I’ve been informed that it’s World Whale Week. . . .Wow, wonderful! As much respect as I have for these amazing and unfortunately endangered creatures, it’s my own self-preservation that comes to mind when thinking about whales.
While filming Travels to the Edge, I was trying to guess at where a whale would surface next for a shot. I had the camera to my eye, prefocused, poised and ready to capture what I hoped would be a magnificent breach 100 yards off the bow – only to have the whale come up right next to the boat, spouting mere feel from me!
It scared me so much I screamed, and the footage from the film crew was rendered unusable as what came out of my mouth next was not suitable for the PBS audience.
Over the years I’ve had many more great memories while working with whales, and looking forward to making more!
It seems as if we just turned the calendar over to 2022, and it’s already Valentine’s Day! In case you’re scrambling to find a last-minute gift idea, I’ve got a special going on my Pathways to Creativity series – dozens of hours of learning to be had as I explore my career and archive and share the secrets behind the photos with you.
Click here to learn more about Pathways, and should you decide to purchase for yourself or a loved one, use code love2learn at checkout and get 25% off. This applies to individual episodes or full seasons!
On the heels of being graciously invited to partake in the Night Photography Summit presented by B&H and National Parks at Night, I’m ecstatic to announce that Night On Earth has won gold in the PubWest Book Design Awards!
The PubWest Book Design Awards recognize superior design and outstanding production quality of books published throughout North America. A big thank you to our publishers at Insight Editions, who continue to support me and the projects I wish to bring to light.
An even bigger thank you to everyone who has purchased the book thus far. We’ve been shipping them out non-stop, not to mention the copies that have been sold at various events along the way. I love knowing that so many of you still appreciate the feel of a tangible photo book at a time when so much is online.night
You can still order your copy today – don’t forget to make a note to add a signature!
Celebrations abound for Lunar New Year among Asian cultures, with various Buddhist traditions marking the occasion. I’ve been fortunate to have experienced the festivities myself in person several times. Some fond memories:
In 2005, I visited Labrang Monastery in the Gansu province of China to witness the unfurling of a thangka – a large tapestry of painted cotton usually depicting a scene from the Buddhist belief system and way of life. The tapestry is carried by the monks up the long hill where it is unfurled and displayed above the monastery.
A few years later, I visited Bhutan and photographed the prayer flags and temple dancers that constitute a part of their lunar new year traditions. The prayer flags have come up several time in my talks and lessons, which might be an indicator of just how fascinated I was with this location. Prayers are inscribed on flags that have been erected in the loftiest, windiest heights so that the gusts turn the flags into tatters and send the prayers scattering to the heavens one fiber at a time.
Finally, in more recent years I witnessed the Setsubun Festival in Japan where elaborate costumes and traditions such as throwing packets of roasted soy beans and burning tree boughs wards off the lingering evil spirits of the previous year and bringing hope to the new one.
Happy year of the Tiger! Enjoy the image gallery above, and check out the episode of Travels to the Edge on Bhutan to learn more about this truly unique culture.
This week saw another episode of Art Wolfe LIVE! come and go. Hard to believe we’ve been doing the new format for 5 months already, but here we are! Hopefully you’ve been enjoying it, and I also hope my enthusiasm comes through each episode because I truly enjoy knowing I’m getting to connect with everyone.
It’s really hard for me to fathom how we did Tequila Time each and every week for several months. It may seem like a quick little live-stream but we try to put some thought into bringing you an interesting and informative half-hour and will continue to do so!
Catch Art Wolfe LIVE! the final Tuesday of each month at 6 pm here on the West Coast, 9 out East – subject of course to my travel schedule!
Leave a comment below if there’s a topic you’d love to see addressed on a future edition of Art Wolfe LIVE! Bonus points of it ties into current events.
I’m pleased to be joining B&H Photo Video and the National Parks At Night organization to discuss my most recent book Night On Earth in a couple weeks. How might you catch my talk and many MANY more insights into photographing between dusk and dawn? I’m glad you asked!
WHAT:
The Night Photography Summit
WHO:
More than 25 presenters teaching over 40 classes and participating in 3 panel discussions on the subject of night photography
When:
February 4 – 6, 2022 – with access for all participants to all recordings of the summit presentations through February 7, 2023!
Where:
Everything will be online – find out more information on the official Night Photo Summit Page by clicking here.
Why:
You’re a photographer of any skill level who wants to up your knowledge of shooting at night, astrophotography, and much much more!
I also have a number of new workshops being added in the coming months. It’s been tough to navigate the calendar with how fast things change in terms of COVID, but my staff is getting quite good at it and we take every precaution. We may not be able to buy happiness, but we can purchase a little peace of mind in the form of travel insurance and I highly recommend utilizing it, especially during these *deep breath* unprecedented times.
As in 2020, we did what we could to get through 2021. There was a rush to a new normal, but then a backslide. Thanks to the miracle workers at Moderna and Pfizer I was able to get back on the road, traveling for projects and teaching in-person workshops.
I began the year photographing in Kenya, taught workshops in Arizona, Utah, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Iceland, and made two trips to Mexico. The highlight of my year was photographing the Mundari cattle-herders and their royal cattle in the South Sudan. This was a trip that I had been dreaming of doing for decades and it finally came to pass.
In September Tequila Time morphed into Art Wolfe Live, a very informal monthly show on YouTube and Facebook Live riffing on current events and photo discoveries and techniques. Parimal Deshpande and I continued with Earth Is Our Witness and there are now over forty episodes featuring discussions with some of the top photographers.
After a long wait for books, Night on Earth was published by Earth Aware Editions. It garnered glowing reviews from both editorial critics and book collectors. In December I was joined by Ruskin Hartley of the International Dark-Sky Association at Town Hall Seattle for a presentation. I also wrote the foreword for Private Gardens of the Pacific Northwest.
2021 keynotes included the Outsiders Landscape Photography Conference, the North American Nature Photography Association, and the Photographic Society of America. It was a distinct honor to be the recipient of the first Fine Art in Nature Photography Award.
I was pleased to be a part of the latest Remembering Wildlife book on African wild dogs as well the We Are Puget Sound: Discovering and Recovering the Salish Sea group exhibition here in Washington.
Despite an inauspicious start I hope that 2022 brings better things. I look forward to doing international workshops that have been rescheduled from 2020 (I am eternally grateful to those who have kept their reservations), working on new book projects, and doing ever more experimentation with photography. Even after decades of shooting, it feeds my soul and is a never-ending source of happiness. I hope to see you in the field or online!
It goes without saying that the past couple of years have been difficult to say the least, but we march forward! I’m blessed in that I’m very rarely at a loss for motivation and a project to work on, but I also understand how hard it can be to get back into the groove. To that end, here are 10 random tips off the top of my head to help get your 2022 rolling if the winter months and holidays had the majority of your focus:
1. Opening with one that might be a bit personal and timely to me – but get yourself patched up and moving forward! I’m taking care of a couple minor surgeries this month. If you’ve been putting any procedures off that will see you healthier and more mobile in the field, the sooner your recovery is behind you the better!
2. Pick a fine artist or photographer you admire and who’s work you appreciate, and challenge yourself to emulate their work with your camera. Having direction and context is a great motivator!
3. Keep in mind that every photo you take needn’t be a masterpiece. For every great shot I decide to share, there are plenty more left on the hard drive. The greatest artists in the world have sketchbooks full of work no one will every see, but like anything else practice makes perfect!
4. If money is not a huge barrier for you, is it time to upgrade? Over the past two years I’ve made the switch to Canon’s mirrorless system and I’m loving it!
5. If money DOES happen to be a bit of a barrier, check your local camera stores or online services for camera gear and rent some lenses for your system that you don’t already own. Changing your perspective can be huge!
6. Make new friends! Most cities have camera clubs, or use things like the MeetUp app to locate like-minded individuals.
7. Check your local guides to parks and recreation, or take a trip a short road trip to a city or town you’re not as familiar with and do some exploring. The process of scouting locations for our workshops often give me ideas I didn’t know I was looking for.
8. Libraries are still a thing!
9. Maybe what you need to be motivated this year isn’t related to photography at all. Is there a passion from your past that you’ve back-burnered for years? Maybe it’s time to work on that novel. I recently visited the Blick art supply store here in Seattle to prepare to do some fine art painting.
10. Last but not least – tune in to Art Wolfe Live, this blog, and stay up to date on my events page – I’ll do my best to keep you motivated!
We have a number of workshops coming up – from favorites like our popular Katmai Bear tours making their return after a one-year hiatus to trips abroad in Africa, Mongolia, and more. It’s been a challenge to navigate the ever-changing travel guidelines, but I have work to do and you have places to see – join me and we will explore them together!
To ensure safety of all participants we will ask for proof of vaccination or a COVID test within 72 ours of the workshop. Safety first! As always, if you have any specific questions regarding the workshops I’m offering, head to our contact page for a number of ways to get them answered!
Here is a current list of all our upcoming workshops, excluding several that have already sold out – sign up today to ensure your spot!
I’ll be LIVE in Seattle next week for another talk at Town hall Seattle – this time discussing my new book Night On Earth – and I’m thrilled to be joined by Ruskin Hartley of the International Dark-Sky Association. Ruskin is an expert on the subject of light pollution and the efforts to preserve the deep, dark night skies that allow us to view the heavens and the trillions stars that surround us – among many other conservation efforts!
Town Hall Seattle – The Forum
1119 8th Ave (Entrance off Seneca St.)
Seattle, Washington 98101
Nighttime is wonderfully mysterious, beautiful, and full of a certain kind of energy — and most of the time, we diurnal humans sleep right through it. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could not only stay awake for it all but also peek in on what’s happening at night across the entire planet?
In his newest book, Night on Earth, acclaimed photographer Art Wolfe gives us a glimpse of nature, animals, and human activity on every continent, after the sun goes down. Blazing sunsets over Antarctic ice. Night markets pulsing with activity in Morocco. Glittering star trails over the Australian outback. Colonies of penguins awaking to the dawn. Wolfe reveals it all through a dazzling compilation of photos that Sir David Attenborough calls “…a suburb evocation of some of the most breathtaking spectacles in the world.”
Wolfe takes the Great Hall stage to present slides and share stories of his travels, the process of creating the book, and the fine art of picture-making at night.
Art Wolfe is an American photographer and conservationist, best known for color images of landscapes, wildlife, and indigenous cultures. His photographs document scenes from every continent and hundreds of locations, and have been noted by environmental advocacy groups for their stunning visual impact. Wolfe has created millions of images in his lifetime and travels nearly nine months out of the year photographing for new projects, leading photographic tours and seminars, and giving inspirational presentations.
Ruskin Hartley is the CEO and Executive Director at The International Dark-Sky Association, where he champions equitable access to dark skies and quality lighting for all through IDA’s award-winning programs. Prior to his position with IDA, Ruskin directed and managed conservation programs that protect land, water, and ocean resources. He has served as executive director of Save the Redwoods League, as president and CEO of Heal the Bay in Los Angeles, and as vice president of resource development at Fair Trade USA.
I’ve been informed that it’s World Whale Week. . . .Wow, wonderful! As much respect as I have for these amazing and unfortunately endangered creatures, it’s my own self-preservation that comes to mind when thinking about whales.
This week saw another episode of Art Wolfe LIVE! come and go. Hard to believe we’ve been doing the new format for 5 months already, but here we are! Hopefully you’ve been enjoying it, and I also hope my enthusiasm comes through each episode because I truly enjoy knowing I’m getting to connect with everyone.
