Another fantastic trip to the vast wilderness of Alaska in the books! I’m grateful for everyone who came along to join me in Katmai this year – we were treated to some phenomenal opportunities! In my fourth decade of visiting Alaska, and I still come away with new shots. The salmon were packed in so tight that you could walk across the water on their backs, and the bears were especially active and playful. Over the past few years I’ve come to recognize certain individual bears here based on the techniques they employ to capture salmon as well as their personalities, and in some cases even their unique faces.
Enjoy the images, and tune in next week for more details on this location in the new episode of “Where’s Art?”!
These trips are so popular that we’re already taking sign-ups for three trips here next year – sign up now to reserve your spot, these ones will fill up!
When lining up a background for a subject, make sure to give it a clean background to create a more graphic image. In this example I am trying to shoot a Chinstrap penguin in Antarctica where the snowy backdrop isn’t working to make the white belly of my subject pop.
The cool waters of Glacier Bay rain from the tail of a mighty humpback whale, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
Save 20% on any Leviathan print purchased this month. This Limited Edition print is printed on EPSON Metallic Luster paper using archival EPSON Ultrachrome inks. After each print is approved, it is then titled, numbered and signed by Art. Only 150 of each size will be made. Get more information about our Fine Art prints here.
July wrapped up with a trip to northern Canada; more specifically the Nunavik region of Quebec. We went in search of tundra wolves, however the changes in the environment and local wildlife meant there were none to be found.
Fortunately this is such a unique part of the world that other opportunities presented themselves. A family of foxes made themselves available for our group, and I was pleased we were able to spend a couple days photographing the musk ox that roam the landscape. They were on my list already as a subject I intended to capture for an upcoming book project, so it was a great opportunity to save myself a future trip. Lemons to lemonade!
I just returned home to Seattle from a quick trip north to the 55th parallel – Nunavik, Canada to be a little more exact! While we found lots of wolf sign in the area, actual sightings were not to be, unfortunately. We opted for muskox, red fox . . . and mosquitoes. This land is mostly flat and covered in large, flat rounded rocks from the glaciers that covered the area. The glaciers also carved out a land of many small lakes, which in turn adds to the insect population in the area.
Fortunately using bug spray and head nets, we had all the proper protection from the insects. It always pays to be prepared and to do your research on a location. In this case our preparation made the situation more than manageable.
Today I am headed back north to Katmai National Park for a couple weeks. Not a bad life! I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I’d love to hear about the kinds of things my readers are up to, so please feel free to leave a comment below. I’m busy and on the go so while I can’t respond to everyone, I do make an effort to keep my finger on the pulse of what everyone is up to!
In this video shot on location in New Zealand, Art discusses the equipment used to compliment ideal overcast lighting to take photos in a forest of trees, moss, and lichens. The overcast lighting provides the perfect opportunity to capture the many layered textures of the forest without the distracting shadows and highlights of sunny direct lighting that can often hide or blow out the fine details.
Along with the overcast lighting, a longer lens to focus on areas of interest, and a shutter release with tripod to minimize movement, Art is able to capture the immense detail of the thick verdant forest.
It’s officially summer, the perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and beautiful public lands that make my home state of Washington such a remarkable place to live, work, and play.
As the Honorary Chair for an environment nonprofit working to protect wild places here in Washington State, I am delighted to give local photographers tips and info for Washington Wild’s summer photo contest.
Here are some photography tips in support of a wild & green Washington!
First – as the saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you! Take your camera out while hiking, climbing, and exploring – to capture the beauty of Washington’s stunning landscapes. Here are a few of my favorite tips to keep in mind when shooting outside:
Learn about the place you are visiting, but don’t be wedded to preconceived notions of what to photograph.
“Think small”, because even in the worst conditions you can still photograph a macro.
Try a tripod even though it adds bulk. It forces you to slow down and be more critical about your subject. It also allows for longer exposures.
Don’t be discouraged by bad weather. Overcast days make for richer colors, and fog and weather can add depth to the atmosphere and create unique opportunities to capture that rare once in a lifetime image!
Take a lot of photos, especially while photographing animals. You can cull similar or unsuccessful shots later, but you don’t want to leave any successful ones in the field!
Ready to go?! Snap away and send your best shots of Washington’s public lands and wild places to Washington Wild by August 7th!
Art Wolfe, Inc. and Rotella Gallery are proud sponsors of Unity at the Bemis, a juried art show running August 4th through the 6th at the Bemis Building in SoDo. I’ll have a number of works hanging at the show, and it’s just blocks away from the Seattle Art Fair happening concurrently at Centurylink Field.
The goal of this event will be to raise at least $25,000 to raise awareness for Seattle’s homeless community through Facing Homelessness. I’d be grateful to anyone able to make it to this great cause and support both local artists and the local homeless community!
Episode 4 of Where’s Art is here! This one is a little longer than previous installments, with more insight and photographs from my most recent trip to Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. I’ve been coming here for so long that it’s difficult to pare down my thoughts on this location and the way it feels to be back. Glacier Bay is a trip I look forward to making every year – so much so that we plan them well in advance. Click here for more information on how you can join me on my next trip here in 2018.
In case you missed them, you can check out all of the episodes of this segment so far on the Where’s Art section of my multimedia page. We have some exciting new ideas in store for this segment in the future!
On the very first day of the second leg of my Glacier Bay journey, we were able to capture some terrific shots of humpback whales. They bubblenetted and surfaced, spraying water and herring – then they all disappeared. Luckily there were very busy orca in the vicinity, rafts of sea otters, and a cacophony of sea lions. What a spectacular part of the world!
This is a trip I do every year without fail. I have been coming here since the late 1970s and have never been disappointed. Join me in 2018 on the Alaska Story yacht! Space is extremely limited, so consider reserving your spot now.
Episode 4 of Where’s Art is here! This one is a little longer than previous installments, with more insight and photographs from my most recent trip to Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. I’ve been coming here for so long that it’s difficult to pare down my thoughts on this location and the way it feels to be back. Glacier Bay is a trip I look forward to making every year – so much so that we plan them well in advance. 
