Not only did Michael Franz’s dream of meeting Art Wolfe come true last year,
Michael also landed the cover of TIME magazine March 17, 2014 with a brilliant 360 gigapixel image from the top of 1 World Trade Center.
Michael talks about his journey . . . .
“Gifts can have an unforgettable impact on a person’s life, like the 35mm camera given to me by my older brother. With a fascination of art from a young age, I would feverishly work through sketchbooks drawing everything imaginable, spending hours trying to replicate what I saw in real life on a piece of paper. I also carried that first camera with me everywhere and treasured the thought of getting that one perfect shot so people could see what I see.
After becoming a father in 2000, time constraints had me step away from art and photography to focus on family. It was in 2007 that I saw my first episode of Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. After seeing one episode, I was so inspired and said – ‘that’s it’, I have to follow my passion of photography and art again.
My photography experience includes magazine editorial photography, commercial construction photography, portraits, landscapes, fine art and gigapixel photography. As an expert in shooting gigapixel panoramas using GigaPan technology, I capture hundreds of thousands of images and combine them into a single, high-resolution image to digitally explore, pan, zoom and share. During my career at GigaPan, I have conducted seminars and workshops, trained top photographers, and developed tutorial videos and webinars. To this day, I still carry my camera everywhere, prepared to capture the next great shot.”
Show others what you find remarkable in the world & you could win big:
A DSLR camera
$250 prepaid Amazon gift-card card
A $100 B&H gift card
A signed Art Wolfe photography book
A Photo Group Membership Package (worth $125)
Prominent placement in the winners gallery
There have been a couple late cancellations on Denis Glennon’s superb trips to Svalbard this fall and he has shared a new 2015 trip to Namibia. I have traveled to Namibia w/ Denis and can heartily recommend it.
Need something awesome to do this weekend? Will you be in the Pacific Northwest?
For those who associate Art Wolfe solely with nature photography, be prepared for a startling revelation.
Drawing from 36 years of international travel, Art will delve into a vast range of subjects; from discovering the subject to elements of design and even new works such as time lapses. Imagery of nature, wildlife, and the world’s varied landscapes will round out the curriculum to provide the most comprehensive and imaginative class available.
EXPLORE CREATE INSPIRE
Saturday April 26th
Art of Composition – Portland, OR
Mount Hood Community College
10am-4pm
Register HERE
Sunday April 27th
Art of Composition – Seattle, WA
Kenmore Camera
10am-4pm
Register HERE
I have this great fondness for Mount Rainier. It is the landscape that I grew up with and the view of it southeast of Seattle inspires me to this day. It is hard to miss—an unbelievable landscape rising abruptly from sea level to 14,000 feet. This shining, white mountain has always loomed above and beyond Seattle, both unsettling in its latent volcanic power and awesome in its beauty.
It was the allure of the mountain that got me to Mount Rainier early in my life. I’ve climbed the mountain several times over the years, but I visit at least a couple times a year to photograph its magnificence and get grounded. I’m motivated to inspire people—to uplift people—and I find mountain imagery does that. I also love to turn people on to things that have excited me in the past; with Mount Rainier it is very easy to do.
From any different angle Mount Rainier presents a perfect and amazing landscape. I love that fact that it is often shrouded in mist, and as the day changes the mountain just comes out of nowhere. The mists themselves are great subjects as moisture and light and hidden forests give rise to clearing skies. It is a subject that is never boring and often entertaining.
In mid-August monkey flowers are flourishing along the small streams that come down from the snow fields above. There’s western anemone, lupine, beautiful paintbrush, and asters. As you are fully engaged photographing the details of the landscapes you’re likely to see animals pop up as it is an environment that is rich for wildlife. There are foxes that live up in there as well as black bears; mountain goats often come off the barren slopes and cross the mountain valleys. Martens, marmots, jays, squirrels, chipmunks and pikas are all up there waiting to be discovered.
Down in the old growth forests a whole new range of subjects reveal themselves—from the beautiful details of the old growth trees to the fungus that start to come out in the early fall to the beautiful oak ferns, oxalis and hellebore. If we are lucky we may see some forest animals as well. Ptarmigan and grouse make that zone home, but deer pass through the forests as well as spotted owls, barred owls, and calliope hummingbirds. It’s all part of the experience of photographing in what is a rich, accessible environment.
I always look forward to returning to Mount Rainier, and I definitely love to share it with people who have never been.
Art Wolfe Rainier Workshop August 22-24, 2014
Click HERE for all the information or to register
