As you may or may not know, the latest tax bill passed by the Trump administration recently included provisions to lift the decades-old ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. ANWR is home to more than 250 animal species, and is a location I’ve returned to many times over the course of my career to capture the tranquil and relatively untouched landscape.
Bare Essentials Magazine was kind enough to include my perspective on this very important matter in the latest edition of their online magazine – check it out! My piece, along with several photographs from various parts of ANWR begins on page 111.
Pantone is the company that provides color systems and serves as the authority for ensuring the accuracy of color profiles across the landscape of technology. Each year they choose a color to serve as thematic inspiration – and this year they have chosen “Ultra Violet” – Pantone 18-3838. From the Pantone website, Ultra Violet “. . . communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future”.
Along with yesterday’s recognition of 2018 being the Year of the Bird, here is another approach to your creative endeavors in 2018 should you struggle to find a theme or a starting point for your next project!
Audubon has dubbed 2018 the “Year of the Bird” in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Something to think about if you’re looking for inspiration or the basis for your next photo adventure! For more information on Audubon’s Year of the Bird, click here!
Above are some of my favorite shots of our feathered friends from over the years. If you have a great bird shot you would like to share, post it to Instagram using hashtags #Audubon, #BirdsOfInstagram and #Birdstagram! Audubon is also holding a contest – so send in your best avian photo and win up to $5000!
Every year I sit down both personally and with my staff to reflect on the year’s projects as well as the photographs from locations new and revisited. I can’t believe how much we were able to fit into 2017, and although I’m starting off 2018 recovering – very swiftly and beyond expectation, I might add – from foot surgery, I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in 2018!
Here are many of the highlights from the past year:
• We added new content to the website to give you more reasons to check back in with us! Where’s Art? was a segment we created as part of our new Multimedia page. It’s great to give you slide shows from my travels, but adding a voice to each unique trip brings something new to the table. Stay tuned for new editions from Mexico and Hawaii!
•I’ve begun doing portfolio reviews, with a few different packages to choose from. If you purchased one over the holidays and have submitted your photos, they are my focus for the current and coming weeks!
• We also added a new gear page where you can check out much of the equipment I use in the field, and we also focused on bringing you tips and tricks every Technique Tuesday on the blog.
• We had several terrific workshops here in my stomping grounds of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska: Columbia River Gorge, Abstract Astoria, Glacier Bay and Katmai National Parks, and over on the Olympic Peninsula at Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks, as well as Lake Quinault.
• I brought Photography As Art to the following cities: Austin, Atlanta, Portland, Scottsdale, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Dallas, and Seattle. Check out 2018’s current slate of cities with more likely to be added!
• An outdoor exhibit of Vanishing Act took place in Hamburg – what a great way to see your work displayed!
• Three new books were contracted with my publisher, Earth Aware Editions. A new edition ofEarth Is My Witnesswas released in the US and UK, and new French and Italian editions of Witness and the New Art of Photographing Nature were also published.
• Amazon added the first season of Travels to the Edge to their offerings on Prime streaming video!
• Photos and more photos! You can find my 2017 slide show here; from clicks and comments, it seems like your favorites were a bit different, with an emphasis on the Lofoten Islands. Hmm, perhaps I should schedule another workshop there. . .
• I’m in the process of planning my schedule for the next three years; keep an eye on my events page as well as the blog to stay up to date!
Myself and the staff wish you a healthy and prosperous 2018!
Sponsored by Angama Mara, The Greatest Maasai Mara Photographer of the Year will win a cash prize of $10,000 USD, as well as an unforgettable all-expenses-paid 5-night safari in the Maasai Mara, with accommodation for two at lovely Angama Mara, a private vehicle at their disposal and return flights from Nairobi.
Your entry fees will go to support these important conservation organizations:
It’s around this time annually that I assemble a collection of my most memorable images from throughout the year’s travels. Though the photos are primarily focused on the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the places I’ve been they also serve as reminders of the friends I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with and those I’ve met along the way. I look forward to sharing this collection of 2017 in review with you very soon.
My staff and I would like to wish everyone the very best this holiday season, and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. I have some exciting new projects in the works that I look forward to sharing with everyone, and I’m equally as eager to discover the new inspirations my travels and dialogues with all of you will bring me. It’s my hope that 2018 brings new perspectives and opportunities to each and every one of you as well!
“Abstract Astoria” is one of my most popular workshops, and it’s time to take it across the country! I’ve been honing my abstract workshops in conjunction with Photography As Artseminars for years, and I think Atlanta is the perfect location to take it to the next level!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
A recurring classic returns! This workshop is always a sell out, and for good reason – it’s a beautiful location, a great place to visit with great food and friendly establishments, and of course a plethora of opportunities to create stunning art. This intimate retreat always sells out early in the year, so sign up sooner than later and check out this location’s episode of Where’s Art?.
No traveler’s list of locations is complete until they’ve been to Glacier Bay. The definitive picturesque location needs to be experienced to really understand the vast beauty of this Alaskan centerpiece. Take a look at my last trip here on Where’s Art?
These workshops are sold out already, as they always do – photographers world-wide can’t get enough of the bears in this scenic landscape. Get yourself on the wait list for the first or second trip today, just in case there are any cancellations – and check out Where’s Art? while you wait!
New locations await those who have joined me on previous workshops in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula. We’ll also explore using 6-stop neutral density filters in the field to capture the old growth forest, wildlife, and waterfalls.
My last trip to Namibia was this passed September, and though the location is gaining in popularity, traveling here with someone whom has made frequent visits and knows the ins and outs of capturing the most graphic images of this striking landscape and it’s wildlife is the reason it’s already sold out! Get on the list just in case someone cancels, and check out the episode of Where’s Art? from this location!
We try to offer something unique when it comes to our trip to the big island, starting with a volcano expert and photographer friend who knows the place like the back of his hand. We’ll shoot at dawn and dusk and all hours in between to capture the shots that are anything but generic travel photos!
iDesigned for photographers by photographers, this expedition to the Falklands and South Georgia Island will be led by myself, Frans Lanting and Tom Mangelsen. We will take you to the places we love and will allow us to make the most of the southern ocean’s greatest wildlife spectacle, based on our collective experience.
Happy holidays everyone, and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Happy holidays, everyone! As some of you may already know, I’m spending the holiday season recovering from foot surgery. I have a big 2018 and beyond in store, so it became time to correct an issue that’s been worsening over time. The great news is that the procedure went as well as possible and I’m already diving back into work less than a week later.
That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed some “down” time. Shortly before returning home for surgery, I took a little trip down to Mexico after presenting Photography As Art in Dallas and Austin. Along with my good friend Sean Fitzgerald, his lovely wife Karen, and my assistant Libby we spent some time in Mexico City exploring and enjoying the food and drink and enjoying the sights and sounds. We also took a trip up to the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Reserve to capture kaleidoscopes of these beautiful creatures.
I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!
It’s always my goal to explore, create, and most importantly – inspire, and I was delighted to hear Dallas Photography As Artattendee Sunhee Kim’s take-away from the seminar. Sunhee was kind enough to share some take-away from the event, as well as photos captured that very day. Both myself and my staff appreciated this eagerness to explore and recognize these fantastic images, and it really drives my point home that you truly can capture spectacular artistic photos anywhere if you change the way you see everything around you.
My name is Sunhee, and I attended your workshop in Dallas today. I chatted with you a bit near the end. I am a beginner photographer.
I had to write this email right away to express how much the workshop opened up my eyes and perspectives, even though it is getting so late. I am exhausted from the workshop and a meet up photo shooting afterwards.
I could not wait to see what I discovered during the lunch break and the meet up shooting.
First, I had a 28mm prime lens at the workshop that I did not plan to shoot much. But as I came out of the building for lunch and walked down the streets, I saw quite a bit of pattern and color on walls on the streets. Instead of having lunch, I spent an hour to take photos. Then I went home to switch to my other lens for the meet up shooting after the workshop was done.
I truly loved to see what I discovered! A whole different experience, and I really wanted to share a few of my VERY first abstract and/or impressionist photos with you. I am not sure how many professional photographers would appreciate these kinds of photos, but It amazed me that my photos seemed like a piece of a painting – art, or something unique that is different from anyone else or the many great photos one can see and run into everywhere.
Thank you SO MUCH and hopefully I can make other workshops in the near future.
Sincerely,
Sunhee
Photography As Artis coming to Seattle, Raleigh, Tampa, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and more in 2018!
Capturing brown bears in Katmai, Alaska! Though specific to this location in the video, this is a lesson and focus I employ regardless of my subject – to capture that subject within the context of the environment rather than going for the same ol’ shots. Certainly as you travel and visit recognizable locations and subjects, you should capture the shots we are accustomed to seeing – but moving a step beyond and ensuring your photos are telling the story of that subject’s place in it’s environment makes for a much more informative and lasting image. Taking the time to explore a bit and focus on wide shots where the bears are present but not necessarily the focus, or finding details of the bear’s impact on the environment without showing them directly will not only immerse your audience in the location, it will inform and inspire other shots you choose to take.
Gavriel Jecan has traveled to this location with me many times, and he’ll be leading a trip here in July – sign up today! I’m leading a couple trips here as well, but they are sold out. If you’re interested, feel free to join the wait list in case we have any cancellations.
