Art Wolfe’s The Compelling Image contest has run over four different chapters in the past year, and the final deadline for Chapter IV will close on November 13.
There’s still time to present your wildlife, nature and landscape work, and to win a prize package that includes a DSLR camera, a $250 Amazon gift card, a $100 B&H gift card, a signed Art Wolfe photo book, a PHOTO+ membership package, and prominent placement in the Winners’ Gallery on Shutterlove.com. All honorable mentions will also be featured in the Shutterlove gallery.
In the evocative spirit of conservation and appreciation, the above image, “Dawn of a New Day” by Long Nguyen, was selected as an Honorable Mention in Chapter II of The Compelling Image.
Need inspiration? Check out the previous winners and honorable mentions here.
Opening today on the 2nd Floor the National Museum of Natural History Presents the Annual Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards Exhibition.
Within a 4,000 square foot exhibition hall, 60 large-format prints are displayed—some at nearly life-sized proportions—with two accompanying HD videos. Museum visitors are taken along on a virtual global safari and are introduced to the image-makers and their stories from behind the camera lens.
Art is featured as the Photographer of the Year in recognition of his extraordinary body of
work over the past 40 years and the contributions he has made to natural history awareness. “Photographers everywhere are making a difference in the way we see the world and our place in it,” says Wolfe. “Never stop looking: no matter where you are,
there are good photographs to be made.”
Art will be doing a book signing of Earth Is My Witness on November 13, as well as attending the awards presentations that night.
July 1 to October 1 found me photographing landscapes & wildlife near and far: caribou in Svalbard, Norway; a hummingbird nest in my own backyard in Seattle; brown bears in Alaska; Canon Beach, Oregon; Palouse wheatfields and the sleeping volcano of Mt. Rainier in Washington State; wildlife in Kenya, Uganda, and the Surma people of Ethiopia.
***For an updated list of gear I currently use, check out my Gear Page!***
This is a question I get asked all the time, “What sort of equipment do you use?” The answer is usually less than you would expect. In general I shoot with Canon’s 5DS R and 1Dx cameras. For my new Human Canvas photos I am using a Leica S. Digital technology has far surpassed what film was ever capable of and has completely changed the game for what one can shoot in the field.
Where ISO 50 was the norm with film, I am shooting into the 1000s without reservations now. The ability to confirm “you got it” immediately after the shot, zooming in to ensure critical focus, evaluating the histogram for exposure, means that today I shoot far less than I would have in the past. I can shoot half a dozen frames, know I got what I wanted and move on. With slides I may have shot a couple of roles of a single subject before I was satisfied that at least one of the images in the batch would satisfy me later – and later could be several months before I knew what I had.
I have shot the majority of my images with just two lenses over the last few years. Both are “L” series lenses, Canon’s professional designation, the 16-35 f/2.8 L II and the 70-200 f/4 L IS. I’ll use extension tubes for macro work with the 70-200 and add in a 1.4x extender for additional reach when I need it as well. These are my workhorses and they are always in my bag regardless of where I’m headed.
While I may have dismissed the middle range in the past, more and more I am finding myself reaching for a 24-105 f/4 L IS. It is a great walk around lens for shooting in crowded markets, portraits, architecture
On occasion I’ll pack a long lens. Years ago I loved my Nikkor 200-400mm lens for wildlife work; now I use the Canon 200-400 1/4 L IS USM Extender 1/4x.
I’ll also bring a fish eye lens, the 15mm f2.8, for special effects, just to mix things up a bit – but it’s not a lens I would rely on daily by any means.
In addition, I carry a light weight, sturdy carbon fiber tripod. I like Gitzo’s GT3542XLS Carbon Fiber Tripod. They make a fine product and it is light enough that I won’t hesitate to bring it wherever I’m going. I am using a Kirk BH-1 ballhead mounted to a flat plate (no center column). Here is an important tip about tripods – purchase a tripod that is just a little too heavy and you won’t use it. Purchase one with a wobbly center column and you’re better off without it. So spend a little more money up front and you won’t have to do it again for many years. Mirror lock up and a cable release are also a part of the stabilization equation.
Then there are the miscellaneous bits and pieces. An intervelometer for shooting long exposures and stars, circular polarizers for all lenses, a couple of 2-stop, hard step graduated neutral density filters, extra batteries for the camera and intervelometer, hex wrenches, lens cleaning cloths, and of course, a couple of portable hard drives, extra memory cards, and a MacBook Pro. I pack all of this in a Tamrac Anvil 27 bag- simple, lightweight, and effective for me to travel the world.
Join Art for a critique class at the gorgeous Rotella Gallery in SOHO. Whether you’re an emerging photographer, an aspiring pro about to knock on the editor’s door, a mid-career shooter in search of tactical insight for advancing in business, or simply a keen amateur wanting to become as good as you can, this very special photography course opportunity is one you won’t want to miss. Space is limited.
Don’t miss the opportunity to photograph with a master in one of the most beautiful and abstract regions in the United States.
Art Wolfe is leading a three day workshop which includes a full day tour of four different remote canyons with a Navajo guide. Art and his assistant Gavriel Jecan will work closely with all of the participants in the field, provide classroom lectures, and a classroom critique. This workshop is limited to 8 participants so this will be an intimate experience that will not only yield many beautiful photographs but also memories to cherish for a lifetime.
If you would like to attend the Page, Arizona workshop, we would like to offer you free admission in the Tempe, Arizona Art of Composition seminar that will take place on October 12th. Just use the coupon code “awblogaz” on the Art Wolfe Store. (You must have both the Workshop and the Seminar in your cart for the discount to appear.)
I make my office staff very happy when I photograph in a new location. For the last few days of this journey in Africa, we traveled in the Simien Mountains in the Ethiopian Highlands, filming the highly endangered gelada or bleeding-heart baboon. They live in an extraordinary landscape with other fabled creatures such as the lammergeier or bearded vulture.
