Before heading off to Cuba a few weeks ago, I shot some aerials over southern Florida. Freshwater issues abound in this state. How do you accommodate an increasing and thirsty population and a thriving and powerful agricultural industry while protecting water quality and the fragile ecosystem of the Everglades, as well as other increasingly endangered wild areas of the state?
You won’t win if you don’t play!
The 2016 Art Wolfe Next-Generation Photographers Grant is now taking applications from professional nature photographers in the early stages of their careers. Recipients will be selected on the basis of skill, artistic excellence and by demonstrating the promise of future achievement.
The deadline for submissions is Thursday, March 31st.
From July 31 to August 6, 2016, seven successful applicants will attend a six-day workshop at a remote lodge in Katmai, Alaska, photographing the spectacular wildlife and rugged landscape.
https://events.artwolfe.com/event/2016-art-wolfe-next-generation-photographers-grant/
If you are into gritty abstracts like I am, you would love the ancient layers on the walls of Havana. I’ve spent 40 years photographing professionally around the world, evolving both my style and subjects. If you know me, you know how much I dislike being pigeonholed as a fur and feathers guy. Don’t get me wrong; I love photographing wildlife, but delving deep into my art history background has challenged me intellectually and helped me maintain enthusiasm and creativity for the medium. Getting in close to humanity’s coarse and granular surfaces creates photographic art on a different level.
My first trip to Cuba was in 2001, and the U.S. State Department tried to fine me and the group I was with for supposedly traveling there illegally. Now, President Obama is visiting the country. How times have changed! With it comes the good and the bad, but it’s always fascinating to see a country starting to open up.
In April I will be releasing my 99th published work, Migrations: Wildlife in Motion. Inspired by the imaginative spatial designs of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, I traveled the globe in search of similar patterns in nature. The result is a book of remarkable wildlife images that captures both the beauty and the poignancy of animals on the move. Migrations: Wildlife in Motion (Earth Aware Editions, April 6, 2016, $35 hardcover) draws the reader into the energy, motion, and enduring spirit of life on the planet. The stunning images capture the delicate balance of our ecosystem, conveying the primordial stirrings that prompt a flock of snow geese to head south, monarch butterflies to bejewel a forest, or a colony of Indiana bats to snuggle in tight hibernation.
I am very excited about this release and loved working once again with Earth Aware/Insight Editions – their printing is always top quality.
The new book will be available for purchase and signing at this event, and is also available for pre-order on our online store. I hope to see you there!
What: I will be signing books and giving a short presentation about Migrations
Where: University Bookstore
4326 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
206.634.3400
When: Monday, March 21 at 7pm
Read incredible stories of near misses from photographers Mike Arzt, Don Smith, and Paul Moon, as well as an account by yours truly of a run-in with an Indian Rhinoceros while working on The Living Wild.
Reflections often offer perfectly symmetrical compositions. Shot on Location in the Pantanal, Brazil.
Want more composition tips? I am offering several more composition tips through my Photography as Art seminars this year throughout the U.S.
In April I will be releasing my 99th published work, Migrations: Wildlife in Motion. Inspired by the imaginative spatial designs of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, I traveled the globe in search of similar patterns in nature. The result is a book of remarkable wildlife images that captures both the beauty and the poignancy of animals on the move. Migrations: Wildlife in Motion (Earth Aware Editions, April 6, 2016, $35 hardcover) draws the reader into the energy, motion, and enduring spirit of life on the planet. The stunning images capture the delicate balance of our ecosystem, conveying the primordial stirrings that prompt a flock of snow geese to head south, monarch butterflies to bejewel a forest, or a colony of Indiana bats to snuggle in tight hibernation.
Kenya, Japan, South George Island, Trinidad, the Canadian Arctic, and the Ozarks are among the locations that create the backdrop for dramatic artistry showcasing “classic migrators,” the beauty of their trek, the splendor of the patterns they create, and the cycles they are compelled to repeat.
I am very excited about this release and loved working again with Earth Aware/Insight Editions– their printing is always top quality.
Book Launch Event! I will be signing books and giving a short presentation about Migrations.
When: 7pm, Monday, March 21st
Where: University Bookstore
4326 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105
10. Art is a great teacher!
9. You didn’t go to art school or you need an entertaining refresher course.
8. Your creativity needs a boost.
7. You’re tired of shooting the same photos as other photographers.
6. Learn the visual relationships that make great art.
5. Create a vision that is uniquely yours.
4. Redefine your photography; go from documentary to artistry.
3. Learn to let go and break through your mental barriers.
2. Grasp the purpose behind your art.
1. Don’t rely on the moment to capture you; create intentional art no matter where you are.
“Photography as Art” is a groundbreaking new seminar Art Wolfe has created for individuals who want to spark their imagination and discover how to make artistic statements through photography. The all-day seminar encourages creative professionals to see and make art in exciting new ways.
With art history as a reference point, participants explore avenues to maintain inspiration, foster their own personal style, and distinguish their photography from others. They will deepen their understanding of how to translate conceptual ideas into creative results, get tips on spotting the non-obvious, and learn innovative ways to free their visual imagination. A booklet with seminar highlights makes a valuable go-to resource long after the event has ended.
“Today’s seminar at Kenmore camera was amazing…I have always been drawn to photos of patterns and lines in nature and architecture and love to find the abstractions found in old, weathered wood and metals. This seminar was spot on in confirming the beauty that can be found anywhere if we keep our eyes open to the smaller details and view them from a different perspective. I was fascinated by the relationships in your work to the masters and examples you presented. I am excited to bring this to my own photographs. Thank you for offering this for those of us who have just begun to focus our own camera lens into this wonderful world!”
—Janice G.
Some of you who attended my Photography as Art seminar on Sunday may recognize a few of these photos I took last week on the California coast. I work on my presentations up to the very last moment and then some, getting them to where I want them to be. Not only is this a stunningly beautiful location on the central coast, but it is a goldmine of photographic opportunities, large and small.
Photography as Art Seminar New Locations!
artwolfe.com/create
