In a win for wildlife, the latest tiger census in India has seen an increase of 200 tigers from just four years ago! Launched in the early 1970s, Project Tiger relocated entire villages to open up habitat corridors for the big cats, thus minimizing conflict with humans, and giving the wildlife room to rewild the lush sal and bamboo forests and grassy meadows.
Join me in November to experience the best India has to offer: we will travel to two national parks to photograph the elusive big cats as well as barasinghas, rhinos and the massive wild water buffalos. We might even see sloth bears and leopards!
November is a time of celebration too. Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated all over the country with spectacular light displays, gift-giving, a delicious sweets. It is a time of spiritual uplift, a celebration of good over evil, and the end of the harvest season.
Red alert for fans & collectors of wildlife books! There are a couple titles that I am involved in that I want to highlight that are either being funded or published this week. While they are different in their subject matter and approach, they both deserve your consideration and support.
Remembering Wildlife is now funding Remembering Leopards, their eighth in the Remembering series which has raised over $1.3 million for wildlife conservation. My photo of a leopard is a featured print in the limited edition book, of which there will be fifty copies. The aim of the creators is to make the most beautiful book ever seen on the featured species and to use that to not only raise awareness of conservation issues but also, more importantly, to raise funds for organizations working for its protection. The Kickstarter for this book is now live. You can pre-order the book (as well as grab many other rewards) to give the producers the cashflow to make it happen!
Being published this week is author/photographer Graeme Green’s The New Big 5: A Global Photography Project for Endangered Wildlife. Over five years ago he contacted us about an idea he had about creating a new Big Five of wildlife photography. The Big Five was a term coined by game hunters and includes the African lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo. Graeme took this phrase and has turned it on its head. In his book being published on April 4th, he has brought together 165 wildlife photographers (including me) and conservationists to raise awareness of the crucial issues facing the world’s wildlife. Order your copy today!
I’m happy to have a full slate of upcoming workshops on the calendar for your perusal – from the great Smoky Mountains to here in the Northwest, abstract workshops and nature retreats abound! Sign up today, save a few hundred bucks, and I’ll see you there!
You know what I loved about this latest “Winter in Japan” workshop? The Snow! Meaning snow was falling as we photographing in various locations. It made for great conditions at the snow monkey hot springs farther north in Hokkaido. It was positively magical with the iconic Japanese cranes; the world looked like a shaken snow globe. Using a faster shutter speed really emphasizes the snowflakes. Depending on the light conditions, I was using ISOs between 2000 and 4000 with my favorite 100-500mm lens.
With my new book Wild just around the corner, I’ve been heavily focused on capturing wildlife images that I’d like to include – however it’s time to get back to another passion of mine: abstract workshops! We have a few on the upcoming calendar and these are always eye-opening experiences for the folks to attend. Not only will the exercises and lessons expand your understanding of capturing an interesting provocative abstract image, the fundamentals we discuss and experience will be another tool in your kit to think about for all future photographs.
It’s my goal to ensure you come away with applicable tactics to approach all photographic opportunities with a thoughtful, unique creative eye. Even if abstract subject matter isn’t necessarily interesting to you, the creative process of capturing them is virtually guaranteed to make you a better overall photographer. . . and who knows, you might just spark a new passion!
Check out the events page for all of my upcoming workshops – we’ve just added a couple more!
Better late than never! With international trips and holidays, not to mention wrangling photos for my upcoming book encompassing a lifetime of wildlife photography it’s taken me longer than usual to select my favorite images from the recent calendar year – but here it is! Although I’ve been shooting feverishly for new shots to include in the wildlife book, the year started off with several trips focused on another upcoming project, which is a book on international faith and spirituality. Enjoy the photos, and stay tuned for more information on Wild Lives – preorders available soon!
Book projects lead me to all parts of the world. For an upcoming volume on the varied and fascinating faiths of the world I am working on, I ventured to Bangladesh to photograph the Bishwa Ijtemi. The World Muslim Congress has been held since 1942 in Tongi and it’s the second largest Muslim congregation in the world after the Holy Hajj. 4 million – and then some – Muslims gather here for several days of activities and devotion. Everyone arrives and departs on trains in Dhaka, resulting in a crush of humanity I’ve only ever experienced in the Kumbh Mela in India.
Bangladesh is a fascinating, gritty country full of extremely friendly and welcoming people. I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people want to take selfies with me—it’s not a country that gets a lot of tourists. In Cox’s Bazar we photographed the elegant moon boats; their crescent design aids fishermen to get across sand bars to shore. On the very real side of life, we photographed vast smoldering garbage fields, dusty brick factories, and Asia’s largest shipyard. These are hard workers, who appreciate everything they have and it shows!
10. The Moab region has so much to offer and we have park permits to conduct our workshop in both Canyonlands and Arches NP’s. This is a fantastic place to capture the beautifully sculpted rock formations and stars at night!
9. Check two National Parks off your bucket list. Do you have a National Parks passport? Maybe it’s time to get one and start visiting the sites of “Americas Best Idea!”
8. Our diverse itinerary includes a variety of locations; finding abstracts in reflections along the edges of the river, some of my favorite petroglyphs and pictographs, and of course night sessions.
7. Moab is a small town that relies on tourism to fuel its needs, great food and we plan to share some fantastic meals together!
6. Critiques – what good is a workshop if you’re not there to do a little work? I’ll be giving critiques of your photos as we review them and discuss!
5. Limited to just 8 participants, this retreat is designed to combine the best aspects of a relaxing vacation, inspiring seminar, and hands-on workshop all in one exquisite trip.
4. If you’re a movie buff, this location should be on your bucket list. Movies such as Thelma and Louise and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade filmed scenes here.
3. Mid-March is the perfect time to visit, when things are warming up from the cold winter, yet haven’t reached the scorching days of summer. With a bonus of snow capped LaSal mountain peaks making a great background.
2. Of course, hands-on instruction and educational lectures. I love to teach!
1. Adventuresome learning! I work hard to make sure everyone comes away from these workshops feeling better about and more enriched by their photography skills.
Today is World Hippo Day! As the second largest land animal on earth they are a great subject to juxtapose with smaller animals, especially the birds that swing by the pools and rivers where hippos congregate by day. They almost always live in communities of a dozen or more fellow hippos so capturing a group of them at once and then picking out some unique individuals to focus on can provide a variety of photographic opportunities.
Fun fact – Hippos secrete their own natural sunscreen! They release two chemicals that when combined, help block their skin from the harmful rays of the relentless African sun. These chemicals can turn pink or red when combined, earning them the term “blood sweat”. Yummy!
The internet never forgets! It’s crazy what you can find lingering around out there – like this 1998 Article outlining many of the avenues that got me to where I am today. It’s always interesting to read these articles and be reminded of things that have long since left my daily consciousness. If you’re at all interested in my work and how I got my start, it’s still a relevant read – even if I’m still not wearing the same magnificent moustache!
Great Smoky Mountains Photography Retreat – Save $300!
Joshua Tree Workshop – Save $200!
Abstract Columbia River Gorge – Save $300!
Grand Teton Photography Retreat – Save $300!
Hidden Northwest Lake Quinault Photography Retreat – Save $300!
