New USA Workshops with Art Wolfe

Composing Effective Images – FIELD EDITION
2-Day Workshop with Art Wolfe & Jay Goodrich
Seattle – October 20-21, 2012
Welcome Reception at Art’s House on October 19th – 6pm to 8pm. Light appetizers.

We have modified this class to offer more of what people want. We are now including a FIELD session in this class. We are packing so much into this class, that Art will actually begin his first lecture at the opening reception in his home on Friday night. This class is available only in Seattle, WA.

Whether hosting PBS series, Travels To The Edge, publishing a book, or conducting a seminar or field workshop, my focus remains the same: “Engage, inspire and reveal a new vision of the world around us”.

>>REGISTER!

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
OCTOBER 26-28, 2012
(3 day Workshop)
Led by Art Wolfe
$2000
Join Art Wolfe for fall colors in the Great Smoky
Mountains. Based out of Asheville, NC, we explore
with field sessions in this incredible National Park.
Art’s finer points of maximizing early morning and
late afternoon light at this unique time of year will
yield great images and inspiration for your work.
The best way to learn photography, is in the field,
one-on-one with an experienced instructor.

BISHOP, CA
NOVEMBER 16-18, 2012
(3 day Workshop)
Led by Art Wolfe
$2000
Join Art Wolfe as we explore Owens Valley. The
Light is exquisite this time of year. We will take
field sessions to the beautiful surroundings of
Bishop. Art’s finer points of maximizing light
will be discussed in the classroom and in the field.
Critiques will be part of the learning process, too.
The best way to learn photography, is in the field,
one-on-one with an experienced instructor.

PALM SPRINGS, CA
NOVEMBER 30 – December 2, 2012
(3 day Workshop)
Led by Art Wolfe
$2000
Join Art Wolfe as we explore the desert that
surrounds Palm Springs. Dunes, cactus, and
wildflowers are abundant in this unusual
landscape. Art’s finer points of maximizing light
will be discussed in the classroom and in the field.
Critiques will be part of the learning process, too.
The best way to learn photography, is in the field,
one-on-one with an experienced instructor.

>>NORTH AMERICAN WORKSHOPS

mountain ridge

New International Workshops with Art Wolfe!

www.artwolfeworkshops.com

ASIA:

MYANMAR
February 4-14, 2013
(11 days/10 night Photography Expedition)
Led by Art Wolfe
$9850
Change is coming quickly to Myanmar, formerly
known as Burma. New elections have brought the
hope for democracy. Nobel peace laureate
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in parliament, and now
is the time to travel to this fascinating country!
Explore the ancient cities, Buddhist temples, and
vibrant culture of this country just opening up
to the outside world.

JAPAN
February 19 – March 1, 2013
(11 days/10 night Photography Expedition)
Led by Art Wolfe
$9800
The image many of us have of Japan is
congested and kinetic. But, Japan has a wild
side. Beyond its crowded cities, the country
delivers quiet unexpected natural beauty.
Join this photographic pilgrimage to the iconic
red-crested cranes in the north, the macque
snow monkeys in the south, and the sacred
temples of Mt. Fuli and Kyosan.

SOUTHERN AFRICA:

THE VERY BEST OF NAMIBIA – THE LAND OF ENDLESS HORIZONS
4th September 2013 and finishes on 14th September 2013, starting and ending in Windhoek, Namibia.
>>MORE INFO

“BIG CATS AND ELEPHANTS UP CLOSE” WITH ART WOLFE
15th September 2013 and finishes on 27th September 2013, starting and ending in Johannesburg, South Africa
>>MORE INFO

EUROPE:
Art of Composition Seminar
London: September 8
Cologne: September 22
Rome: October 13
>>EUROPE FALL 2012

mountain ridge

HUMAN CANVAS PROJECT

HUMAN CANVAS by Art Wolfe

www.humancanvasproject.com

We have just added “Human Canvas” to our list of offerings on the Art Wolfe Website.

The Human Canvas Project is an elevated new work from Art Wolfe. For several years now Art has been working on nude figure studies inspired by his lifelong work with indigenous cultures. This work combines the beauty of nature’s creation of the human form together with an artist’s expression of graphic elements drawn from 30 years of photographing nature and cultures throughout the world.

The collector’s edition book HUMAN CANVAS is the triumphant culmination of this project & it is now available for pre-order. This 13×15 inch monograph is presented in a custom cloth wrapped clamshell. Included with the book is an 11×14 inch collectors edition print signed by Art Wolfe. For all pre-sale purchasers, you can choose two prints. Only one print will accompany the book once it is for public sale.

Limited edition prints are also available on the website.

See the article in Black & White magazine, available on newsstands on July 24th.

mountain ridge

Masters of Nature Photography

www.MastersofNaturePhotography.com

Join three nature photography masters, Frans Lanting, Thomas D. Mangelsen, and Art Wolfe, for a unique weekend of photographic inspiration

LOS ANGELES, CA, July 18, 2012.  For the first time ever, three of the world’s most renowned nature photographers–Frans Lanting, Thomas D. Mangelsen, and Art Wolfe–are teaming up to present a series of unique weekend events that will change the way you look at photography and what you can do with your own camera.

Frans, Tom, and Art will draw from their wide-ranging experience with subjects and locations around the world to inspire attendees, show them new ways to see, give them tools to create more compelling images, and empower them to use photography to benefit conservation causes and other personal interests.  Presentations from each photographer will be mixed with panel discussions, Q & A sessions, and reviews of images submitted by attendees.  Photo industry expert Patrick Donehue will share strategies used by successful photographers to get the attention of editors, art directors, and other photo buyers.

The first Masters of Nature Photography Seminar will be held Friday November 9 through Sunday November 11, 2012, in San Francisco at the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel.  For more info or to register, please visit www.MastersofNaturePhotography.com.

About Frans Lanting

Frans Lanting has been hailed as one of the great photographers of our time.  His influential work appears in books, magazines, and exhibitions around the world.  The recipient of many honors, Lanting has been commissioned frequently by National Geographic, where he served as a Photographer-in-Residence.  His mission is to create leverage for conservation efforts and to promote understanding about the Earth through images that convey a passion for nature and a sense of wonder about our living planet.  For more, visit www.lanting.com.

About Thomas D. Mangelsen

Thomas D. Mangelsen’s limited edition prints have been collected by more people than have those of any other living nature photographer.  His images are known for their exquisite composition and for conveying a strong sense of place and a keen understanding of animal behavior.  Sensitivity to his subjects and reverence for their surroundings is a defining mark of his work.  Mangelsen has received many awards for his photographic and conservation work and has been profiled frequently on television.  For more, visit www.mangelsen.com.

About Art Wolfe

For four decades, Art Wolfe has worked on every continent, in hundreds of locations, and on a wide array of projects.  His unique approach to photography is based on his training in the arts and his advocacy for the environment and indigenous cultures.  Wolfe has published more than 80 books and is the recipient of numerous awards.  His work has also been featured in traveling exhibits, galleries, and the award-winning television series “Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge.” For more, visit www.artwolfe.com.

For press and sponsorship inquiries, contact Brandon Kirk:  Brandon@MastersofNaturePhotography.com

mountain ridge

On Location: Brazil’s Pantanal II

<!–<!–
BLOG: Buraco das Araras – Images by Art Wolfe

Our fantastic trip is drawing to a close, ending at the Buraco das Araras or the “Hole of the Macaws.”

mountain ridge

2013 Weingarten Calendars are in!

<!–<!–
2013 – Images by Art Wolfe

Perennial favorites, the oversized European calendars are in! Mountains, The Art of Camouflage, and Wolves–it’s like buying a folio of thirteen prints for a fraction of the price!

mountain ridge

On Location: Brazil’s Pantanal

<!–<!–
BLOG: New Pantanal Wildlife – Images by Art Wolfe

Our guides promised jaguars & they delivered, along with macaws, toucans, and giant otters!

mountain ridge

New Photographic Tours from Art’s Recommended Guides

Long-time Art Wolfe associates Jay Goodrich and Gavriel Jecan have just posted a terrific selection of tours starting in August & running through next summer:

USA, including Mt. Rainier, Colorado, Hawaii & Utah: http://artwolfeworkshops.com/n_american.php

International, including Vietnam, Bhutan, and Bali: http://artwolfeworkshops.com/international.php

About Gavriel & Jay: http://artwolfeworkshops.com/instructors.php

mountain ridge

Ask Art – Photographing Stars

Dear Art Wolfe – I have long admired your images of stars and star trails and have tried in vane to take some images like this myself but just can’t seem to figure it out. Can you share some of your secrets?
Chris B.
Nebraska

Chris – I’d be happy to and it’s really not a big secret. When you are photographing stars and star trails at night, first figure out which type of composition you are looking to create – pin points of star light or the long streaks of star trails.

For pin points, set your shutter speed to 30 seconds, any longer and the points of light start to become ovals and the image takes on a blurry look-especially if you are including the Milky Way. Set your lens to it’s widest aperture, ISO 1600 or higher and expose. Noise in an image is most prevalent in the darkest areas, in photographing stars you will have a lot of deep dark areas between the stars so turn on your long exposure noise reduction to help minimize what gets transmitted to the image.

If you are shooting star trails, the elongated streaks of light that arc across the image, you will need much longer exposures than 30 seconds, namely 10 minutes on up to several hours, just exactly how long depends on the focal length of your lens and the effect you wish to create. Just as longer telephoto lenses will “magnify” movement, such as camera shake when you are trying to hand hold your camera, the longer the lens the less exposure time needed before you start to see effective star trails. Essentially the telephoto lens is zooming in making small things larger, so in as little as 5 minutes of exposure a 400 mm lens will yield short but definite star trails. With a wide angle lens, say 16 mm, you will need at least 30 minutes of exposure before you will begin to see decent star trails in your final image. For arcs of light that traverse the majority of the night sky you are generally looking at exposures of 2-5 hours.

In the days of slide film you would simply leave your shutter open for the entire exposure using the bulb setting to manually open and close the shutter and your wristwatch to time the event. However in the age of digital you can not leave the shutter open for that long without risk of damaging the sensor and an ever increasing build up of noise in the image. Rather than exposing for 2 hours straight, you shoot 240 thirty second exposures (to equal 2 hours) and then later “stack” them using any variety of software tools such as Adobe Photoshop or Imagestacker.

So how do you take 240 pictures over the course of a couple of hours? You could sit there with your cable release and click the button every 30 seconds, and if you only ever plan on trying this once perhaps that’s what you would do. However if this is something you would truly like to explore (and you won’t “get it” just trying it once) you should invest in a cable release called an Intervolemeter. This is essentially a computer that allows you to program the camera to shoot those 240, thirty-second exposures through the night while you get a little bit of sleep before setting up for the next shot.

The most important part of shooting stars is to pay just as much attention to what is on the ground as to what is in the sky. You will want to incorporate some interesting elements from the landscape around you, mountain peaks protruding into the sky, whole trees or tree branches, rock formations, saguaro cactus, etc… you need to tell the complete story so the viewer can appreciate not only the stars but where you were when you created such a striking image.

When including the foreground elements you have several choices as to how to handle them. First you can allow them to be silhouettes by simply photographing the scene after the sun has set using their forms as artistic elements in the image – this is perhaps the easiest and most common approach. The second approach is to begin creating your photograph prior to the setting of the sun, at dusk. Capture your lower foreground elements in an image at sunset and then leave the camera undisturbed on the tripod. Once the sun has completely gone and you are ready to shoot the star trails as before. Later in post processing when you are stacking your images together you will have the dimly lit view of the landscape to include in your overall composition. Now is this cheating? No. This is simply the same technique I have used for years with slide film when I would create a dual exposure on the same slide, one at sunset followed by a several hour exposure later in the night without moving the camera. Stacking is simply how you achieve the same result in the digital age due to the delicate sensor.

The last technique I have used involves artificially lighting the foreground elements in your landscape. Using a light source such as a flashlight, powerful search light or even a flash unit you can manually paint light over the foreground images during your 30 second exposures. It takes practice to go over the foreground elements just right, if you pass over an area too many times you will create a hot spot, miss an area and it will be dark, but when all you have is a flashlight to “paint with” there is nothing to tell you where you’ve been and where you have yet to go. So practice with this and over time you will be pleased with what you are able to paint in the dark. Here in the northwest snow camping is a popular winter time activity and lights inside of your tent or igloo make for wonderful glowing foreground elements in these compositions.

When shooting star trails you have two basic choices for where to point the camera. You can either create concentric circles of light around a single point in the sky by aiming at the the North Star (Polaris) for those photographing in the Northern Hemisphere, or arcs of light by pointing your camera in any other direction. Be aware of which you are choosing to compose and include your foreground elements for framing and balance accordingly. Unfortunately there is no convenient star in the southern hemisphere to point your camera directly towards so you’ll need to find that magic spot some other way.

Lastly there are some atmospheric conditions to be concerned with when photographing all night – namely condensation on the lens. I have shot start trails in many areas of the world such as the dry deserts of Utah and Namibia where condensation is not a concern but if you were to shoot them with say the sea stacks of the pacific coast you’ll be battling fogging on your lens throughout the night. One approach is to use a small battery operated fan to blow a steady wind across your lens to keep it dry. A second, perhaps easier approach, is to tape hand warmers around your lens, the kind hikers and skiers use. You’ll need several and they are only good for one night worth of shooting but they will help keep your lens warm and dry.

Lastly it goes without saying you need really dark skies. Pick a time when there is no moon or just barely a sliver and choose a location as far away and sheltered from the lights of near by cities as possible. For the pacific northwest where I live this means heading into the mountains, which make for great foreground subjects to include in the composition.

Enjoy your adventure – Art Wolfe

If you have a question for Art that you would like to see answered in an upcoming Newsletter email us putting “Ask Art” in your subject line: info@artwolfe.com

mountain ridge