It was quite the whirlwind: swapping stories at a private luncheon with UW President Ana Mari Cauce, then a magnificent awards ceremony in Meany Hall where so many talented people were honored for achievements in their various fields, and finally a delicious dinner for all the awardees at the Conibear Shellhouse with Husky Clipper shell of the 1936 Olympic Champions hanging above us. It was extraordinary! Thank you to the UW Alumni Association, everyone who gave their support and attended the ceremony, and to my dates Helen Cherullo and Gregory Green.
One of the early pages of my latest book Wild Lives features the very first wildlife photo I ever captured – a moose in British Columbia. Not the most stellar photo in the world, but significant in that it was the start of quite a journey that I am still on today.
I just received quite the surprise gift in the mail from my good friend, incredible author and fellow Photographer Rob Sheppard – a nice note with this “incredible” shot, along with the same style Kodak Brownie Fiesta Camera that I shot it with. Talk about a blast from the past! These cameras were manufactured in the 1960’s, and you could own one for the reasonable cost of $5.95! If you were exceptionally thrifty, 15 cans worth of soup labels sent to Campbells at the time would also suffice!
What was your first camera and the subject that set you on your photography path? Leave a comment below!
The Carmel coast in California is a captivating blend of rugged natural beauty and abundant wildlife, making it a haven for photographers. This coastal landscape offers the rocky cliffs and pristine beaches you’d expect, with seals, sea lions, otters and shore birds animating the landscape. When I’m here, I’m keeping an eye out for the abstract opportunities reflected upon the water, and familiar forms on oxidized rocks and minerals.
Variety is an important factor when I’m picking out workshop locations. Many of my personal trips in specific for book projects have me making a long trip just hoping to capture a few iconic shots of a certain species, event, or culture. When I have the opportunity to lead a workshop, variety is a huge factor in determining how frequently we might revisit a location. The Carmel coast has variety in spades as described above, but also the many forests, redwoods, and other inland sights within striking distance.
Needless to say, this is also a top-tier location for enjoying wine and food with good company as well. Looking forward to the next visit!
This weekend kicks off a worthwhile campaign: 100 For the Ocean! 100 photographers and artists, myself included, have donated images help raise $1M to support the conservation of our oceans.
You can download the catalog here to check out all the images. Sales will begin at 12:01am EST/9:01pm PST/8am UK. These prints encompass amazing ocean-related images and begin at just $100. This is an incredible opportunity to own a conversation piece and support a worthwhile cause that benefits everyone on our planet.
For more information visit their website. If you’re just not in the market for new decor, spread the word on social media for a great cause!
Wolfe follows in the footsteps UW grads Dale Chihuly, Imogen Cunningham, and Chuck Close
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA, MAY 30, 2024 — Art Wolfe is a long-time leader in the conservation photography movement and a prolific, restlessly creative nature and fine art photographer. In 1975 Wolfe graduated from University of Washington (UW) with degrees in Fine Arts and Arts Education.
Seattle born and based, Art Wolfe grew up in a family of commercial artists who encouraged his creativity and a connection to nature. For nearly fifty years he has stunned and thrilled readers with the dazzling beauty of the planet’s wildlife, landscapes, and diverse cultures. His goal is to win support for conservation issues by “focusing on what is beautiful on the Earth.”
Wolfe has published over 100 books in eight languages. Though Wolfe, 72, has often been described as a wildlife photographer—his most recent book being the astonishing Wild Lives—he tackles themes that take him beyond the subject of nature. In his book Human Canvas, he placed painted human figures against elaborate painted backdrops to transform bodies into abstract landscapes and he is working on a book of world faiths. He has hosted several television series, including the award-winning Art’s Wolfe’s Travels to the Edge which was syndicated worldwide, has had traveling exhibitions, and regularly donates his photos to environmental organizations.
The Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a UW graduate and is presented annually by the UW and UW Alumni Association. It recognizes a legacy of achievement and service built over a lifetime.
The UW Awards of Excellence ceremony honoring Art Wolfe and other outstanding alumni, faculty, staff, students, and retirees will be held on campus at the Meany Center for the Performing Arts at 3:30 pm on Thursday, June 6th, 2024.
“It is in the wild places, where the edge of the earth meets the corners of the sky, the human spirit is fed.”
We are just over a week away from my WILD LIVES presentation in Raleigh, North Carolina! Books will be available for purchase, and I’ll be signing copies. More importantly, I’ll be taking a deep-dive into the stories and strategies behind a lifetime of wild life photography and international travel.
As someone who’s spent their life photographing wildlife around the globe, I feel I’m well-suited to comment on the changes I’ve seen in the flora and fauna of places I’ve revisited several times over the years; a list that continues to grow with each new trip. While I strongly advocate continuing to find ways to lessen mankind’s impact on the natural world, WILD LIVES seeks to present animal success stories.
As we continue our struggle to evaluate mankind’s impact on our environment, populations for many species are on the rise as they reconcile their co-existence with humans. It was my goal with WILD LIVES to celebrate these successes. The news isn’t all bad! Perhaps there are lessons we can take away from these animals that have weathered the storm of sharing our planet with a species that is capable of inhabiting nearly every environment on the planet.
We’ll have a limited supply of books on hand that I’ll be signing. I hope to see you in Raleigh on June 2nd!
When it comes to memory cards (and card readers), there are considerations to make beyond just the capacity. A larger card might not even be the best option in some cases. When it comes to the technobabble involved in what factors in to selecting the right equipment, I leave that up to my staff member Kyle, who’s now going to pass that information along to you! Everyone has different experiences, so please leave a comment below if you have any first-hand knowledge on the subject to pass along.
Which Brand Do I Choose?
Note – this is NOT a sponsored post; the brands listed here are simply what Art uses and trusts.
We’ve had a good experience sticking with the Sandisk Extreme Pro line of memory cards. This is a trusted and supported name, and your cards come with a code for recovery software in case you run into any issues. These cards are durable enough that we haven’t needed to use this feature often, but it did come in handy when an older card I had failed. I was able to use the code from one of the newer cards to run the software and recover photos. Your experience may vary, as recovering files once they are deleted is never guaranteed to work. Expect it wont, cheer if it does!
ProGrade Digital also makes very good cards, and excellent card readers. More on that later.
What Are the Common Types of Memory Cards?
Though I am approaching presenting information as it pertains to a Canon R5, the information is general enough to apply to many different camera brands and models. Check with your camera manufacturer’s documentation to get the specifics of which slots you have. If you don’t have your original documentation, it’s likely your manufacturer’s website has a manual to download.
The R5 and many other pro cameras generally contain two or more memory slots. The most common slots included are for CF Cards and SD Cards. Consumer cameras tend have a single SD slot, though in recent years with the size of photos increasing this is starting to change. Keep in mind that there are many different versions of both CF and SD cards. You’ll want to make sure you’re using the right one by referencing the documentation.
CF Cards
CF (Compact Flash) cards are the fastest cards available. If your camera accepts CF cards and you frequently shoot 4K video or in continuous mode, this is the option you’ll want to choose. They are generally more expensive than SD cards of equivalent size due to their greatly increased speed.
Current CF memory cards are called “CF-Express” or “CFE”. They come in three different “types” (A, B or C) which describe the physical dimensions of the card. Having the right type of card for your camera as well as the right card reader is mandatory – they are not interchangeable. If you’re purchasing a new camera, you’ll want to make sure it uses type B or C. Type A is slower technology, but is often the same or more cost-wise based on a limited supply. (If your current camera only supports type A, don’t fret! it’s still a viable and fast card type)
By far the biggest selling point of a CF-Express card is the speed, as CF cards are potentially up to five-times faster than an equivalent SD card. Check the read and write speed of any card you consider purchasing. 1700 MB/s read cards are fairly common, with 3400 MB/s being the latest premium card speed. Just keep in mind your speed is limited by other hardware considerations, most notably your camera’s buffer speed, the source you’re copying to, the cabling, and the card reader. It doesn’t make sense to splurge on the latest, fastest card only to find the performance is about the same due to hardware limits and diminishing returns.
SD (Secure Digital) cards are not as fast as CF cards, but are more available and less expensive. The exception would be the “latest and greatest” SD cards on the market. These can often be comparable in price to a CF card with an equivalent capacity, however they are still not as fast. The reason for the price equivalency comes down to the fact that consumer cameras generally use SD cards, whereas CF cards are commonly found in higher-end pro cameras.
SD cards currently come in three different formats: UHS-I, UHS-II and the most recent UHS-III. Once again, you’ll need to refer to your camera’s documentation but for the most part UHS-II is the standard, with UHS-I being much too slow for most modern cameras. UHS-III is the latest and speediest version, but also expensive and the option to use a CF-E card if possible is more attractive.
You’ll also find SD cards described as “SD”, “SDHC”, or “SDXC”. No reason to get too much into the weeds here – you want SDXC, unless your camera is old enough to not be compatible. SDXC cards are the only ones that will hold more than 32 gb of data, which is in my opinion the smallest card I’d ever want to use with a modern camera.
Card readers are another lengthy post in their own right, but I’ll keep it simple. You’ll want a card reader that reads CF and/or SD memory cards, depending on the cards your camera uses and that you choose to purchase. Simple! Lets take a very small step into the weeds though.
Brand
A good card reader can make a big difference. Art was struggling with some of the readers we tried off of Amazon until his good friend and colleague Sean Fitzgerald recommended the readers from ProGrade Digital. We purchased this card reader specific for CF-E type B cards, and he’s extremely happy with the performance. They also make a model that reads both CF-E and SD card types.
As far as technical considerations go, the biggest factor affecting the speed that you have control over when purchasing a reader is the USB version. 3.0, 3.2, and 4.0 are all viable. Anything less than 3.0 will have vastly diminished read and write speed.
Stand-alone CF-E card readers are generally faster than card readers that also read SD cards, so if the speed of copying from your card to your device is critical, it’s something to consider. Often in the field, Art is shooting thousands of photos, and needs to be able to copy them quickly if he wants to download them and re-use the card for more shots. In these cases, being able to copy quickly is critical, and this is why he uses a separate CF and SD card readers.
Final Considerations for Purchasing Memory Cards & Readers
Hopefully this has been somewhat helpful in understanding card types. Obviously there are other options out there and your camera is largely going to determine what you need. Just keep in mind that splurging for extra speed and/or capacity is an amazing luxury to have, but not always the best use of your funds if you’re on any kind of budget.
For example – a Canon R5 includes both an SD and a CF card slot. Instead of considering a 512 GB CF card, you might want to get a 256 GB CF and a 256 GB SD card – that way you have options to shoot and write the same photos to both cards and have a very secure backup so you don’t lose photos. If a card fails in the field, you also have the option to use the other one. You still have the same storage capacity but more flexibility. Some photographers configure their cameras to write the larger, slower-to-copy RAW files to the CF card while sending the smaller, faster JPGs to the SD card.
In the end, CF-E cards are superior as they are faster, usually have a higher capacity, and are more durable than SD cards. SD cards are more common in consumer cameras. It really comes down to what your camera is compatible with, how you use your camera, and your budget.
A while back I posted a scam alert regarding several impostor accounts on Facebook, pretending to be me. This is a serious issue, as several folks have been fooled by these imitators. Unfortunately it seems Facebook no longer employs actual human beings. Any attempt to contact them simply leads into a loophole of automated responses. Even with all of the evidence to back up my identity, only a small number of fake accounts have actually been closed. Nine times out of ten, we simply receive a response, no doubt automated as well, indicating that the content doesn’t violate Facebook’s policies.
As you can see in this image gallery, the vast majority of these accounts reference “Thomas Wolfe”. Unfortunately, as someone who spends time here or there in the public eye and photographs for a living, it’s not too difficult to find images of both myself and my work. it’s a truly vile feeling to see your photos and your face being used by some reprehensible con artist hoping to manipulate someone who might be a fan of mine.
If you see any of these fake accounts, please report them. Also please note, I never have conversations via any of my social media channels. If you’re talking to me privately on social – it’s not me!
If you’re not sure, my staff is available – just email us at info@artwolfe.com. We would love to hear from you if you’ve had a negative experience with an Art Wolfe scammer. If anyone knows how we reach an actual human being at Facebook – that would be fantastic!
Last night, the project to restore the creek at Schmitz Park here in West Seattle kicked off with the first meeting of the Schmitz Park Creek Restore group at my home. We presented our ideas for daylighting the creek and restoring the salmon run to this preserved natural area. Our goal is to reconnect the creek to Alki Beach, continue to protect 53 acres of old growth forest, and re-establish the natural cove at the mouth of the creek.
Though I travel often, West Seattle will always be home. It’s an exciting project, and I’m glad to be a part of it! Read more about the project on the West Seattle blog!
I recently had the pleasure of joining Richard Bernabe on his “Beyond the Lens” podcast to talk all things WILD LIVES. We discuss a number of topics, from the how and why of the book creation process to the important factors that my decades in the field have taught me about capturing impactful wildlife images. We covered a little bit of everything with my latest book as the jumping off point, so there’s bound to be something here for everyone.
Enjoy the podcast and be sure to subscribe to hear more of Richard’s interviews with prominent photographers and wildlife enthusiasts, and if you haven’t already order your copy of the standard or Collector’s Edition of WILD LIVES. There are also several WILD-centric tours and events coming up. Check and see if I’ll be near your city, or join me in the field!
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA, MAY 30, 2024 — Art Wolfe is a long-time leader in the conservation photography movement and a prolific, restlessly creative nature and fine art photographer. In 1975 Wolfe graduated from University of Washington (UW) with degrees in Fine Arts and Arts Education.
