A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of welcoming a team from Epson to the studio for a behind-the-scenes shoot as part of an upcoming marketing campaign. It was a fun and energetic day, with cameras capturing the workflow, the environment, and the small details that make the studio tick. Having an outside team document the process offered a fresh perspective on the work that happens here every day.
During the visit, my long-time photo editor teamed up with Epson’s long-time marketing manager of professional imaging to review a selection of images from the studio. Together they carefully chose the photographs they felt would best showcase the qualities of Epson Hot Press Bright Paper. The process sparked plenty of great conversation about tonal depth, texture, and the subtle details that come alive when the right image meets the right paper.
We thought it would be fun to share the fruits of that collaboration with you. There’s always something special about seeing photographs move from screen to print, and it’s especially rewarding when the results are this beautiful. No matter how many times it happens, there’s still a bit of excitement in holding a finished print and appreciating the craftsmanship that brings an image fully to life.
February in Japan has quietly become a bit of a tradition for me. I keep telling myself I’ll skip a year, and somehow I end up back there again with a camera in hand. The snow monkeys are the main reason. Watching them soak in steaming hot springs while snow falls around them is one of those scenes that never loses its appeal. Pink faces, white snow, and rising steam create images that practically compose themselves. The monkeys are wonderfully expressive and endlessly entertaining to photograph.
From there we head north to Hokkaido. In Kushiro Shitsugen National Park the red crowned cranes gather across the winter fields and wetlands. At sunrise they bow, leap, and call to one another in slow, deliberate movements. Mist and soft golden light fill the landscape and every moment feels carefully choreographed. It is quiet, beautiful, and incredibly rewarding for photographers.
Nearby we spend time with whooper swans drifting across icy lakes and wetlands. Their bright white feathers and long necks create elegant shapes on the water, and the reflections can be spectacular in calm conditions. It is one of those locations where every direction offers a new composition.
Then we travel to the Shiretoko Peninsula where the drift ice brings in one of the most impressive birds in the world, the Steller’s sea eagle. These birds are enormous, powerful, and unforgettable to watch in flight. From the boat we photograph them soaring, circling, and diving down to the ice to grab fish. It is dramatic wildlife photography at its finest.
Japan is an incredibly welcoming and beautiful country to explore, and it is a place I return to again and again. This November I will be leading another journey in Kyoto during the height of autumn color. Temples, gardens, and vibrant foliage make it one of the most visually stunning seasons in Japan and a wonderful place to explore with a camera.
We have Epson in the studio today for a behind-the-scenes shoot, which is always fun. We have a great relationship with their team. People sometimes assume the hard part is getting the shot. That’s only half of it. If the print doesn’t hold the depth, subtle color shifts, and fine detail I saw in the field, then the photograph isn’t finished. That’s why I’ve worked so closely with Epson for years. Their printers and archival inks let us reproduce the full tonal range with rich blacks, delicate highlights, and those nuanced colors that can easily get lost.
In the studio, every print is proofed, adjusted, and inspected. I want someone standing in front of a finished piece to feel like they’ve stepped into the landscape with me. Epson’s large-format printers and fine art papers give us that level of control and consistency, print after print.
I’ve always believed the print is the final expression of a photograph. It’s not just ink on paper but the culmination of the entire journey, from fieldwork to darkroom to wall. Working with partners who care about craftsmanship as much as I do makes that possible.
While you’re here, check out my video with Richard Young where we printed photographs from New Zealand. Gavriel and I will be joining Richard to lead a tour through New Zealand’s falls season which takes place in just a couple months, when many of us will be ushering in the spring. Space still remains on this trip, and participants will receive a 16×20 fine art print to celebrate this collaboration with Epson!
In January we had a terrific safari in the Serengeti. We were lucky to be in a less-visited area of wide-open plains scattered with granite hills–classic scenes of East Africa. It is on these exact rocky outcrops where the action lies, for leopards and lions lie up here, awaiting you to discover them in the early mornings. And when you do find them, it is the quintessential African scene, large cats poised on the precipice of rocky outcrops overlooking open plains. It is Africa defined and it is photographic heaven.
Then we moved on to the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti to witness the wildebeest calving season. More than half a million wildebeests converge here to give birth, flooding the landscape with life and attracting a full cast of predators in their wake. Mixed in with the activity of the big cats are elephants, giraffe, zebras, and hyenas. We were able to travel where there was more wildlife and fewer vehicles, a rare luxury for any wildlife experience in East Africa today.
If you’re interested in joining me on my next great adventure, I’ve got a couple fantastic trips coming up, including a return to New Zealand for what is their fall color season at the end of April. My last trip there was fantastic and with fall weather and autumn hues, this one is sure to check a lot of boxes for myself and our participants!
In December 2025 a good friend and I ventured into the waters around Papua New Guinea and also took a foray inland to photograph colorful tribes.
In places like Stetin Bay, the water is remarkably clear, revealing steep reef walls, sponges, and schools of barracuda cruising past. The biodiversity is staggering. Coral gardens here are largely untouched, bursting with healthy hard corals and clouds of small fish.
After a lifetime spent chasing light across the globe, I’ve come to appreciate something surprising: some of the most meaningful photographic experiences are waiting right here at home. The U.S. still finds ways to catch me off guard, and I’m always looking for fresh ways to see familiar places. Over the coming year, I’ll be returning to a small collection of landscapes I know deeply. Each one offering its own creative challenges, rewards, and of course excellent company.
We’ll begin in Katmai, Alaska, where only two spots remain for what is, quite simply, the ultimate bear experience. Massive coastal brown bears, intimate encounters, and constant photographic opportunity make this trip raw, exhilarating, and unforgettable. If one thing nudges you toward Katmai, let it be this: there is nothing else quite like it. Closer to home, the Olympic Peninsula delivers lush rainforests, wild coastline, and gentle spring light that invitesslow, thoughtful composition. Mount Rainier is all about scale and atmosphere and is an ideal classroom for refining your approach to foregrounds and dramatic landscapes. In the Columbia River Gorge, we’ll turn toward abstraction, focusing on motion, color, and form. That creative thread continues in Astoria, Oregon, a playful mix of fog, boats, bridges, textures, and graphic surprises. This trip always sells out quickly, and with just two spots left, now’s the time to claim yours.
For those looking to travel outside the U.S., there are two standout international journeys coming up as well. In Morocco, we’ll explore dramatic desert landscapes, and vibrant markets. It’s an endlessly rich mix of culture, color, and texture that feels both exotic and welcoming. Later in the season, New Zealand offers a completely different experience: autumn color across the South Island, with glacier-carved peaks, misty fiords, and some of the most photogenic landscapes on the planet. As with all these trips, the focus goes beyond destination. it’s about learning how to see, sharing the experience with curious and passionate photographers, and creating in an environment where the pressure is low and the inspiration is high. Wherever you choose to join us, I hope to see you out there in the field!
Recently, Seattle lost one of its greats. Ann Wyckoff passed away at the remarkable age of 98, and it’s hard not to smile when thinking about the life she lived. Ann had a deep love for adventure and an unmistakable verve for life that she passed on to her children and everyone lucky enough to know her.
I crossed paths with her family in 1980 when I climbed Kilimanjaro with her daughter Martha. A few years later, in 1984, Ann joined our Ultima Thule Everest Expedition, spending a week with us in Lhasa, Tibet. The food there was pretty awful, but Ann had thoughtfully brought along a stash of pickled vegetables. They were fantastic, and somehow perfectly summed her up: prepared and generous. Funny what sticks with you after all these years, isn’t it? She will be deeply missed.
I’m excited to be the Keynote speaker for this year’s Nepal Spine Foundation fundraiser! This event will take place at the beautiful and exclusive Rainer Club in downtown Seattle on February 7th.
The Nepal Spine Foundation Fundraising Dinner and Auction supports our mission to advance spine care and neurosurgical education in Nepal through our partnership with Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.
I’ll be giving a keynote speech that includes a slide show of recent work, and I’ll be joined by renowned alpinist and featured guest Graham Zimmerman.
Kick off the evening with a relaxed cocktail hour where you can grab a drink, enjoy appetizers, and catch up with friends while browsing our silent auction and Wine Toss. Afterward, you’ll move into the Cutter Room for a seated dinner created by the Rainier Club chef, with flavors inspired by traditional Nepali cuisine. It’s a great chance to settle in, enjoy something truly special, and soak in the atmosphere—VIP tables will be right up front for the night’s program.
The main event brings it all together with a warm welcome from the Nepal Spine Foundation’s co-founders, live traditional music from local Nepalese performers, and of course, Graham and myself.
Whether you come as part of a table or snag an individual seat, it’s shaping up to be an inspiring, fun, and meaningful night. Tables and individual tickets are available, along with sponsorship opportunities for those who want to support the cause even more.
As the year draws to a close, I want to wish you warm holiday greetings from all of us at the Art Wolfe office. This has been a remarkable year of photography, shared moments, and creative discovery in some extraordinary places around the world. I recently posted my gallery of images from a wild 2026 that began amongst tens of millions of pilgrims at Kumbh Mela, took me through Saudi Arabia and the rainforests of Peru, and began winding down with nothing less than my first trip to Egypt.
I’m deeply grateful to those of you who have traveled with us time and again, and equally excited about the new friendships formed along the way. Thank you for trusting us to guide you, support you, and challenge the way you see photography. I look forward to continuing the journey together and to welcoming both familiar faces and new friends in the year ahead.
In 2025, my travels took me across an extraordinary range of landscapes, cultures, and wildlife. India opened the year with unforgettable moments in Bandhavgarh National Park photographing tigers and birds, followed by the immense spectacle of the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj and the timeless atmosphere of Varanasi. Japan offered a dramatic contrast, from snow macaques in Nagano to the iconic red crowned cranes of Hokkaido. Along the way I explored cultural traditions in Saudi Arabia and Bhutan, and worked with form, texture, and color while photographing landscapes, culture, and abstracts in Vietnam.
Closer to home, I spent time in Oregon focusing on natural patterns and abstractions, and in Hawaii documenting the powerful Halema‘uma‘u eruption at Kilauea. Other highlights included the Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier Bay, and Katmai in Alaska, as well as California’s Elkhorn Slough and the landscapes around Durango, Colorado. In Peru, encounters with spider monkeys, caiman, and giant otters made for remarkable wildlife experiences. The year concluded in Southeast Asia with Thailand’s Taoist Nine Gods Festival and the luminous Festival of Lights in Bangladesh.
Thank you to everyone who joined me on tours and events throughout the year. Your enthusiasm and curiosity made these journeys even more rewarding. I hope you will consider joining me in the field again in 2026 for another year of exploration and photography!
I’m excited to be the Keynote speaker for this year’s 
