire every day, bringing back memories that are unique, concentrating on those special moments of your life”.

There is no better combination for Massimo than travelling on an expedition ship, where the two sides of his life can merge. He lives between London and Vancouver but, sooner rather than later, he will move back to the Mediterranean to produce olive oil (when he’s back home from the trips) - his new passion.

Michael is a Freelance Travel Photographer and was born on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, where his love for photography and the environment was ignited at an early age. Michael has worked with a number of global clients, with his images being used in various forms of media.

Michael's love of travelling has seen him explore seven continents and over 50 countries, naturally with a camera in hand. He specialises in landscape and wildlife photography with a particular interest in photographing the Polar Regions.

Michael believes that there is no greater travel experience than exploring the remote Polar Regions, and loves getting off the beaten track with a small group of like-minded passengers aboard the Polar Pioneer. He especially enjoys sharing his passion for photography and assisting others to capture images of these incredible scenes.

Michael also has a Bachelor of Science and is a Director of one of Australia's leading Environmental Consultancies, delivering innovative and practical environmental management solutions for a wide variety of clients.

Richard is a freelance travel photographer & Canon Master who has captured incredible images of people and places around the world for more than 35 years. His work has been published worldwide in books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, calendars, posters, cards and websites; from the size of a stamp right up to a tarpaulin covering a 53-foot truck trailer!

He has also published 12 books including five editions of Lonely Planet’s Guide to Travel Photography, was featured in the television documentary Tales By Light (available on Netflix) and is a Travel Photography Scholarship Mentor for World Nomads. Richard has won numerous awards over the course of his career but is most proud of gaining a Master of Photography and one gold bar from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography.

Read more from Richard in his photography feature. 

Liz Gifford is a sea kayak guide and photography instructor in some of the most remote parts of the world. With her undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology and her Masters in Teaching, she is a natural and curious leader, always looking for an opportunity to teach and discuss what she sees around her. Most recently her “office” has included sea kayaking in Alaska and Greenland with humpback and sperm whales, teaching photography under the imposing edifice of Denali, and living her Pippi Longstocking dreams while immersed in the cultures of Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Liz has always had an affinity for living on or near water and currently calls Juneau, Alaska home where she owns a cozy houseboat named the Myriad.  She first moved to Alaska almost 20 years ago to combine her love of the outdoors with her passion for education. She enrolled at the University of Southeast Alaska and obtained her Outdoor Leadership Skills certificate. Her favorite class was by far Expedition Sea Kayaking so when offered a job with the U.S Forest Service as a wilderness ranger travelling primarily by sea kayak, she jumped at the chance. Liz spent three seasons protecting and educating visitors in the remote wildernesses of Glacier Bay National Park and Tracy Arm Wilderness Area.

Liz firmly believes in lifelong education and takes any opportunity to expand upon her skills. Most recently, Liz has been working on gaining more experience on the ocean and how to help people be safer in the outdoors. She earned her Master’s 100 Ton Captain’s license and is a Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician. Liz is certified through the American Canoe Association to be a sea kayak instructor and has taught  kayak courses for the National Park Service. All of these certifications have helped her as a “bi-polar” guide in the Antarctic and the Arctic waters. She has been a sea kayaking and photography guide on small tourists ships that ply the remote ice filled waters of Svalbard, Greenland and Shackleton’s South Georgia. This will be her eighth season in Antarctica and as a photographer she is always inspired to photograph ice. She loves the impermanence of each piece, knowing it is only a small matter of time before it melts and changes. Each excursion out into the ice is like a visit to a new and pristine sculpture gallery. Antarctica is like the holy grail for a photographer.

When she is not guiding, you can find Liz with a cup of coffee in one hand and her camera in the other. She pre-apologises for all of the puns and bad jokes she can’t help but share. It is a genetic fault which she blames entirely on her dad. Most importantly, Liz loves exploring wild places, especially in the company of amazing individuals who also feel compelled to visit them.