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.
Photographer William Neill is now in the final design stages of his amazing new book release, “Photographer, A Retrospective”. I have seen the layout and it is going to be a beauty! In a week, he must have all the final book drafts in place and will be closing down all pre-orders and the benefits they bring. If you want to take advantage of this pre-order, you need to act now!
Pre-Order Benefits:
Collectors cover
Your name printed within the book
Special editions with original signed prints
Slipcase versions
Reduced pricing
Advance delivery by months
Click here for more information on the book and how to pre-order it!
Many people believe that great photographic images are composed in a flash of inspiration; an epiphany that presents itself fully-formed, ready to be mined by the artist there to capture it. This can and does happen, yet most of the time we fumbled towards a great shot, refining the composition with each exposure.
Such is the case with one of my favorite images, featured in this video. For Technique Tuesday, hear me pull back the layers of the many elements I navigated through to get the final shot.
What a great week in Alaska’s Glacier Bay. I’ve been coming here for four decades now, and it seems every visit provides an abundance of new opportunities to capture. The humpback whales were lively, and the bald eagles couldn’t have put on a better display for us to photograph.
If you’re interested in joining me on my next adventure, check out my workshops happening in the near future. In just over a week I’ll be off to northern Canada seeking the legendary tundra wolf, and this fall I’ll be hosting an intimate photography retreat on the Olympic Peninsula where we will photograph the Quinault Rainforest. Space is limited, so sign up before we are sold out!
I hope everyone is having a great summer so far, and enjoy the photos!
CreativeLive is having a special VIP sale through July 9th. Get 50% off any class, mine included using promo code VIPArWolfe! This exclusive sale is only available through CreativeLive instructors, so don’t miss this chance to save. Check out the vast library of topics from renowned instructors here, and get started on your next creative venture!
Take a virtual journey and check out a few of my favorites taken between April 1st and June 30th! It’s been a busy but productive few months that has offered a variety of opportunities. Locations include: Central Africa (photographing those vast herds of elephants seems so long ago!), Washington’s Olympic Peninsula & San Juan Island, Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge, and California’s Point Reyes National Seashore.
Harsh, direct lighting is not always the best option for shooting. However if you pick your battles, you can turn it into an advantage in creating unique imagery. Shot on location in Bolivia Art points his camera directly at the sun and uses a cactus to shield his lens, capturing effective rim lighting.
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. 
