In spite of the lack of snow, this was such a terrific trip to the land of polar bears, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. I first traveled there in the early 1980s and I haven’t been there since 1999 when I was photographing for my book The Living Wild. The lack of snow presented a unique opportunity to capture the bears in contrast to their surroundings.
Of course, the bears are terrific, but we were able to photograph some other wildlife as well, including a predatory little ermine in his best winter coat, a hunkered down Arctic hare, and flocks of willow ptarmigan. It was a pleasantly surprising array of wildlife, and overall a well worth while trip North!
Looking for that perfect and unique holiday gift? Fire up your lava lamps and get into the mood for some abstract expressionism! My new print catalog for Fall is now online.
See an image you like outside the catalogue? Give us a call 888.973.0011 or email info@artwolfe.com, and we can help you find the perfect image for your needs!
Take a virtual journey and check out a few of my favorites taken between July 1st and September 30th. Locations include: Alaska’s Glacier Bay and Katmai National Parks, Oregon’s town of Astoria, the Congo’s Nyirangongo Crater and Virunga National Park, Tanzania’s Katavi National Park and the annular eclipse, Washington’s San Juan Islands, and a quick trip to California’s Venice Beach and London, England.
Check out my events page and join me on an upcoming trip! A couple spots are still available for one I am particularly excited about; an adventure to mystical Myanmar in December, where I’ve collected some of my best shots of the exotic cultures and ancient ruins. Escape the cold and capture once in a lifetime images Gavriel Jecan and myself!
If you like what you see of the beautiful Alaskan wildlife and landscape, sign up for trips in 2017 to Glacier Bay and Katmai National Park.
On Wednesday, November 2nd, 6-8pm, at the Rotella Gallery in Bellevue, WA, I’ll be signing my latest book, Photographs from the Edge – a behind-the-scenes chronological guide to the experiences, decisions, and methods that helped me capture images from some of the most exciting locations across the globe. Photographs from the Edge will be available for purchase, and the gallery will also be displaying prints of iconic images from the book.
Escape the blustery winter months for a time and join myself and Gavriel Jecan for an intimate and exotic tour to Myanmar this December! From visiting the still-standing colonial downtown of Yangon, to a hot air balloon tour over historical Bagan, this tour of an exotic location is the opportunity of a lifetime for those seeking adventure in a unique and infrequently visited location. Myanmar is a location lost in time, and this is an exciting opportunity to witness the evolution of a country.
Time is running out to sign up for the few spots remaining for this small scale tour! Sign up now, and leave those wintry December blues behind and travel with me in search of sunshine and adventure in the east!
This past August, I had the honor of spending time with some very skilled and adventurous photographers on my Abstract Astoria workshop
I’m pleased to share some of the images our group photographed at this underutilized location. Thank you to the following participants for submitting their images:
Walter Duvall
Ondrea Hidley
Robert French
Steven Palmer
Patrick Plaia
Rona Zevin
Astoria, Oregon, as many may not know, was the first permanent U.S. settlement on the Pacific coast. Being located on the west coast, there are only a handful of great locations to photograph where history and time have sculpted the local aesthetic. Ancient pilings, rusty fixtures, and time-worn buildings flush with weathered detail that some may find unappealing make for deeply interesting abstracts. It’s location close to the elements of the pacific ocean only enhance these features, creating a cornucopia of visual detail that the discerning artist and photographer can’t help but appreciate. Astoria is a treasure trove of visual elements that too few photographers take advantage of.
This isn’t to say Astoria is not gorgeous; in contrast to these rusty and rustic elements, Astoria is a beautiful city, accommodating travelers with fantastic lodging and excellent dining, and I highly recommend paying it a visit!
This upcoming Sunday, I will be heading to the “Crossroads of America”, Indianapolis, to present Photography As Art in the DeBoest Lecture Hall at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. There is still time to join the seminar and spend the day with me as I discuss the many ways to use photography as an artistic medium to identify and capture the design elements in the world around us, creating visually interesting images in virtually any location.
Highly recommended! I couldn’t wait to grab my camera and try some of the techniques that Art shared today. The images we saw were stunning. Art explained a very difficult concept seemingly with ease and inspired the attendees to see photography in a different way.
Two exciting bits of news today for those of you in New York and across the pond in the U.K.!
Limited spots still remain available for my Photography As Art Seminar in New York City this Sunday. During this day-long seminar you’ll learn from my lifetime of experience and interest in treating photography as an artistic medium how to create compelling and creative shots wherever you happen to be in the world, including your own back yard. Maximizing the artistic and creative opportunities of capturing images has always been a priority in my work, and I look forward to sharing my insights and experiences with you!
I have attended several other Art Wolfe workshops in the past and have always learned something new. The Photography as Art Workshop in Denver was no different! I am by inclination a nature photographer, but Art’s presentation was much more than just nature photography. It was truly inspiring, and will have a significant impact on my photography in the future. Art’s message truly hit home for me. I would recommend the Photograph as Art Workshop to anyone with a serious interest in photography.
-Darryl D., Denver CO.
My latest book, Photographs from the Edge: A Master Photographer’s Insights on Capturing an Extraordinary Worldhas been published and is now available in the UK as of today as well! Photographs from the Edge is a lifetime of experience distilled into a rich photographic education. Many of these photographs can never be duplicated as cultures and landscapes are transformed and wildlife diminishes or disappears all together.
Have a great weekend, and I look forward to meeting everyone at my seminar in New York on Sunday!
This past Friday I headed for Custer State Park in South Dakota. I had heard about their annual buffalo (yes, we all know they are bison but it’s not called a “bison head nickel”) round-up. They have about 1200 head of wild buffalo in the park, and once a year they will round-up the herd to check their health and cull as needed depending on the state of the grasslands.
I was met by photographer, Ron Fry, a long time park volunteer and all around nice guy who gave me a tour of both viewing locations and some tips for where I might be able to get the shot I was looking for – namely a pattern of buffalo, thick with animals where one back and shoulder overlaps the next. Throw in some dust kicking up in the air and I’d be especially happy.
I was anticipating the shot – but not the sound and spectacle of the round-up itself. Some 40 men and women on horseback pushed the buffalo into a meadow before driving them to the first of two fenced areas. Out of the stampede, individuals would try and cut away – only to see a horse and rider take off at a dead run chasing them down and turning them back to the group. Constant “Whoops!”, “Yips!”, and “Yaws!” could be heard all-around the valley.
And then the whip! The crack was like a gunshot – never touching the animals, to be sure, but from behind pushing them forward into a run down the hill and into the fenced-in valley below where I was waiting along with some 10,000 others to watch the charge.
Bulls can weigh 2000 pounds, stand 6 feet tall and run up to 35 miles per hour! They are very dangerous animals and in the past have even taken down a horse and rider during this annual round up (the rider was fine though the horse did not survive). This is not a domestic cattle round up by any stretch.
Once in the larger fenced off area they were then herded to the gates of the smaller corrals where a treat of fresh hay, water and a rest lured them in. It was at that bottleneck of the second gate where I got the shot I wanted – a dense crush of buffalo where you can hardly see the ground as one back and head overlapped the next.
From South Dakota, it was then off to Colorado to present Photography As Art to an amazing and gracious crowd in Denver, but first I set my sights on Aspen for what else – Aspen trees of course! The fall colors were in full effect, and the whites, greys, yellows, and greens painted the breathtaking Colorado landscape. It was an excellent and peaceful way to end a busy weekend, and I’m especially grateful to the new friends I made on yet another adventure!
