My voyage carries on

Life goes on, and another year comes. As you read that, I’m (hopefully) in India, traveling for two weeks with my family. This is my first time in this part of the world, and I’m probably enjoying it.

Oh by the way… happy new year!

Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae)

I’m excited to see what 2019 has in store, with more exploration of New Zealand to start with, and then… something else. We’ll see, I have ideas but no plan so far.

I wanted to reflect on the best articles from 2018 at Eiwawar. When I look at those with the highest view counts, I noticed that, unsurprisingly, they are those which have been shared by higher profile social media pages, which have way more followers than I did.
For instance, Arctic ocean, windswept shore was shared by Biotope on Twitter. It showed you the  conditions I endured in Arctic Norway in June, with endless wind, hail and low temperatures. That was quite an adventure, but the landscapes were properly stunning, and the birds were good too.

I love Carelian Rhapsody, because this weekend with my parents around Koli showed me a bit what Finland looks like in winter, far from Helsinki. We were treated with an otherworldly sunset in a magical setting, and that’s a memory I’ve cherished dearly.

Expect the unexpected was more of an urban adventure, but besides encountering my first Great grey owl (WHAT A BIRD!), I met a lovely photographer who would become my friend, Mika. Kiitos, for this day, the stroll in Eastern Helsinki, and the morning in Nuuksio. I loved it ❤

A bit closer, Fenced thus safe: Zealandia, wild in town was an account of my adventures in this sanctuary sitting in the hills of Wellington, while I spent 3 weeks there. I gathered storytelling and photography tips in one place, in a long piece that was quite appreciated by the friends of Zealandia. I hope you like it too ^^

A Midsummer night’s dream was an original way to present pictures from Kylmäpihlaja, a tiny island in Western Finland where lots of birds nest. Expect powerful colours in this summer piece.

Common eider (Somateria mollissima)

I’ll close this list with Steam and birds. I spent a week with Heather and Roger in Rotorua, where I felt at home from the first minute. I got to experience the best this place has to offer – forget the geothermal touristic stuff, I’m talking about birds here! New Zealand scaups were my highlight, but I also spotted my first New Zealand falcon, and met bird photographer Tony Whitehead, for a splendid outing at Lake Okareka.

I wrote a series of “diary” articles, to tell you about my endeavours while I worked on more solid content. However, I feel like I can’t keep up, so I’ve scrapped the concept already.

I’m writing this article from Wanaka, on the South Island of New Zealand. I’ve been here for more than a week, waiting for my car to be repaired after the transmission failed me. I’ve had a bit of time to overhaul my website, and I’m quite happy with the result.

Please welcome samuelbloch.weebly.com, version 3.0 (maybe).

I have added more pictures in the wildlife section, which is now entirely separate from “the rest”. There are several pages, each gathering photos from a specific biome. I have also updated the Landscape page to include some images from New Zealand.

The great news is that I have finally included projects, pages dedicated to a single photography topic, with images that are not necessarily portfolio-worthy but that I still find interesting, with text explaining my approach. Check the Projects page 😉

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

I am also still selling quality prints of my pictures; check the Shop page if you want to bring the wild to your home!

By any means, have a look if you have some time, and let me know how you feel about this new version. Thanks again for your support, it’s a pleasure to share my adventures with you!

Happy 2019!