You may have guessed that I LIKE BEARS! I have been photographing Alaska’s bears since the early 1980s and I feel this is the best photograph of a brown bear I have ever taken – and that’s just not the adrenaline talking!
When you visit a location as often I have, you begin to recognize the ‘locals’, and I have a history with this bear. She’s a young female I’ve photographed in years past, catching fish like none other. This year she had two cubs demanding her attention and was still the best. As the male bears splashed and thrashed at fish, she was like an efficient machine; feeding her cubs was her prime objective. I knew exactly what she would do and focused on her.
Limited to an edition of 100, #1 is a glorious 40 x 53″, very nearly life size! Be the first to own this archival print and 10% of the retail will be donated in your name to the University of Washington’s Center of Conservation Biology (they’re the scientists who do significant work in the DNA tracking of poached endangered species!).
Come for me but stay for all things photography! This is Kenmore Camera’s biggest event of the year and there is fantastic line-up of world-class photographers across many genres coming to share their knowledge and inspire you.
The industry’s leading manufacturers will show their latest gear and answer your questions. There will be plenty of deals on cameras, lenses, tripods, bags, lighting, memory and more.
Golden leaves, golden light, and golden waves–it’s fall in the Pacific Northwest. Just before the winter rains set in I led workshops in Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks. I exhorted my students to put on their Elliot Porter caps and head into the woods. The evergreens provided a lush backdrop for the colorful maples and alders and we were able to spend hours soaking in the sun (who would have thought at this time year!) and playing with light on the coast.
Time is running out to receive exclusive bonuses with your purchase of TREES: Between Earth and Heaven! Pre-order before the 29th for these additons to what is a gorgeous and comprehensive book of many of the world’s great trees. Each copy sold benefits Roots of Peace, so not only will you get a beautifully printed book singed by yours truly along with an 8 x 10″ print, personally packaged with care by my staff – you’ll also be supporting the great cause of creating sustainable, vibrant flora world-wide.
This excerpt is from “Photographs from the Edge”, which not only details the stories behind some of my most well-known captures from across the globe and throughout my career, but is also filled with tips and tricks and equipment information.
August 1988: “Rising Mist”, Alaska Range, Denali National Park, Alaska USA Nikon F3, Nikkor 200-400mm f/5.6 lens, f/8 for 1/250 sec., Kodachrome 64
The nature of the photo: Mountains are well known for their fast rising and falling air along their slopes. Glider pilots in mountainous areas will fly right at a mountain side when the thermals are right, then catch a fast moving ride going up with the air. They often describe this as running and jumping onto an elevator that is already moving upward.
Years ago I was working on a book entitled Alakshak, The Great Country, a Sierra Club book about Alaska. I spent a lot of time crisscrossing Alaska gathering photos for it. As part of this journey, I wanted to get some aerial shots of mountains in the Alaska Range. So I found myself in a small plane above the mountains working in the hours between 11 pm through 1 am.
In the summer, this is a key time because the light is most dramatic then. During summer solstice in Alaska, most of the day is bright sunshine and you only have a few hours of twilight with bold light and color. I was using the shortest hours of the day to capture the most radical light.
In this image, the light of the sun on the Arctic horizon illuminating a few misty cloud sweeping up a slope at around 18,000 feet. While I like this image and I have long loved photographing mountains, it is not the photo itself that brings back memories of this moment. This was shot over 25 years ago, and I remember it all these years later because of the absolute turbulence that our plane would encounter as the plane would fly long the lip of the ridge.
I fly a lot, and I have been on planes around the world in some very remote locations. However, I’m not a happy camper when the plane drops 20 feet in an instant as it was doing here. I can often circle in ever tighter circles around the subject with my mind so focused on the shooting that being scared is not part of the equation. However, when a plane is dropping and rising with the thermals like this, it is uncomfortable at best and frightening usually.
I remember spot metering the brightest part of the frame which was simply the wispy cloud. I compensated for the brightness by exposing to make that cloud bright with detail. By contrast then the surrounding mountains and distant valley remain fairly dark by comparison. This shot shows off the ephemeral nature of clouds and light. Within seconds of shooting this, the sun dropped below the horizon, and the entire moment was gone in an instant.
Photo tip: Spot metering can be a helpful technique when the light is dramatic and you have to be sure you get the brightness values right. In this shot, spot metering determined the exposure for the bright cloud, but that would have meant the clouds were dark and the rest of the scene even darker. That exposure has to be adjusted to make the clouds bright, not dark, by adding exposure to what the meter shows.
For this and many, many more stories behind some of the most notable photographs from a lifetime of world travel, pick up “Photographs From the Edge“ today and make a note at checkout that you’d like me to sign it!
From Katmai National Park in Alaska to Maasai Mara Reserve in Kenya; from the Canadian Arctic, with it’s icy waters, to the smoke and steam of Hawaii and it’s volcanic activity – I’ve quite literally crisscrossed the globe more than once in the third quarter of 2018. I truly feel much of this is some of my best work to date, and it’s going to make the selection process for upcoming book projects a difficult one! I hope you enjoy the photos – leave a comment below if you have any favorites! As always, just about any image you can find on the site can be purchased as a print – just let us know what you’re looking for!
Limited space is still available in my India Holi Festival & Tigers Photographic Journey happening this March! This is sure to be an amazing trip, encompassing a wide variety of subjects from the people and culture to the wildlife and landscapes. Here are 10 reasons why you should join us on this adventure:
The People
Indians are a warm, kind, beautiful people! It is a large country with a lot of diversity in its population.
2. The Markets
We will be visiting a variety of markets in Delhi, each with their own specialty and traditions. All make for great photo opportunities.
3. Holi Festival
The Holi Festival, or “Festival of Colors” as some have come to call it, is a spring-time festival celebrated by Hindus annually – but has spread to other nations and cultures as well as a celebration of life, love, and the idea of good conquering evil. Not only does it mark the end of winter and the arrival of spring, but it signifies a time to reconnect with loved ones and appreciate the simple things in life. The kaleidoscope of colors and bustle of activity makes for excellent opportunities to capture the joy of this culture and it’s people.
4. The Ganges
The Ganges, or Ganga, is the holiest river in the world. It runs from the northern Himalaya all the way to the Bay of Bengal. But it is much more than just a river to the one billion Hindus. They believe it transports prayers to heaven and that a dip in the river purifies the soul.
5. Ranthambhore National Park
With an area of 400 sq. km encompassing rocky hill crests which descend to open valleys between the Aravalli and Vindhya ranges, dotted with water pools and fruit trees, this park gets its name from the thousand year old fortress, which looms above the forest. Ranthambore is a very special and unusual area where a natural present meets a historical past.
It is also well known for the diurnal activity of the sixth reason to travel with me to India:
6. Tigers
Tiger safaris traditionally take place at dawn and dusk when the big cats are on the move, sometimes hunting. Naturalist guides use their hearing rather than their site to initially find tigers: when chital and monkeys sense a tiger approaching they give a distinctive warning call that alerts the wildlife (and our guides) to the tiger’s approximate location.
7. The Chaos
Learning to embrace the chaos is an important part of any trip to India. Learning to relax and be at peace with all your senses being overloaded will give you a much greater understanding of the culture.
8. Spirituality
India is home to all of the major religions of the world and is the birthplace of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Observing people engaging in their rituals is a profoundly intimate experience.
9. The History
Home to the world’s oldest civilization, the religion, culture and architecture of India have evolved under multiple influences creating a visual feast.
10. Adventure
Early in my career people told me not to bother going to India – they said it had nothing to offer and I should focus elsewhere. So for over a decade that’s what I did. Worst advice ever! Once I finally saw India with my own eyes—I’ve been back just about every year since and I’ve still just scratched the surface of it’s beautiful, complex and wonderful variety of culture, nature, landscape and wildlife.
What are you waiting for? Sign up to guarantee your spot to travel with me to one of the great and historic regions of the world!
On October 29th Trees: Between Earth & Heaven will be published. Thank you so much to everyone whom has already pre-ordered the book – I can’t wait to hear what you think! I have a feeling you’ll love it as much as I do – the early production copy I’ve reviewed is printed beautifully and I couldn’t be happier with the way it’s turned out.
There is still time to pre-order the book and receive the bonuses offered through my online store. If you’re looking for a thoughtful, meaningful holiday gift – look no further! Not only do I anticipate this book to bring awareness to trees world-wide, Roots of Peace will plant trees for every copy sold!
Pre-ordering Trees: Between Earth & Heaven will not only get you a signed copy of the book, but an 8×10 print as well!
What’s become an annual trip to Namibia was particularly great this year, with different views of Sossusvlei, great wildlife views in Etosha National Park, and fun with abstracts at an old diamond-mining ghost town slowly being inundated with sand. The quiver tree forest was spectacular too, though the moon was full when we were there which somewhat inhibited photographing the Milky Way at night. I also came away with some great new elephant shots for the upcoming book project. Enjoy!
I am leading another Namibia tour in August 2020. You can get on the preregistration list now to be the first notified when trip details are posted. This trip will sell out, don’t miss out!
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Created by Congress in 1968, (Public Law 90-542; 16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.), it aims to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act safeguards the special character of these rivers, while also recognizing the potential for their appropriate use and development. It encourages river management that crosses political boundaries and promotes public participation in developing goals for river protection.
For more information including how to locate a local protected river, check out the National Parks page on the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.
