Happy Friday! The Grand Teton workshop is a wrap & it was fantastic, to say the least. Never before have we had such great luck with finding wildlife, bears in particular. We were blessed by the presence of Grizzly 610 and her three second-year cubs. Not only is 610 a hero mother, she is a tough survivor—in early October she was struck by a car, but came out of it OK. Born in 2006, She is a famous bear with her own Instagram and X accounts with thousands of followers (including me). Bison abounded, moose were off foraging in the lakes and willow thickets, and birdlife was all aflutter. Of course, the landscapes were breathtaking, with robust fall color.
All-in-all, a fantastic workshop full of variety and most importantly, great company. Check out what’s coming up this spring and take a trip with us!
A while back I went to Thailand in hopes of capturing the millions of bats that erupt from caves every evening, forming an hour-long stream of the furry fliers. My goal was to capture sharp images of plentiful bats to form patterns, and with the latest camera technology – mission accomplished. I can’t wait to see these printed in WILD LIVES, which releases in just about a month – preorder your copy today!
It’s another WILD Wednesday! Wild Lives will be published on November 28th, and there’s still plenty of time to pre-order your signed copy. Until the book’s release, we’ll be celebrating Wild every Wednesday with new behind-the-scenes footage and stories.
This week, I’m highlighting the location where the cover of Wild was captured – Katmai, Alaska. I lead tours in this location annually, and yet I always manage to come away with something different! It’s been an incredible experience to have been coming here for so long and seeing recognizable juvenile bears mature into adults and have cubs of their own. It should be noted that much of this video was shot on an iphone in 4K and is cropped in a bit making the animals appear quite close. Always keep a safe distance between yourself and any large animal! Even in the dramatic cover of Wild Lives, where my demise looks imminent, I’m a comfortable distance away shooting with a telephoto lens, and this bear is focused on charging for fish – not hunting photographers!
Books arrive next month – time to do some arm-stretches before the signing begins!
Welcome to the first of several WILD Wednesdays. Each Wednesday up until the official publishing date of Wild Lives on November 28th, I’ll be previewing the book with some behind-the-scenes footage from a handful of the many locations I visited to capture images for this massive, beautiful book – and I can’t wait to share it with everyone!
This week I’m sharing footage captured in Ladakh, India where we set about locating the elusive, legendary snow leopard. While there are some easier ways to capture this cunning cat, I wanted to ensure the photos I captured were indeed ‘wild’, and not an opportunity I would be sharing with numerous other tourists and photographers. This meant shooting from a distance. Fortunately the latest lens, software, and printing technology allowed for the creation of sharp images that both emphasized these great cats as well as their place in the rocky environments where they hunt.
Enjoy the video and tune in next Wednesday for more behind the scenes of Wild Lives. For fans of Tequila Time and Earth Is Our Witness, Parimal and myself have a special episode of Earth Is Our Witness in store for you as well! While you’re here, don’t forget to pre-order your signed copy!
I arrived home from my most recent trip this past Sunday and received an incredible birthday gift from friend and colleague Frans Lanting – the beautifully packaged and presented Collector’s Edition of Bay of Life, Frans & Chris Eckstrom’s epic book chronicling the rejuvenation of California’s Monterey Bay.
An area ravaged by rampant utilization by man during the gold rush which stripped the area of life and resources, Bay of Life documents the resilience of nature and the ways in which like-minded people can come together to help restore an ecosystem to not only a state of recovery, but one in which it thrives.
This message of hope and rejuvenation speaks directly to me. If you’ve caught any of my recent talks regarding my own projects, you’ll know the emphasis I put on describing how wildlife populations in many areas are beginning to recover after an initial decrease due to the influence and reach of man.
Though our climate situation remains dire, nature’s ability to rejuvenate when coupled with human awareness, consideration, and conservation efforts is remarkable. This book project not only documents this significant symbiosis between nature and man – it also helps educate and fund future endeavors to protect this beautiful habitat via the Bay of Life Project.
I arrived home from my most recent trip this past Sunday and received an incredible birthday gift from friend and colleague Frans Lanting – the beautifully packaged and presented Collector’s Edition of Bay of Life, Frans & Chris Eckstrom’s epic book chronicling the rejuvenation of California’s Monterey Bay.
