Checking in from the banks of the Chobe River in Botswana.
We had an excellent day today photographing from a boat. We did a lot of work on elephant and hippo, managing to get really close and then were lucky enough to see a leopardess and her cubs come down to drink in the middle of the day – very rare sighting. We got some great shots of the sunset with elephants that I had been visualizing since arrival and I actually pulled it off!
We have been “roughing it” at Sanctuary Retreat “camps” in both Zambia and Botswana and they have really looked after us well.
The first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace,” Wangari Maathai passed away on Sunday.
Her Green Belt Movement founded in 1977 has planted more than 30 million and helped nearly 900,000 women gain jobs.
With Green Seattle Partnership she helped plant trees and inspired everyone around her during her visit to Washington in 2009.
I am so excited to be on this trip! The wildlife viewing in Zambia’s Luangwa Valley is tremendous. We saw giraffe and baboon, as well as the colorful bee-eaters which make their nests in cliffsides. The leopard we saw had killed a big female impala and the ungulate was too big for the cat to stow in a tree. So instead, she buried it, which is highly unusual.
Later in the day we came upon a lioness with a wire snare embedded in her neck. Luckily we were able to call the local lion research team who responded quickly because they happened to be in a nearby part of the park. We waited with the lion until they arrived. They then darted the snared female and we helped with the processing of data and removal of snare. I got to be right in the middle of the action and hit these shots as things got a little tense as the lioness’ temperature spiked. We took all the ice from our cooler box and pushed it against her back to keep her temperature from getting critical–I shot this moment from above.
Sometimes a landscape can be so interesting and new, one can forget how to capture it most effectively. Art discusses how a wide angle lens gave him the perfect composition in the surreal Pancake Rocks of New Zealand.
The workshops I lead in the Olympic National Park always seem to bring out the best in everyone at all skill levels. The late summer fires in Washington make for breathtaking sunrises and sunsets. But it’s always the details that are the most interesting: backlit seaweed clinging to rocks battered by the surf.
We’ll be posting a gallery of workshop participants’ photos soon so watch for it!
I turn 60 today. As you can see, I have much monkeying around to do.
If you know me, then you know there is a lot of life left in the tank and I intend to fully use it all. It just keeps getting better.
It is a day of celebration for me and I want to thank everyone for their warm wishes, cards, flowers, support and thoughts. I have so many good friends.
Thank you so much!
(If you know who took this picture using Art’s camera, please let us know. You were on the China Photo Workshop this year.)
This Saturday is the grand re-opening of the beautiful Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.
This is the world’s biggest dam removal, and one of biggest and most significant river restoration efforts. We will see a river coming back to life, with great benefits for salmon runs, the tribe and community. The lessons we learn on the Elwha can inspire other river restoration efforts around the country.
>>CLICK HERE for more info on the Elwha Dam removal project
>>CLICK HERE for an interesting back story on Senator Bill Bradley and the Elwha
I just finished a workshop with PODAS (PhaseOne Digital Artists Series). Washington’s wheat growing belt, the Palouse, is a dynamic landscape shaped by both nature and man. Up early and late to bed make for a tired but satisfied photographer. This landscape holds so much drama as the light changes. Fun to meet everyone and hang out with friends Michael, Jeff, Mark, Kevin and Murray. What a great program.
