10X10X10Tieton Call for Entries – Closes June 18
Make something that is 10X10X10 and submit it to this very fun event in Mighty Tieton.
This is the 3rd Annual event and is a lot of fun.
The annual Might Tieton 10X10X10 show is calling for entries.
The public is invited to a reception to celebrate the release of Johsel Namkung / A Retrospective, the latest publication from Cosgrove Editions. If you love nature, this is a must see book!
When: Saturday, May 26th from 3 – 6 PM
Where: Walker Ames Room, Kane Hall,2nd Floor,UW Campus
Admission: Complimentary
Johsel Namkung has long been considered a Master of Landscape Photography. His entire exhibition at the Seattle Asian Art Museum in 2006 is now part of SAM’s permanent collection. At 93 years of age, this book represents the culmination of Johsel’s life in photography.
Johsel Namkung / A Retrospective, includes 100 of Johsels best photographs, a third of which have never been exhibited. Published by Cosgrove Editions, the book comes in a standard hard cover edition plus two special editions: a Slipcase Edition of 250 signed and numbered copies, and a Deluxe Clamshell Box Edition of 100 signed and numbered copies that also includes a CD of vocal performances by Johsel, plus a 16 x 20 inch archival pigment print chosen from any photograph in the book.
The book is beautifully bound with Chinese Silk fabric, and printed with ultra high resolution technology as befits Johsel’s extremely detailed images. This oversize monograph is 13.5 inches high x 17.0 inches wide. It contains a Foreword by Art Wolfe, wildlife and nature photographer extraordinaire, a Foreword by Elizabeth Brown, former chief curator at the Henry Art Gallery, plus a portrait of Johsel by Northwest iconic photographer Mary Randlett.
Note that parking in the underground garage off of 15thAve N.E. at NE 41st Street is free on Saturday afternoon.
While not required, an RSVP would be most appreciated to dick@cosgroveweb.com.
There is still time and there are still a few spots left on this incredible adventure, as shown in my TV series Travels to the Edge.
The Pantanal offers a wetland environment like no other on the planet. At 54,000 square miles you could hide the whole of the Florida Everglades in the center and never find them. It’s no secret that I love photographing wildlife and the Pantanal offers some of the best avian photography anywhere. While the Amazon rain forest may be larger, the Pantanal has a concentration of wildlife that allows you to see (and photograph) 100 times more birds and animals than you ever would in the Amazon. I chose the Pantanal for my TV show for this very reason.
You will have the chance to photograph capybaras and caimans and many of the 400 species of birds that live in the Pantanal. Nearly a quarter of these birds weighing in at over a pound (1.6kg) – which is a pretty big bird when you stop to think about it. We may even get to see Giant Otters (big as a grown man) and Giant Anteaters. If you’ve seen the episode of “Travels to the Edge” from this region you have some idea of what you’ll be in store for. But don’t worry, when it comes to the caimans, we’ll keep a respectful distance (this time).
Through traveling to photograph wildlife, I have been blessed with getting to know some of the most interesting and diverse cultures around the world. For this tour, I have scheduled visits to two working Brazilian ranches so we can get a taste of what it is like to pull a living from this land and call it home. To visit a country without getting to know the people is an incomplete story for me. There is so much to be learned from others who share this earth with us but have different perspectives and unique viewpoints. Seeing the challenges they face can bring a new perspective to our own lives.
And if you’re not hooked yet… on my previous trips I have stumbled across a very remote corner of the Pantanal where there is an incredible opportunity to see Jaguars in the wild. This particular group has become habituated to seeing people much like some of the lion troops you would see on safari in Africa and they no longer instinctively retreat and hide in the dense forest. It may take a while to swallow your heart back down from the middle of your throat, but seeing a Jaguar in the wild is a experience you will never forget.
I was out scouting a location for a future photo shoot when I found myself about to drive past the Weyerhaeuser corporate headquarters building here in Washington state. With some time to spare I pulled off and visited their beautiful bonsai gardens where they have 60 unique specimens from 6 different Pacific Rim nations, some were started as long ago as the 1950s.
When I’m out in the field I’m often drawn to compositions of graphic lines and form. You can find beauty in the patterns of nature just about anywhere you go, you just need to be open to seeing them. Bonsai is a collaboration between man and nature that celebrates this beauty. It is up to the individual artist’s imagination to shape the plants through very selective pruning, removing key limbs, creating a balance to the composition, even shaping the limbs directly either with copper wire or by suspending stones from the branches to weigh them down. Over time the plant will adopt this new shape even as the wire and stones are removed.
In this age that has so much slick art dominating the culture it’s nice to see imperfections. The bonsai is a living plant, it will never be absolutely perfect and it is forever growing and slowly changing. This is a very slow, methodical and thoughtful art form. I find peace and a feeling of zen when I have time to just sit back and admire these beautiful works of art. I was drawn in by all of them, whether the great redwood in miniature or the wabi sabi out of balance nature of the one that looked as if it was growing out of the discards from a giant egg. Serendipity played a hand in the timing of my visit as many of the deciduous varieties had yet to fully leaf out allowing the intricate design of their branches to be seen with just a hint of the color yet to come. It will come as no surprise that I have many bonsai trees in my own landscape.
What was intended as merely a scouting mission, I didn’t even have any formal camera gear with me, resulted in a wonderful opportunity to soak in some art and nature and fill my soul. A wonderful day for me is not always about the perfect light and equipment, the images shared here were simply shot on my iPhone. It was a great way to spend the morning, I highly recommend it.
For details on the Weyehaeuser bonsai gardens click here:
On May 4th, 2012, the University of Washington officially honors a 150 distinguished alumni with their first-ever Timeless Awards and Art Wolfe has been selected. The Timeless Award is given to alumni based on their outstanding service and achievement since graduation.
Early May is a great time to catch the migrating shorebirds as they fly up the coast from California, or the Pacific Flyway as it is called. Sanderlings, dunlins, and other assorted shorebirds pause for a couple of weeks at Bowerman Basin in Grays Harbor on the Olympic Peninsula. Boardwalks provide great access. When the tides are high, and there are no exposed mud flats, all the birds are densely packed together. It is quite the spectacle to see a million birds in a tight area. Also, if there happens to be a bird of prey near, they fly around in tight bundles turning in all directions with great precision. It looks like many bodies, but one brain operating them all. It is definitely worth a trip out to the coast if you are in the Pacific Northwest in those two weeks.
The Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is May 4-6 this year: