It’s around this time annually that I assemble a collection of my most memorable images from throughout the year’s travels. Though the photos are primarily focused on the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the places I’ve been they also serve as reminders of the friends I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with and those I’ve met along the way. I look forward to sharing this collection of 2017 in review with you very soon.
My staff and I would like to wish everyone the very best this holiday season, and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. I have some exciting new projects in the works that I look forward to sharing with everyone, and I’m equally as eager to discover the new inspirations my travels and dialogues with all of you will bring me. It’s my hope that 2018 brings new perspectives and opportunities to each and every one of you as well!
“Abstract Astoria” is one of my most popular workshops, and it’s time to take it across the country! I’ve been honing my abstract workshops in conjunction with Photography As Artseminars for years, and I think Atlanta is the perfect location to take it to the next level!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
A recurring classic returns! This workshop is always a sell out, and for good reason – it’s a beautiful location, a great place to visit with great food and friendly establishments, and of course a plethora of opportunities to create stunning art. This intimate retreat always sells out early in the year, so sign up sooner than later and check out this location’s episode of Where’s Art?.
No traveler’s list of locations is complete until they’ve been to Glacier Bay. The definitive picturesque location needs to be experienced to really understand the vast beauty of this Alaskan centerpiece. Take a look at my last trip here on Where’s Art?
These workshops are sold out already, as they always do – photographers world-wide can’t get enough of the bears in this scenic landscape. Get yourself on the wait list for the first or second trip today, just in case there are any cancellations – and check out Where’s Art? while you wait!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
My last trip to Namibia was this passed September, and though the location is gaining in popularity, traveling here with someone whom has made frequent visits and knows the ins and outs of capturing the most graphic images of this striking landscape and it’s wildlife is the reason it’s already sold out! Get on the list just in case someone cancels, and check out the episode of Where’s Art? from this location!
We try to offer something unique when it comes to our trip to the big island, starting with a volcano expert and photographer friend who knows the place like the back of his hand. We’ll shoot at dawn and dusk and all hours in between to capture the shots that are anything but generic travel photos!
iDesigned for photographers by photographers, this expedition to the Falklands and South Georgia Island will be led by myself, Frans Lanting and Tom Mangelsen. We will take you to the places we love and will allow us to make the most of the southern ocean’s greatest wildlife spectacle, based on our collective experience.
Happy holidays everyone, and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Happy holidays, everyone! As some of you may already know, I’m spending the holiday season recovering from foot surgery. I have a big 2018 and beyond in store, so it became time to correct an issue that’s been worsening over time. The great news is that the procedure went as well as possible and I’m already diving back into work less than a week later.
That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed some “down” time. Shortly before returning home for surgery, I took a little trip down to Mexico after presenting Photography As Art in Dallas and Austin. Along with my good friend Sean Fitzgerald, his lovely wife Karen, and my assistant Libby we spent some time in Mexico City exploring and enjoying the food and drink and enjoying the sights and sounds. We also took a trip up to the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve to capture kaleidoscopes of these beautiful creatures.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!
It’s always my goal to explore, create, and most importantly – inspire, and I was delighted to hear Dallas Photography As Artattendee Sunhee Kim’s take-away from the seminar. Sunhee was kind enough to share some take-away from the event, as well as photos captured that very day. Both myself and my staff appreciated this eagerness to explore and recognize these fantastic images, and it really drives my point home that you truly can capture spectacular artistic photos anywhere if you change the way you see everything around you.
My name is Sunhee, and I attended your workshop in Dallas today. I chatted with you a bit near the end. I am a beginner photographer.
I had to write this email right away to express how much the workshop opened up my eyes and perspectives, even though it is getting so late. I am exhausted from the workshop and a meet up photo shooting afterwards.
I could not wait to see what I discovered during the lunch break and the meet up shooting.
First, I had a 28mm prime lens at the workshop that I did not plan to shoot much. But as I came out of the building for lunch and walked down the streets, I saw quite a bit of pattern and color on walls on the streets. Instead of having lunch, I spent an hour to take photos. Then I went home to switch to my other lens for the meet up shooting after the workshop was done.
I truly loved to see what I discovered! A whole different experience, and I really wanted to share a few of my VERY first abstract and/or impressionist photos with you. I am not sure how many professional photographers would appreciate these kinds of photos, but It amazed me that my photos seemed like a piece of a painting – art, or something unique that is different from anyone else or the many great photos one can see and run into everywhere.
Thank you SO MUCH and hopefully I can make other workshops in the near future.
Sincerely,
Sunhee
Photography As Artis coming to Seattle, Raleigh, Tampa, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and more in 2018!
Capturing brown bears in Katmai, Alaska! Though specific to this location in the video, this is a lesson and focus I employ regardless of my subject – to capture that subject within the context of the environment rather than going for the same ol’ shots. Certainly as you travel and visit recognizable locations and subjects, you should capture the shots we are accustomed to seeing – but moving a step beyond and ensuring your photos are telling the story of that subject’s place in it’s environment makes for a much more informative and lasting image. Taking the time to explore a bit and focus on wide shots where the bears are present but not necessarily the focus, or finding details of the bear’s impact on the environment without showing them directly will not only immerse your audience in the location, it will inform and inspire other shots you choose to take.
Gavriel Jecan has traveled to this location with me many times, and he’ll be leading a trip here in July – sign up today! I’m leading a couple trips here as well, but they are sold out. If you’re interested, feel free to join the wait list in case we have any cancellations.
I’ve been holding on to some episodes of Where’s Art?for the busy holiday season, and I’d like to finish rounding out my September trip to Africa with the final episode from Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia. Those of you familiar with the location know that it’s an excellent place to capture stunning images of this landscape, with sand dunes casting shadows and fading into the hazy distance. The shadows that fall from the wind-swept peaks and valleys filling the vast expanse of this region provide an opportunity to capture varying levels of the beautiful orange hues of the sand.
The dead and calcified Acacia trees as well as the angular horns of the gemsbok that populate the area are just a couple examples of how even the organic elements of the region only reinforce the graphical nature of the images one can capture here. Few places in world combine such a unique environmental aesthetic with varied wildlife and a deep local culture. Though Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei have attracted a number of tourists in recent years, this is still such a large area that it hardly impacted our group. Many of the local visitors come out for a short period of time, behold the beauty here, and move on. If you’re willing to make the effort and invest the time to being here at the margins of the day, however, you’re bound to capture some truly unique images. Enjoy!
Never discount the ability to create effective photographs during a rainy overcast day!
On my last day in Yang Shao, China we were hit with some pretty bad weather. Instead of staying in the hotel, I traveled to a view point along the Li River to shoot some limited edition, fine art black and white images. I knew from experience that images taken on a day like this could yield dreamy photos with just a basic amount of dodging and burning once converted from a color capture.
My workflow for these images was fairly simple. I created a virtual copy in Lightroom, desaturated the image by dragging the Saturation Slider to 0 and then using the Brush Tool to selectively dodge and burn areas of the sky to make the clouds pop. Then, Jay Goodrich, my co-leader on this trip, opened the images in Photoshop and added an Auto Curves adjustment layer that, to my surprise, made the images just jump off of the page. When I have more time than I do on location, I will further refine the black & white image by using NIK Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 software. This will allow me to really fine-tune the image.
I am always amazed at how many ways there are to process an image to get the results that I am looking for in my pursuit of creativity.
Great news on my evergreen TV show! The first thirteen episodes of Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge are now available to stream in the US & UK on Amazon. If you haven’t seen them before, it’s now even easier!
Check them out at an affordable price, or stream them free if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber:
Revel in the beauty of awe-inspiring landscapes and the unique animals and people that inhabit them through an artist’s lens. During these journeys, I share my knowledge, curiosity, and enthusiasm about the world around us. You will also learn professional photographic techniques in such an intimate manner that you feel as if you’re right there with me getting a personal photography lesson.
Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge was produced by Edge of the Earth Productions, LLC in association with Blue Moon Productions, Inc., presented by Oregon Public Broadcasting, and distributed by American Public Television (APT). Funding for Art Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge was generously provided by Canon U.S.A., Inc. and the Microsoft Corporation. Additional funding was provided by Conservation International.
